Also known as the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, Thailand annual Vegetarian Festival is a very gruesome scene to watch if you are not strong enough.
Safety pins, daggers, and fish rods, swords, knives, and badminton rackets are among an array of sharp objects pushed through Taoist worshippers’ cheeks at the festival.
The event begins in Phuket on the first evening of the ninth Chinese Lunar month each year and takes place for nine days.
Many religious devotees slash themselves with swords and pierce their cheeks with sharp skewers for the festival, alongside committing other painful acts like walking over burning coals.
Many worshippers work themselves into a trance before the piercing takes place, which is said to numb the pain of the ritualised mutilation.
As hundreds of worshippers march down the streets showcasing an unbelievable variety of piercings, traditional music is played on the streets.
Along the way, residents will offer food, water, and sweets to the participants whose rituals are meant to ward off bad luck and cleanse sins.
Participants believe that each mutilation marks a sacrifice. The piercings then allow them to take on the sins of others in order to purify themselves and return favour to the community.
The celebration dates back to 1825, according to local folklore, when a visiting Chinese opera troupe fell ill.
They are believed to have adopted a vegetarian diet and carried out Taoist rituals in an effort to improve their health.
The festival is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of tourists to the southern Thai island, according to Kanokkittika Kritwutikon, the Phuket tourism authority director.
The tourists will bring in revenue for hoteliers in the area. Participants in Phuket – which has a sizeable Chinese population – also have a bounty of vegetarian food options to choose from, as many vendors switch out meat offerings.
