Bizarre vegetarian body piercing festival
We’re used to the idea of abstaining from meat as a vegetarian. In Phuket, Thailand devotees go one extreme step more by combining abstinence from meat with sacred ritual mutilations, done without anesthetic, during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar to help bestow good health and peace of mind during the annual Vegetarian Festival. Everything from piercings with knives to the use of guns and bicycles is on display.
Be prepared for graphic and bizarre images!
A devotee of the Chinese Samkong Shrine walks with piercings through his mouth during a procession in Phuket, Thailand, October 4, 2016.
Vegetarian festival in Phuket
A devotee of the Chinese Ban Tha Rue shrine with blades piercing his face takes part in a procession celebrating the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival in Phuket, Thailand on October 5, 2016.
Southern Thailand’s gruesome Vegetarian Festival got under way on October 2 and devotees throughout the week show their religious devotion through ritualistic self-mutilation and pain trials, including running over hot coals and piercing their bodies with an astonishing -- and stomach-turning -- variety of objects.
Vegetarian festival in Phuket
A devotee of the Chinese Ban Tha Rue shrine with knives piercing his face takes part in a procession celebrating the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival in Thailand, October 5, 2016.
Swords, axe handles, kebab skewers and even a model boat were just some of the objects placed in devotees pierced cheeks as southern Thailands gruesome vegetarian festival got under way.
Vegetarian festival in Phuke
A devotee of the Chinese Samkong Shrine walks with a bike pierced through his mouth in Phuket, October 4, 2016.
Vegetarian festival in Phuket
A devotee of the Nine Emperor Gods is seen with multiple skewers pierced through his mouth during the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival in the southern province of Phuket on October 3, 2016.
Vegetarian festival in Phuket
A devotee of the Chinese Ban Tha Rue shrine takes part in a procession in Phuket, October 5, 2016.
Vegetarian festival in Phuket
A devotee of the Chinese Ban Tha Rue shrine with piercings in Phuket, October, 5, 2016.
Vegetarain Festival in Phuket
A devotee of the Chinese Bang Neow shrine takes part in a procession in Phuket, October 6, 2016.
Vegetarian Festival in Phuket
A young devotee of the Nine Emperor Gods has a large needle pushed through his cheek during the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival in the southern province of Phuket on October 1, 2016.
Vegetarian festival in Phuket
A devotee of the Chinese Samkong Shrine walks with two revolvers pierced in his mouth in Phuket, October 4, 2016.
Vegetarian Festival in Phuket
A devotee of the Nine Emperor Gods sits with colored yarn through large piercings in his face in Phuket on October 1, 2016.
Vegetarian Festival in Phuket
A devotee of the Nine Emperor Gods is seen with a sword pierced through his tongue during the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival in the southern province of Phuket on October 3, 2016. Southern Thailand’s gruesome vegetarian festival got under way on October 2 and devotees throughout the week will show their religious devotion through ritualistic self-mutilation and pain trials, including running over hot coals and piercing their bodies with an astonishing -- and stomach-turning -- variety of objects.
Vegetarian Festival in Phuket
A devotee of the Nine Emperor Gods parades through the town of Phuket with giant metal rings through his cheeks on October 3, 2016.
Vegetarian festival in Phuket
A devotee of the Chinese Ban Tha Rue shrine takes part in a procession in Phuket, October 5, 2016.
Vegetarian festival in Phuket
A devotee of the Chinese Samkong Shrine walks while cutting his tongue with an axe during a procession in Phuket, October 4, 2016.
Vegetarian Festival in Phuket
A devotee of the Nine Emperor Gods parades through the town of Phuket with recorders pierced through his cheeks on October 3, 2016.
Vegetarian Festival in Phuket
A devotee of the Chinese Ban Tha Rue shrine with tongue and face pierced in Phuket, October 5, 2016.
Vegetarian festival in Phuket
A devotee of the Chinese Samkong Shrine with spikes pierced through his cheeks in Phuket, October 4, 2016.
Vegetarian festival in Phuket
A devotee of the Chinese Samkong Shrine walks with two umbrellas pierced through his cheeks, October 4, 2016.
Vegetarain Festival in Phuket
A devotee of the Chinese Bang Neow shrine with his tongue pierced takes part in a procession celebrating the annual Vegetarian Festival in Phuket, Thailand, October 6, 2016.