Gruesome images show devotees with pistols and ukuleles pushed through their cheeks during Thailand's Phuket Vegetarian Festival.
asserted
images → show → Festival
One man is pictured with a pistol through one cheek and a curved knife through the other, while another has the necks of two ukuleles pushed through his face, his eyes appearing to water.
asserted
eyes → picture → face
A third image shows two swords crossed through a man's cheeks during the annual event on the tourist island.
asserted
swords → show → island
Also known as the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, the nine-day Taoist celebration involves strict vegetarianism, purification rituals and dramatic acts of devotion by spirit mediums known as 'Ma Song'.
asserted
celebration → know → Song
Believed to be possessed by gods, the mediums enter deep trances and pierce their cheeks, tongues and bodies with objects ranging from swords and skewers to bicycles and umbrellas.
asserted
mediums → believe → bicycles
These extreme displays are believed to drive evil spirits away from the community and bring blessings to the faithful.
asserted
displays → believe → faithful
Those volunteering to be pierced believe they have a personal connection to one of the gods.
asserted
they → volunteer → gods
They must apply in advance and are carefully assessed before being granted the honour.
asserted
They → apply → honour
During the procession, some devotees enter a trance, their eyes rolling back as they tremble, wave and dance while dispensing blessings to crowds of hundreds.
asserted
they → enter → hundreds
Gruesome images show devotees with a pistol and ukuleles pushed through their cheeks during Thailand's Phuket Vegetarian Festival.
asserted
devotees → show → Festival
One man is pictured with a pistol through one cheek and a curved knife through the other
Another has the necks of two ukuleles pushed through his face while his eyes appear to water
A third image shows two swords crossed through a man's cheeks during the annual event on the tourist island
Also known as the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, the nine-day Taoist celebration involves strict vegetarianism, purification rituals and dramatic acts of devotion by spirit mediums known as 'Ma Song'
Believed to be possessed by gods, the mediums enter deep trances and pierce their cheeks, tongues and bodies with objects ranging from swords and skewers to bicycles and umbrellas
These extreme displays are believed to drive evil spirits away from the community and bring blessings to the faithful
At the festival in 2024, Sirinnicha Thampradit, 29, was among those believed to have been chosen by a god to act as a bridge between the human and divine worlds.
asserted
Thampradit → picture → worlds
'I felt weak, I felt numb and I couldn't control anything,' Sirinnicha, who woke before dawn to prepare for the ceremony, told AFP.
asserted
who → feel → AFP
She described alternating between crying and laughing, adding that possession typically occurs during the annual vegetarian festival.
asserted
possession → describe → festival
Despite the blood, Sirinnicha, who bears 1.5-inch scars on both cheeks from previous piercings, said she felt no pain during the procedure.
asserted
she → bear → procedure
'It's because I 100 per cent believe in god, and he has been protecting me for more than 10 years,' she said, recalling the first time she was possessed at the age of 17.
asserted
she → believe → 17
Sirinnicha said the wounds heal within seven days and believes all members of her family have been chosen as mediums.
asserted
members → say → mediums
The ceremony takes place at the Jor Soo Gong Naka shrine in honour of the Nine Emperor Gods in Taoist tradition.
asserted
ceremony → take → tradition
Participants abstain from meat and other temptations, including gambling and alcohol, to purify their bodies before offering themselves to the deities.
asserted
Participants → abstain → deities
The festival draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year hoping for blessings and good fortune.
asserted
festival → draw → blessings
It generated more than nine billion baht ($272 million) in 2023, according to Phuket's tourism body.
uncertain
It → generate → body
'Piercing is the gods' command, and these objects represent their supernatural power,' Kaweepiphat Thomya, the shrine's mediums coordinator, told AFP.
asserted
Thomya → represent → AFP
He said the suffering involved is intended to cleanse participants of bad deeds, describing mediums as the gods' chosen ones.
asserted
suffering → say → ones
Traditionally, knives, needles and swords are among the objects used during the facial piercings.
asserted
knives → use → piercings
The growing use of more unusual items in recent years has sparked concern among shrine organisers, who have warned devotees to take precautions against infection.
asserted
who → grow → infection
Thailand's Ministry of Health has reported rare injuries linked to extreme piercings, while the shrine deploys around 20 medical staff to help ensure safety during the ceremony, which dates back to the early 1800s.
asserted
which → report → 1800s
'We have been campaigning against unconventional items for piercing, mostly for safety purposes,' Karuna Paikaew, the official in charge of the ceremony, told AFP in 2024.
asserted
Paikaew → campaign → 2024
The Aporia
