Cheeky Taoist procession spices up Phuket’s veggie fest

Traditionally coinciding with Phuket’s vegetarian festival, mild-mannered vegans on the island have been treated to the decidedly fleshy delights of a nine-day Taoist festival.

Central to the event, or at least central to Instagram postings devoted to the event, are the many outlandish facial piercings on display.

Taoist devotees adorn their mouths and faces with metal spikes, swords, skewers and most anything with a sharp enough point to pierce the skin. Not content with such trivial displays of piety, once fully spiked up, festival goers then dance on hot coals to show their holiness.

The Nine Emperor Gods Festival was suspended during the coronavirus pandemic. This year thousands of people from the ethnic Chinese community in traditional costume congregated to participate in the Kathu Shrine procession. Like the annual vegetarian festival, Nine Emperor Gods is observed during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar.

The tradition goes back some 150 years. Legend has it that a Chinese opera troupe fell ill in Phuket but made a full recovery after observing a vegetarian diet and performing rituals for the Emperor Gods.

Devotees abstain from sex, alcohol, and meat during the festival. They say the piercings symbolise repentance for sins and can ward off evil spirits.

“We may have said good or bad things, so the piercing is for us to feel the sins we’ve committed,” said Patcharaporn Phromchai, after she removed a metal spike skewering her cheeks.

SOURCE Malay Mail