Extreme piercing cleanses souls at Thai vegetarian festival

Taoist devotees had body parts pierced with objects ranging from skewers and swords to a model ship as Thailand's Vegetarian Festival returned from a two-year pandemic hiatus.

The annual nine-day celebration honours the "Nine Emperor Gods" and adherents shun all animal products while offering their bodies to deities who they believe will banish bad luck.

Internationally known for often graphic images of the piercings, the event in Phuket previously drew thousands of visitors to the southern tourist island hoping for blessings and good fortune.

Those volunteering to be perforated are known as "mediums" and believe they have a personal connection with one of the gods. They must apply in advance and are carefully considered before being granted the honour.

As the sun rose over Phuket, the mediums prepared themselves at a local temple as drums beat, bells rang and incense burned to begin the day's festivities.

Folklore traces the ritual back to 1825 when a visiting Chinese opera troupe fell ill in Phuket, but today the festival comes with latex-gloved medics and modern safeguards.

After devotees emerge from the Jor Soo Gong Naka shrine, nurses closely monitor the proceedings as the sharpened objects -- chosen by the mediums -- are carefully guided through their skin.

During this procession -- in which some devotees appear in a trance, their eyes rolling as they tremble, wave and dance -- they dispense blessings to a crowd of hundreds.