| PHOTOS & VIDEO: Brutal Rituals Of Festival Goers Who Force Knives And Guns Through Their Own CHEEKS - GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING Oct 20th 2012, 18:00 
 | | Pain for purification: This religious devotee has pierced his cheek and thrust several swords through the hole as part of a vegetarian festival in Phuket | GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: They hope the torture will purify them, banish evil and bring their community luck in the ten day vegetarian festival in Phuket, Thailand. Thousands of people travel to the island each year for the festivities while the local ethnic Chinese population abstain from meat, sex, alcohol and other vices during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar.  | The festival dates back to 1825 when travelling Chinese thespians were cured of tropical fever by keeping to a strict vegetarian diet |  | Entranced torture: This man holds a gun poking through his cheek and metal skewers through his ears, believing his suffering banishes evil and brings good luck |  | Piercing procession: This devotee has pierced his tongue, nose and ears with skewers for the festival celebrated by the local ethnic Chinese population in Phuket | |  | Entranced: The devotees are entranced while performing the painful rituals, believing it gives them supernatural powers and the ability to endure these excruciating tortures for the common good |  | Suffering brings luck: Their suffering, they believe draws evil out of the community around them and, in doing so, brings positive luck to their friends and village |  | Wheel pain: These two have stuck car hubcaps |
VIDEO:
Daily Mail
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