Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2014

PHUKET, THAILAND - SEPTEMBER 30: Fireworks explode around devotees from the Chinese Shrine of Jui Tui as they carry Emperor God stautes in a street procession on September 30, 2014 in Phuket, Thailand. Ritual Vegetarianism in Phuket Island traces its roots back to the early 1800's. The annual festival begins on the first evening of the ninth lunar month and lasts for nine days. Participants in the festival perform acts of body piercing as a means of shifting evil spirits from individuals onto themselves and bring the community good luck. The ritualized mutilation is performed at a local Buddhist shrine under a trance-like state and is carefully supervised. (Photo by David Longstreath/Getty Images)