The Associated Press; 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020 - Friday, October 10, 1997; 5:23 a.m. EDT
Ellen Teper Lochaya

Dripping blood from the wound in his face, the teen-ager -- along with scores of others like him -- marched down the streets of Phuket, spurred by the din of Chinese music, firecrackers and cheers from a crowd that occasionally wiped his face clean and stuck money on the spike.

"When I'm pierced, I don't feel anything," Udom Than said. "I'm possessed."

Once a year, Phuket changes from Thailand's best-known tropical island into a stage for one of the world's most bizarre rituals of self-mortification -- oddly known as the Vegetarian Festival.

Across Thailand, the festival is traditionally celebrated in the ninth lunar month of the Chinese year, ending today. During that time, many of Thailand's 6 million or so ethnic Chinese will refrain from eating meat.

But on Phuket, a beach paradise on the Andaman Sea, 430 miles south of Bangkok, the festival takes a masochistic turn, drawing large crowds of spectators at the slowest part of the tourist season.

For teen-age disciples, the festival is a rite of toughness. But older men and some women, motivated chiefly by prestige and tradition, make up the largest number of participants. All participants abstain from meat, alcohol and sex for nine days before the piercing.

"The body piercing, I think, is getting out of hand," said a temple elder, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It's become a big tourist attraction, with more and more youngsters getting involved each year, sort of a macho thing."

Devotees gather at several temples honoring Chinese gods and spirits then undergo a series of purification rituals that, after several days, culminate in a trance.

They roll back their eyes, shake their heads, dance -- whatever it takes to block out the pain -- then pierce their bodies in an ultimate expression of religious devotion.

Most put a single steel rod ranging in width from a quarter-inch to an inch, through one cheek. The more experienced or daring might put four through their cheeks at crazily crossed angles, another through the skin of their necks, and maybe one or two more through their arms.

Others choose more bizarre objects to pierce their bodies: a samurai sword, an umbrella, a small tree, a sailfish, a musket, a lamp -- one year, even the kitchen sink, with the faucet plunged through the cheek and the basin carried by a helper.

This year, a man sprayed blood down his chest as he ripped his tongue on a logging saw. Most marchers don't bleed much, though -- until the pierced objects are withdrawn, uncorking their wounds.

Though they are rarely needed, ambulances stand by to transport those overcome by shock to the hospital. Apart from soreness, little real damage is done.

Some spectators along the parade route sometimes offer tea to the marchers. But it's more symbolic than helpful, since most can't swallow well with a mouth full of steel.

Phuket health authorities have advised the temples to take precautions -- such as not sharing spikes and wearing rubber gloves when handling them -- against the blood-borne HIV virus that causes AIDS.

The Phuket version of the festival has its roots in the discovery of tin on the island about 160 years ago and the ensuing arrival of Chinese laborers to work the mines. An epidemic swept the island at the same time a Chinese opera troupe was touring to entertain the workers.

One performer suggested the Chinese were victimized by the scourge because they had failed to observe traditions, including the festival. Thereafter, the occasion was marked with unusual fervency and eventually, acts of self-mortification crept into the observance.

At the start of the festival, worshippers deposit fruit and incense at the temples. Each temple also sponsors a parade, which is preceded the night before by men and women reputedly becoming possessed by the gods and speaking in ancient Chinese. Some walk on hot coals, others climb blade ladders.

The next day, they pierce themselves and march.

"It's the faith -- faith in the gods here," one disciple, who gave his name only as Thisan, said before adding: "Sorry, that's enough now -- it hurts."

Copyright 1997/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
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