Every year, a peculiar tradition takes hold of Thailand. It begins quietly, with yellow flags fluttering above street food stalls, signaling vegetarian dishes are on offer. But the food is just the start. This is the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, an exhibition of devotion and pain.

Rooted in the Chinese-Thai communities who brought it here centuries ago, the festival honors the Nine Emperor Gods, celestial beings believed to govern health, prosperity, and balance in the universe. What began as a simple act of purification, abstaining from meat, alcohol, and other impurities, has evolved into a visceral display of faith that culminates in Phuket.

In this final act, the streets erupt in firecrackers, smoke, and blood as worshipers transform into spirit mediums, living vessels for the gods. In trances, they pierce their faces with increasingly extreme objects,swords, spears, bicycle frames, parasols, even household appliances. It’s both a public offering of faith and a test of endurance.

The mediums march through the center of town, their white robes streaked with blood, carrying grotesque adornments with an eerie calm. Firecrackers explode at their feet, filling the air with gunpowder and the roar of the crowd. Each display is like a challenge to the other participants, an unspoken competition to see who can endure the most, push the limits of their body further, and leave the strongest impression.