Phuket Taoist Vegetarian festival

Before Phuket became a world-class tourist destination, it was a centre for the tin trade. In the 19th century, thousands of Hokkien Chinese immigrated here to work, bringing with them their Taoist beliefs and establishing numerous temples and shrines Photograph: Andrew Spooner/Andrew Spooner

The temples are mostly places of meditation and contemplation. Incense is lit, numerous gods are worshipped and ancestors are remembered Photograph: Andrew Spooner/Andrew Spooner

The Vegetarian festival has its origins in the sickness of a visiting Chinese opera troupe in 1825 and subsequent restoration to health after following a vegetarian diet in honour of Taoist gods. For nine days, these temples play host to a variety of arcane rituals Photograph: Andrew Spooner/Andrew Spooner

On the streets of Phuket, red-and-gold-emblazoned food stalls serve up vegan food - mostly tofu and vegetable curries - to thousands of white-clad devotees. For nine days, no animal products will be consumed, marking the purity of the worshippers Photograph: Andrew Spooner/Andrew Spooner

The festival is well known for its bizarre and painful-looking live piercings. Entranced 'mediums', supposedly possessed by a god, show the power of the spirits they are hosting by the scale and size of the piercing Photograph: Andrew Spooner/Andrew Spooner

The mediums - who wear elaborate silk aprons and crack whips to scare off evil spirits - are not only men. Here, a female medium gets her tongue pierced at the Kathu shrine Photograph: Andrew Spooner/Andrew Spooner

Some of the piercings are incredibly elaborate, decorative displays. This man's took several hours to put in place Photograph: Andrew Spooner/Andrew Spooner

The gods of the shrine are paraded on palanquins through the streets of Phuket City. The parades are important rituals during which the general population can make offerings to increase their luck Photograph: Andrew Spooner/Andrew Spooner

Devotees believe loud noise drives away evil spirits. Here, locals twist a huge string of firecrackers around a long pole, which is then lit and held over the palanquins Photograph: Andrew Spooner/Andrew Spooner

Whole families, including elderly relatives, wait along the parade route to make offerings of tea, fruit and flowers to the possessed, pierced mediums Photograph: Andrew Spooner/Andrew Spooner

Warriors and mediums show off their piercings Photograph: Andrew Spooner/Andrew Spooner

This collection of knives and shears shoved through a young man's cheeks defies belief Photograph: Andrew Spooner/Andrew Spooner

A medium blesses a child. As the warriors and mediums - each the living embodiment of the god possessing them - pass by, locals happily interact with them Photograph: Andrew Spooner/Andrew Spooner

After the warriors and mediums pass, the palanquins follow. The sound of firecrackers reaches a deafening crescendo and the air is yellowed with a thick fug Photograph: Andrew Spooner/Andrew Spooner

Firewalking is a supreme test of a medium's power. Here, helpers at the Kathu shrine prepare the coals for walking by dampening them down with wooden paddles Photograph: Andrew Spooner/Andrew Spooner

Some mediums are calm and dignified as they walk across the ferociously hot coals. Others run, letting out loud cries Photograph: Andrew Spooner/Andrew Spooner

This man's feet and legs appear undamaged after walking across the coals Photograph: Andrew Spooner/Andrew Spooner

The festival ends with a huge parade in the centre of Phuket City, of all the gods from all the shrines on the island. Thousands of people light fireworks, and the effect is akin to a war zone, with intense noise, smoke and the ever-present danger of exploding firecrackers Photograph: Andrew Spooner/Andrew Spooner