A Hindu devotee girl stands after getting her tongue pierced with a metal rod during the Thaipusam festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, February 3, 2015. Thaipusam, which is celebrated in honor of Hindu god Lord Murugan, is an annual procession by Hindu devotees seeking blessings, fulfilling vows and offering thanks. (Photo by Joshua Paul/AP Photo)

Thai Buddhist monks wear face shields to protect themselves from new coronavirus as they walk to collect alms from devotees in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, March 31, 2020. (Photo by Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo)

A devotee participates in Bonalu festival in Hyderabad, India, Thursday, June 22, 2023. Bonalu is a month-long Hindu folk festival of the Telangana region dedicated to Kali, the Hindu goddess of destruction. (Photo by Mahesh Kumar A./AP Photo)

In this picture taken on October 1, 2022, a devotee performs in the guise of Hindu goddess Kali during “Durga Puja” festival celebrations in Ajmer. (Photo by Himanshu Sharma/AFP Photo)

A vegetarian festival devotee gets medical attention after a parade at Jui Tui shrine on September 30, 2014 in Phuket, Thailand. (Photo by Borja Sanchez-Trillo/Getty Images)

NEPAL: A devotee is smeared with a vermillion powder while celebrating the “Sindoor Jatra” vermillion powder festival at Thimi, in Bhaktapur, Nepal, April 14, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A Hindu devotee displays his inked hand after taking part in the religious festival of Holi in Vrindavan, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, March 8, 2017. (Photo by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters)

“The Nine Emperor Gods Festival is a nine-day Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of 9th lunar month of the Chinese calendar, which is observed primarily in Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and also the Riau Islands. In Thailand, this festival is called Tesagan Gin Je, the Vegetarian Festival. It is celebrated throughout the entire country, but the festivities are at their height in Phuket, where about 35% of the population is Chinese. It attracts crowds of spectators because of many of the unusual religious rituals that are performed”. – Wikipedia. Photo: A devotee gest pierced at the Bang Neow shrine in Phuket. (Photo by Paula Bronstein)