A devotee of the Chinese Bang Neow Shrine has his cheeks pierced prior to taking part in a street procession marking the annual Vegetarian Festival in the southern town of Phuket, Oct. 20, 2012. During the festival, which lasts nine days, religious devotees slash themselves with swords and pierce their cheeks with sharp objects to purify themselves. (Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP/Getty Images)

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