A VEGETARIAN Festival ''spirit warrior'' collapsed and fell as he walked across coals at a Taoist temple on Phuket last night. The man appeared to be seriously burned.
Spectators gasped in horror as the man's traditional apron and white pants caught alight as he lay on the coals, face down.
While bystanders were quick to react and drag him from the pit of hot coals, he appeared to have suffered serious burns.
A dramatic photograph in Thairath newspaper today shows the man on the coals at the Tharua temple, not far from the Heroines' Monument in Thalang.
One spectator is pictured moving to his rescue.
A spokesperson for the Public Health department said today that the man would survive but faced an extensive period in hospital and a long recuperation.
He is in Vachira Hospital, with deep burns that have reached his muscles in parts.
Safety of participants in the nine-day festival is always a prime concern because of the nature of the purification rituals.
''Spirit warriors,'' known as mah song, are possessed by gods who arrive from the sea at the opening of the festival, and who are driven away when the festival concludes.
Piercings, mostly through the cheeks, are performed by around 350 registered participants. This year they were issued with special ID cards.
Other mah song cut their tongues, climb blade ladders, and walk across hot coals. Most of the events are accompanied by bursts of firecrackers.
The warriors are advised each year to limit the items they use to pierce their cheeks to small, traditional sizes.
This year, the festival was advertised on large billboards around the island that included a photograph of Phuket's Governor, Wichai Praisa-nob, running across hot coals.
He is believed to have performed the feat in a previous post as governor of the neighboring province of Phang Nga.
During the festival, large crowds, dressed in traditional white, swarm across Phuket each day, particularly around the 18 Chinese temples, where food stalls spring up.
Thousands of residents and people who come to see the events give up meat, alcohol and sex for the nine days. The festival had its beginnings in 1825.
Phuket's Best Day at the Beach: Photo SpecialSpectators gasped in horror as the man's traditional apron and white pants caught alight as he lay on the coals, face down.
While bystanders were quick to react and drag him from the pit of hot coals, he appeared to have suffered serious burns.
A dramatic photograph in Thairath newspaper today shows the man on the coals at the Tharua temple, not far from the Heroines' Monument in Thalang.
One spectator is pictured moving to his rescue.
A spokesperson for the Public Health department said today that the man would survive but faced an extensive period in hospital and a long recuperation.
He is in Vachira Hospital, with deep burns that have reached his muscles in parts.
Safety of participants in the nine-day festival is always a prime concern because of the nature of the purification rituals.
''Spirit warriors,'' known as mah song, are possessed by gods who arrive from the sea at the opening of the festival, and who are driven away when the festival concludes.
Piercings, mostly through the cheeks, are performed by around 350 registered participants. This year they were issued with special ID cards.
Other mah song cut their tongues, climb blade ladders, and walk across hot coals. Most of the events are accompanied by bursts of firecrackers.
The warriors are advised each year to limit the items they use to pierce their cheeks to small, traditional sizes.
This year, the festival was advertised on large billboards around the island that included a photograph of Phuket's Governor, Wichai Praisa-nob, running across hot coals.
He is believed to have performed the feat in a previous post as governor of the neighboring province of Phang Nga.
During the festival, large crowds, dressed in traditional white, swarm across Phuket each day, particularly around the 18 Chinese temples, where food stalls spring up.
Thousands of residents and people who come to see the events give up meat, alcohol and sex for the nine days. The festival had its beginnings in 1825.
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