The Amazing Stuff

When you think of a vegetarian festival, you probably picture something pretty innocuous, right? If that’s the case, you’re going to be surprised by what goes on at Thailand’s Vegetarian Festival in Phuket every year.

Celebrated by ethnic Chinese Thai, the festival is most famous for images that are more than a little disturbing to those of us who are on the outside looking in.

At first glance, this festival looks pretty normal.

Locals parade through the streets wearing colorful garb, and people from all walks of life get involved in the festivities.

Nothing to see here, right?

But take a closer look at that photo. If it looks like that guy is walking around with a sword pierced through his cheeks, it’s because he is.

Throughout this annual celebration, men, women, and children parade through Phuket with knives, swords, guns, and other bizarre objects pierced through their cheeks.

They’re even known to walk over hot coals in the process.

While it may seem insane to us, this is actually a deeply spiritual act.

The gesture symbolizes the idea that participants absorb the community’s sins by inflicting these wounds upon themselves.

In order to participate in the festival, which dates back to the late 19th century, people must abstain from eating meat, having sex, and consuming alcohol for its ten-day duration.

This is a time of spiritual cleansing and renewal that is extremely important for Thai citizens of Chinese descent.

Every October, people flock to the region to experience this intriguing celebration for themselves.

(via Mashable)

Even though it may be hard for us to understand why people would go to such lengths for a festival like this, it’s important to honor and respect the traditions of other cultures. Customs and rituals like the ones carried out during Thailand’s Vegetarian Festival are what make the human race great. We’re all completely unique in our traditions and beliefs, and that’s a beautiful thing.

All cultures have a way of celebrating the ones who have passed away. It might be funerals, it might be simply telling stories, or it might be the huge holiday we in the U.S. know as Halloween. But few come as close to the dead as the Ma’Nene festival that takes place in the Tana Toraja province of Sulawesi, Indonesia, where people spend quality time with their deceased loved ones — quite literally.

Ma’Nene is a festival of ancestor worship. When a person dies, their body is mummified using natural ingredients and buried in rock graves. This preservation allows for the family to come back an visit each year.

The festival, which has no set date but is usually held in late August, allows people to revisit their loved ones. This woman is having an emotional moment over the casket of her late husband.

But it goes further than just seeing the caskets.

The mummified bodies are removed from their coffins and lovingly tended to. This includes cleaning the bodies, removing their old clothes and giving them new ones.

Some of the bodies are even propped up so the family can gather around them, just as they would when the person was alive.

Looking into the face of death like this isn’t seen as scary or sad, but rather as a way to connect with death — and transcend it.

This mummy is especially heartrending — it’s a baby.

Dust and debris are removed from the body, and then the bodies are dressed. Their personal affects, like this man’s glasses, are kept, as well.

People so still respect the possible dangers of breathing in the dust, so many wear masks.

The photos you see here were taken by photographer Paul Koudounaris, who specializes in capturing the way different cultures approach, deal with, and celebrate death. This festival might seem macabre to people from other cultures, but to the people in Tana Toraja, it’s a heartfelt expression of a love that even death can’t conquer. “To the villagers it is sign of the love they still share for those who have passed on but are still present spiritually,” he explains. “It is a way of showing them respect by letting them know that they are still members of the family group, and still hold an important place in local society.”

Many people think looking into a face like this is frightening, but to the people in Tana Toraja, these are still the faces of their beloved relatives.

Ma’Nene might seem strange, maybe even distasteful, to those outside of this culture. But in a society that seeks to get as far away from death as possible, it’s refreshing to see people embrace and celebrate it so readily.

You can see more of Koudounaris’ photography on his website and Facebook page, and learn about the ways people all around the world honor their dead.

The end of summer signals the beginning of Japan’s annual rice harvest in the Niigata Prefecture. The only bad thing about it is that people are left with tons of unusable straw, which is called wara in Japanese. So what should you do with all that waste? Make art, of course!

On the last day of August, Niigata holds the Straw Art Festival, during which artists gather to create sculptures out of the material. These massive pieces adorn the fields until early November.

Amy Goda is one of the participating artists.

She’s an art student in Niigata, and she’s created several massive wara dinosaurs this year for the Straw Art Festival.

Of course, a few other creatures showed up, too.

The straw is attached to wooden frames, which gives artists the ability to create huge sculptures.

The technique for building them is similar to that of thatching cottages.

Success!

Some of the creations are insanely detailed.

Different methods are used to create different textures.

Here, the straw has been twisted and wrapped.

And they make for some great photos.

(via BoredPanda)

The sculptures are open to the public, and people are welcome to climb on them and interact with them when they visit Uwasekigata Park in Niigata City. You can see more images of the festival on Amy Goda’s Twitter.