Trance per prepararsi alle spade

(AP Photo/David Longstreath)

Devotees of the Chinese Shrine Bang Neow work themselves into a trance-like state at the Vegetarian Festival Friday, Oct. 23, 2009, in Phuket, Thailand.
The annual festival traces its origin back to the early 1800’s when Chinese tin miners and others who had been stricken with disease recovered by adhering to a strict vegetarian diet.