Body Piercing in “Modern Primitivism” and in Thailand's Vegetarian Festival: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Western “modern primitivists” and spirit mediums at the Vegetarian Festival in southern Thailand are the leading practitioners of body piercing in the contemporary world. This comparative study finds that they share a similar marginal social background and aspirations for individual distinction through body piercing, but differ radically in the cultural context, specific practices, and kinds of objects used for piercing. “Modern primitivists” are pierced by relatively small piercing objects, which combine with tattoos as part of their everyday attire. Entranced spirit mediums, believed to be possessed by Chinese deities, tend to be pierced by spectacular piercing objects, but only during the Chinese shrines' street processions in course of the annual Vegetarian Festival. In contrast to the “modern primitivists,” who are shunned by mainstream society, the spirit mediums are worshipped as deities by devotees, and constitute a major, but ambiguous attraction for foreign tourists: while piercings are “real,” and hence “authentic,” the sight of gruesome self-mutilation by some pierced mediums may offend the tourists' sensibilities. The article concludes with the observation that some “authentic” sights might be too hard for some tourists to bear and will hence repel rather than attract them. “Bearability” is thus a factor mitigating the attractiveness of such sights.