Influenced by the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket, Thailand, unconventional (non-religious / non-traditional) face piercings have found their way into Singapore's spirit medium tradition.Chinese spirit mediumship is a very different ballpark to spirit mediums in the West. First, it is strictly a temple based religious tradition where spirit mediums enter trance states, and this allows their soul to leave their body, leaving a void for a deity of their choice to enter. Maybe a god of medicine, the Goddess of Mercy, and nowadays, in Singapore and Malaysia, by deities from the Chinese Underworld (Hell – not the Mafia) tradition.
These Underworld deities come to preach morality, telling followers to “Be good now – or meet me later” (in the afterlife). When possessing their mediums, they are smart and humorous, and love to drink Guinness and Cognac - as usual, truth is stranger than fiction. My book “Voices from the Underworld” published by Manchester University Press covers this topic, as does my paperback "Chinese religion in contemporary Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan: The cult of the Two Grand Elders" (2022), both available on Amazon.
This spirit medium is possessed by the Underworld deity known as the 'Second Grand Elder', and to promote himself and his temple, he pierced his face with a fluorescent light tube. He attached a large battery to his belt, and whenever he entered another temple, he plugged the light into the battery and literally shone.
