The annual Indonesian festival of Adhi Maha Puja sees Hindu devotees pierce their cheeks and backs with metal hooks and rods as they worship their gods.<br /><br />Footage filmed on August 2, south of Medan shows several locals getting their cheeks pierced with a long metal rod as well having numerous hooks attached to their back.<br /><br />Pastor Matha Riswan said: "On this day we are celebrating Adhi Thiruvila Maha Puja, in which the Hindu community, especially Hindu Tamils, believes that this Adhi month occurs in summer, which was once a ritual in ancient India that we preserve today.<br /><br />"During the COVID-19 pandemic we continued to carry out but we tried to simplify these activities in order to maintain our togetherness without reducing religious values."
