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.

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.

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.

"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."