Why is he doing this?

OMG! This looks so bizarre! Does anybody know why the hell is this guy doing this to himself and why are all of these people standing right beside him and doing nothing but watching this poor fella hurting himself? It seems to me like religious thing, because only the religion has such a power to make people do painful and foolish things. Anyway, if anyone knows what is going on in these photos below please let me know. Thanks!