PEOPLE: Mortification by Brian Brazeal. Caption: This man is an educated, successful and established gemstone trader. The last time I saw him he was singing, sweating and bleeding as a large gentleman pulled out his beard and mustache, grabbing large hanks of hair, yanking them free from his face and rubbing ash on the affected roots. Why? A religious reputation is crucial to success because the emerald business is conducted in cash. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are committed among traders without even a handshake. You can only get this kind of credit if you are recognized as devout. Self-mortification is vivid proof of piety. People are happy to entrust thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of gems and debts to this man’s care. Photo courtesy Brian Brazeal