The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1909-03-18
. FAKlRs OF INDIA.
One Who Tortured Himself Upon
Bed Of Spikes.

In India there are numerous pen.
itents Of different sects, called ''Fa.
keers," 'Yogccs," "Tadins,' "Pan.
daroons," ETC., who make a VOW to
live at the expense of the public
and travel about begging, says the
New York Press. The Fakeers are
Mussulmans, cunning, hypocriticaI
and impudent. They do all sort:
of silly stunts and are altogether
disgusting lot. Sometimes they as,
semblc in troops of 5000 or 10000
levying contributions wherever they
60. The total number of Fakeers
in British India is about 100000.
Among the various brands OF
breeds of Fakeers you will find the
Dundee" the "Brumhucharee,
the "Ramatu," the "Voishnuvu'
and the genuine Mussulman Fakeer.
Many of the more enlightened Hin
docs, especially the Brahmans, hold
these mendicants in the utmost con-
tempt and have assisted the Brit
ish government as far as they dared
in putting them to work. On the
other hand, some rich property
owners treat the frauds with the
greatest reverence.
A few years ago there was a Fa-
keer who lay on bed of spikes
and took the name of Purrum Soa-
tuntre, which means "self posses
sion" or Independence" At the
age of ten this man began a life Of
self modification. He would lie
on thorns and pebbles. This tor
ture he kept up until he was twen-
ty, and then he wandered about as
a Fakeer, going from one holy
place to another. At one town he
shut himself up in cell, vowing to
do penance for twelve years. There
he remained until vermin gnawed
his flesh and left marks which last
ed through life. The rajah, taking
pity on him, opened the door of his
cell and bade him step forth. The
poor wretch was furious at this act
of sympathy and heaped curses
upon the rajah's head for breaking
in on him.
Torture was nothing to Purrum
Soatuntre. ''Give me a bed of
spikes" he cried, and the rajah,
frightened lest the curses of the
ferocious Fakeer should blight his
reign, complied. And this bed of
spikes became a sort of triumphal
car for Purrum. He set out imme-
diately on long journeys and was
drawn on this awful bed all around
the country for thousands of miles,
the poor Hindoos worshiping him
as god. He travelled in this way
for thirty-fve years.
Purrum was, however, not con-
tent with the supposed merit OF his
self torture on the bed of spikes.
He tried to put himself to greater
pain by causing water to fall on his
head day and night in the cold sea-
son, drop by drop, from pot with
holes in it placed over him, so that
he might be constantly uneasy, and
when the hot weather came he NOR
titled himself in an opposite man
ner by causing logs of wood to be
kept burning around him to make
his sufferings from the heat greater.
This wretch never earned a rupee.
Praoun Poury was the most re-
markable of all Fakeers. He held his
arms over his head until the circu-
lation of the blood stopped. His
nails grew to be talons, and his skin
seemed to grow to the bone, so that
the joints refused to work, and he
could never take his arms down
again. He sat with his legs tucked
under him till they became useless.
Every day he was brought out to a
public place and seated upon leop-
ards skin. The people came and
supplied him with the most delicate
food.