The principal classes of Fakirs in the Central Provinces are
the Madari, Gurujwale or Rafai, Jalali, Mewati, Sada Sohagal and
Nakshbandia. All of these except the Nakshbandia are nominally at
least Be Shara, or without the law, and celibate.
The Madari are the followers of one Madar Shah, a converted Jew
of Aleppo, whose tomb is supposed to be at Makhanpur in the United
Provinces. Their characteristic badge is a pair of pincers. Some, in
order to force people to give them alms, go about dragging a chain or
lashing their legs with a whip. Others are monkey- and bear-trainers
and rope-dancers. The Madaris are said to be proof against snakes and
scorpions, and to have power to cure their bites. They will leap into
a fire and trample it down, crying out, '_Aam Madar, Aam Madar_.' [565]
The Gurujwale or Rafai have as their badge a spiked iron club with
small chains attached to the end. The Fakir rattles the chains of
his club to announce his presence, and if the people will not give
him alms strikes at his own cheek or eye with the sharp point of his
club, making the blood flow. They make prayers to their club once a
year, so that it may not cause them serious injury when they strike
themselves with it.
The Jalalias are named after their founder, Jalal-ud-din of Bokhara,
and have a horse-whip as their badge, with which they sometimes
strike themselves on the hands and feet. They are said to consume
large quantities of _bhang_, and to eat snakes and scorpions; they
shave all the hair on the head and face, including the eyebrows,
except a small scalp-lock on the right side.
The Mewati appear to be a thieving order. They are also known as
Kulchor or thieves of the family, and appear to have been originally
a branch of the Madari, who were perhaps expelled on account of their
thieving habits. Their distinguishing mark is a double bag like a
pack-saddle, which they hang over their shoulders. The Sada or Musa
Sohag are an order who dress like women, put on glass bangles, have
their ears and noses pierced for ornaments, and wear long hair, but
retain their beards and moustaches. They regard themselves as brides
of God or of Hussan, and beg in this guise.
The Nakshbandia are the disciples of Khwaja Mir Muhammad, who was
called Nakshband or brocade-maker. They beg at night-time, carrying an
open brass lamp with a short wick. Children are fond of the Nakshband,
and go out in numbers to give him money. In return he marks them on the
brow with oil from his lamp. They are quiet and well behaved, belonging
to the Ba Shara class of Fakirs, and having homes and families.
The Kalandaria or wandering dervishes, who are occasionally met with,
were founded by Kalandar Yusuf-ul-Andalusi, a native of Spain. Having
been dismissed from another order, he founded this as a new one, with
the obligation of perpetual travelling. The Kalandar is a well-known
figure in Eastern stories. [566]
The Maulawiyah are the well-known dancing dervishes of Constantinople
and Cairo, but do not belong to India.
The different orders of Fakirs are not strictly endogamous, and
marriages can take place between their members, though the Madaris
prefer to confine marriage to their own order. Fakirs as a body
are believed to marry among themselves, and hence to form something
in the nature of a caste, but they freely admit outsiders, whether
Muhammadans or proselytised Hindus.