Every Fakir must have a Murshid or preceptor, and be initiated by
him. This applies also to boys born in the order, and a father cannot
initiate his son. The rite is usually simple, the novice having
to drink sherbet from the same cup as his preceptor and make him a
present of Rs. 1-4; but some orders insist that the whole body of
a novice should be shaved clean of hair before he is initiated. The
principal religious exercise of Fakirs is known as Zikr, and consists
in the continual repetition of the names of God by various methods, it
being supposed that they can draw the name from different parts of the
body. The exercise is so exhausting that they frequently faint under
it, and is varied by repetition of certain chapters of the Koran. The
Fakir has a _tasbih_ or rosary, often consisting of ninety-nine beads,
on which he repeats the ninety-nine names of God. The Fakirs beg
both from Hindus and Muhammadans, and are sometimes troublesome and
importunate, inflicting wounds on themselves as a means of extorting
alms. One beggar in Saugor said that he would give every one who gave
him alms five strokes with his whip, and attracted considerable custom
by this novel expedient. Some of them are in charge of Muhammadan
cemeteries and receive fees for a burial, while others live at the
tombs of saints. They keep the tomb in good repair, cover it with
a green cloth and keep a lighted lamp on it, and appropriate the
offerings made by visitors. Owing to their solitude and continuous
repetition of prayers many Fakirs fall into a distraught condition,
when they are known as _mast_, and are believed to be possessed of
a spirit. At such a time the people attach the greatest importance
to any utterances which fall from the Fakir's lips, believing that
he has the gift of prophecy, and follow him about with presents to
induce him to make some utterance.