“_Fakir._”—So often described that little new can be really said. There
are both Mahomedan and Hindu Fakirs. They are indeed ascetics and
recluses, or monks who have retired from the world in all its temporal
concerns, and have devoted themselves to a religious life.
Ordinarily they are poor men, and so they are mostly represented to be;
but some of them are known to possess great wealth, and many are even
landed proprietors. Some live in solitude, others in communities under a
leader or ruler, and the house they congregate in is called a “Guddi,”
literally, a seat or cushion, on which the head of the community sits.
The Mahomedan Fakirs in the district may be divided into, say four
leading sects, viz., the Chishti, Nuksh-Bhudee, Kadria, and Malang.
There is also a sub-division denominated “Majzub,” from the Arabic word
“juzb,” which means absorbed. These latter, however, do not keep to the
strict rules of Mahomed, and are known to take intoxicants to a great
degree, and are called by the natives, “Ghair Sherrah,” or outside the
pale. In the case of the Malang it was customary for them to go about in
a state of nudity, but this has been prohibited for some time, and they
now go about with hair loose and uncombed.
The Hindu Fakirs may be said to be sub-divided into three prominent
sects, viz., the Sunyāsīs, the Byrâgis, and the Jogis. These three
classes, and other sub-divisions also, have much in common, being all
ascetics, and striving to attain a command over all elementary matter,
while also endeavouring to effect a junction between the spirit in the
body and the spirit pervading all Nature. The Sunyāsīs are followers of
Siva, and the Byrâgis of Vishnu, while the Jogis, who also worship Siva,
are close followers of the “Yoga” school of philosophy, which was
introduced into India about the eighth century, under the name of the
“Palanjula” school.
There is a peculiarity about the garments of the latter class, which are
dyed with red ochre (geyrū). Their body is smeared with the ashes of
burnt cow-dung, as are indeed the bodies of most of the other two
classes.
There is a sub-division of the Jogis named “Kānpathay,” or “ear-torn,”
from the fact of their ears being pierced at their initiation, in which
they place sometimes a ring made from rhinoceros horn, or at other times
a prickly seed, called a “Moodma.” Those who do not bore the ear are
often called “Ongur.”
The Byrâgis, or more correctly Virāgis, use a short stick, on which they
lean to support themselves when reclining on the ground. The stick is
mostly crooked, and they place it beneath the arm-pits. It is called a
Byrâga, by some a “Zafr-tukeea.”[1]
Many of the Jogis bury their dead in a sitting posture, and place rock
salt round the body. Some of these Hindu Fakirs carry medicines, and
others again, water from the Ganges for sale. One may meet with many
also with a dry gourd slung over their shoulders, with the upper part
cut to act as a sort of handle. These gourds are frequently covered with
the ashes of cow-dung when in growth, and are allowed to remain until
they are ripe with seed, so that they may be as hard as possible in the
rind.
The “Gosains” are also a numerous sect of Hindu mendicants. The
etymology of the word is from the Sanskrit, and means “Master of the
senses and passions.” They are to be found mostly in Southern India. A
complete Gosain is a celibate, and will only eat with a Brahman or
Rajpoot. Some of them have considerable property, and keep elephants and
horses.
“_Bhând._”—Literally a clown or buffoon, employed often to make sport at
festivals and other assemblages of the people.
“_Spirit of the River._”—River worship is common amongst most Aryan
tribes, and nearly every river has its tutelary divinity who presides
over it. The voice would, in the belief of the Fakir, have come from
this Spirit.
Footnote 1:
Literally a Pillar of Victory. See “Qanoon Islam” for tribes of
Fakirs.
The practice of religious veneration for rivers by these races no doubt
preceded that given to them by the ancient Greeks and Romans. We read of
Xerxes of Persia offering sacrifices to the River Strymon, on his way to
Greece.
Kwaja Khizr, a Mahomedan Saint, is acknowledged to be the special god of
water, with whom it is well to keep on the best of terms. In one of
their trite sayings they express themselves thus:
Khuddhee thay vusnah
Thay Khawja hat baiyr!
“What! live on the River bank, and be at enmity with Kwaja!”
Opposite to Rohri, on the Indus, is the Island of Khawja Khizr, and
there is now a Mosque on it, with an inscription dated 952 A.D.
—(_See Crooke, Murray, and Balfour_).
The Mahomedans, on Thursdays in the month “Bhādon,” float little lamps
on rafts called Bērah, as an offering to this Saint. Sometimes they have
the face of a female, and the crest and breast of a peacock at the prow.
Kwaja Khizr is thought by Moslems to be immortal, and to perambulate the
earth in a green garment, and to appear to different people. By some he
is supposed to be St. George of England, and they term him Khizr Elias.
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