Faquirs de l'Hindoustan.
Artist unknown., At head of title: Asie
- Abstract
- Depicts four Faquirs: one sits with his legs crossed and his hands joined above his head; another holds one arm raised in the air; a third lies on a bench with sharp iron spikes; and a fourth is chained by the neck to a tree., Faquirs have only a piece of cloth for clothing, equipped with a stick and a rosary, they roam the country, wander from temple to temple and live on alms. The Nanek-Pounthys Faquirs are distinguished by a remarkable singularity; they never wear anything but a moustache and a shoe. They claim that the laws of their sect give them the right to overwhelm with insults and curses those who refuse to give them alms, and as the Hindus are more sensitive to insulting words than to ill-treatment, it is rare that this method is unsuccessful. The penances to which the Faquirs submit themselves are so rigorous that they appear incredible, and some of them can be considered as a torture prolonged during the course of an entire life. One has taken a vow to continually hold one arm raised in the air; his hand is closed and it is pierced from side to side by his nails, which, having become of an excessive size, have entered the flesh. Another constantly holds his hands joined above his head, and his legs crossed. This one has for a bed a bench furnished with sharp iron spikes, which penetrate his flesh. That one has had himself chained by the neck to a tree and has condemned himself to remain in this awkward position for the rest of his life. Some undertake, in a spirit of mortification, pilgrimages from one temple to another, but they have forbidden themselves the use of their legs and they travel routes of several hundred leagues rolling on the ground. (From Moeurs et coutumes, page 7.)
- Date
- 1811?
- Department
- Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections
- Dimensions
- image 14 x 11 cm, sheet 27 x 21 cm
- Genre
- engravings (prints)
- Last Modified
- 2025-10-27T16:43:15.749971Z
- Language
- French
- Materials
- 1 print : hand-colored
- Notes
- Title from caption. (Local Note), Trimmed within plate mark on left side. (Local Note)
- Provenance
- Library copy from the library of Donald K. Adams and Lawrence D. Stewart
- Related Material
- Appears in: Moeurs et coutumes des peuples, ou, Collection de tableaux répresentant les usages remarquables, les mariages, funérailles, supplices et fêtes des diverses nations du monde. De l'imprimerie de Me Ve Jeunehomme. Paris : Chez Madame Veuve Hocquart, 1811. Tome 1., References: Moeurs et coutumes des peuples, ou, Collection de tableaux représentant les usages remarquables, les marriages, funérailles, supplices et fêtes des diverses nations du monde.
- Rights Statement
- No Copyright - United States
- Series
- Donald K. Adams and Lawrence D. Stewart Collection of Prints--Moeurs et coutumes des peuples, ou, Collection de tableaux répresentant les usages remarquables, les mariages, funérailles, supplices et fêtes des diverses nations du monde.
- Subject
- Fakirs, Asceticism--Hinduism, India
- Technique
- engraving (printing process)
- Attribution
- Courtesy of Northwestern University Libraries, The works on this web site, from material in the collections of the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections of Northwestern University Libraries, are provided for use by its students, faculty and staff, and by other researchers visiting this site, for research consultation and scholarly purposes only. Further distribution and/or any commercial use of the images from this site is not permitted.