Fakir

A fakir (from Arabic فقير, DMG faqīr 'poor'; the stress can be on the first as well as on the second syllable) is today used to describe a follower of Islamic Sufism, i.e. a dervish. The term is also used for homeless and propertyless wandering Hindu ascetics, and for sadhus who demonstrate their sometimes bizarre arts before an audience. Colloquially, "fakir" refers to a person who, for show purposes, demonstrates how to do things that normally hurt a lot, seemingly without pain.

The term Faqīr comes from Arabic and has the meaning "poor, needy". In this meaning it occurs twelve times in the Qur'an. Another Arabic word for "poor" is Miskīn. The jurist Jabir ibn Zaid said that the difference between the two terms is that the Faqīr does not beg, while the Miskīn does.

On the one hand, many fakirs are members of religious orders, especially Islamic ones, who, through long practice, can produce special mental and physical states such as catalepsy. On the other hand, many jugglers use the superstition and sensationalism of the population to earn a living as fakirs with alleged "miracles" and "magic tricks".

In Europe, fakirs became known through the fakir board or fakir bed, a couch made of large carpenter's nails. The great astonishment of the population when the fakir rose from this "bed" without injury is, however, due to a simple physical principle, according to which the total weight is distributed relatively evenly over a very large number of nails and a wound is therefore almost impossible if there are enough nails and the weight of the fakir is low enough.

Dutchman Mirin Dajo (1912-1948) and Frenchman Ben-Ghou-Bey (1931-1990) became famous for public demonstrations in which they stabbed or had stabbed sharp objects through their bodies.

See also

• Acupressure Mat