51³Ô¹ÏÍø

Hindu Fakirs practising their superstitious rites, 19th century. 1) The Great Tree of the Banyans. 2) A pagoda of the idol Mamaniva, on one side of which Devotees are marked on the forehead with vermilion on the other side a Brahman takes their offerings of rice etc. 3) A pagoda of Ram. 4) Another pagoda dedicated to Ram. 5) A pagoda of retirement for the penitential Fakirs. 6) A cavern or close ditch impervious to the least gleam of day, except what passes through a little hole for that purpose, resorted to by a Fakir several times in the year. 7) A Fakir sleeping upon a cord. 8) Fakirs that remain all their lives in the same attitude, living by the charity of female devotees. 9) Several Fakirs consulted and invoked as Saints, by the women. 10) Various postures that some Fakirs are in several hours a day. 11) A Brahman with his nose and mouth muffled up, lest he should swallow the smallest insect in drawing his breath: he likewise sweeps the ground before him as he walks lest he should tread upon any worm or insect. 12) Fakirs warming themselves. 13) A Fakir feeding animals out of pure charity. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)