FAKIRS’ FEATS.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3333, 9 August 1926, Page 2

FAKIRS’ FEATS.

Ball man Bey, an Egyptian fakir, who recently came to Europe to demonstrate "the beliefs of his cult and to show “that the human will, when properly exercised and controlled, can obtain'almost unlimited ascendancy over the body,” arrived in London by air. Subsequently, writes a special representative of tile “Morning Post,” before an audience of fifty, he performed won- ' Tiers of the kind that one reads about but never expects to sec. Throwing himself into a state of catalepsy, his body sprung itself into rigidity with the backbone bent backwards into a bow. In this state he lay on sharp-edged supports under his ankles and his neck. In a dazed condition of semi-trance he stuck needles through his checks, his arms, and his breast, without drawing blood. He hypnotised kicking rabbits into bodies as stiff as a board. IVa hypnotised a man into singing and dancing like an animated puppet. Stripped to .the waist, he lay on a bed of nails, with a man standing on his stomach. Finally he gave the most remarkable exhibition of thoughtreading that has probably ever been witnessed in London. His first experiment was wonderful, but repellent. He stood with both hands over his eyes, spasmodic quivers shaking his body from head to foot. Then suddenly there was a convulsive shudder, a horrid hissing intake of breath, and his body sprung into a bow, backwards, like a spring that has been released. At the same time he fell, and waiting assistants caught him and balanced him on his ankles and his neck on two inverted half-moon shaped knife edges. He stayed thus for two minutes. Then with another sharp intake of breath he regained a condition of semi-conscious-ness, his whole body quivering for a while. In this condition he took the needles from his assistants and with as little emotion as a lady sticking pins into a ’ cushion lie stuck them through his cheeks on both sides, right through the mouth. With no sign of pain he pinched tip llesh over each breast and stuck needles through it to the depth of a quarter of an inch. Ho did the same on his biceps. Skewered with the needles lie walked calmly about the room, and then as calmly removed them. Except in the case of the biceps, where a tiny spot of blood appeared, there was nothing to show where the needles had been inserted. No blood flowed, though he explained through his interpreter that if lie had" relaxed mental control it would have done so. Then, with the nonchalance of a man retiring for (he night he lay on the bed of nails. There was no trick about those nails. 1 pricked my linger with one. A heavy young man then stepped on his stomach, pressing the naked llesh hard on to •the spikes, which were spaced every two inches. Afterwards I examined his back, and though naturally enough there were slight indentations in the skin, it was quite unbroken all over. The indentations, however, showed the pressure with which his back had been forced on to the nails. Then came the thought-reading experiments. These, it was explained, depende j on the extraction by the fakir of the “magnetic fluid” of the person whose thoughts were read. If this was lacking the experiment would not: work. In the first experiment a journalist wrote down on paper that he wished the fakir to go up to a colleague in the audience and remove his cigarette holder. The paper was passed round the audience, but neither the fakir nor his assistants saw it. The Journalist was then told to concentrate on the matter on hand, and the fakir commenced to dance in front of him. waving his arms with staccato passes. For all the world he was like a butterfly dodging from flower to flower as he danced across the room, his “medium,” the journalist, following. From time to time lie would stop, his arms flickering round the “medium,” as if seeking to extract the “magnetic fluid.” Finally, he danced up to the man whose name was written on the jtaper, and removed his pocket book. When it was explained to him that he had got the wrong object he danced back and seized the cigarette holder. With a woman as “medium” lie danced across the room and took a glass off the piano. With another man as “medium,” who was a friend of mine, and who in this case did not confide the thought lie was concentrating on to anyone, he danced round and round , the room. As he approached me I. kept, edging away to let him pass. Finally he cornered me, plucked the watch from my pocket and showed my friend the lime. I'erfedly blindfolded, with the assistance .of the concentrated thoughts of his audience he followed accurately a wavy-chalk line on the carpet, and then read' with speed and accuracy the name “Turin,” which was written at the end of it. This was, perhaps, the most impressive of all the tests, though the least spedaeular. Rahman Bey hails from Eritrea, and is twenty-six, and from birth lie has been trained as a fakir. He is a member of Hie “Chains” or Egyptian Psychic Union. It is stated that he has been sentj by this body to the West to make converts to Fakirism, which he claims is not only a science but a religion. He claims that his object is to fight “the curse of materialism” in the West.