INDIAN JUGGLERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 666, 3 September 1864, Page 5

INDIAN JUGGLERS.

[From London Society.]

we attend an exhibition of sleight-of-hand skill in this country, we c o to to the appointed place, knowing full well that the exhi tutor has provided means and appliances sufficient to baffle the keenest vision, and render detection all but impossible except to the initiated — that all the apparatus the conjuror employs is especially constructed for this end, and that the handsome table b hind which he stands ha? nothin«- in common with ordinary specimens of that useful moveable, except the " outward species and external accidents of the tabular nature. 1 ' Everybody knows that he has a confederate b isy behind the scenes, in assisting him to produce those wonderful (ransformationg, or palming on an unsuspecting public counterfeit duplicates of such articles as require more particular inspection or manipulation than could be well given them in view of the audience.

The Indian juggler goes on quite a different ! plan ; he never hab recourse to any of those useful accessories for deluding the spectators, but trusts to his own manual dexterity and sheer force of impudence for making one's" eyes contradict the evidence of their other senses. He comes into the verandah of your bungalow, or the patch of sand before your tent, and without further preliminary than a few salams commences the exhibition of his strength and skill. These people generally travel in troops, which vary considerably, not only in merit and number, but in the line they undertake; some confine their attention to feats of strength and dexterity ; others are mere buffoons, generally very tiresome : others are accompanied by women or boys dressed up to represent them, who dance and perform sundry antics hardly admissible at court. Animals of different kinds also take part in the performance, first by patiently submitting to have their heads cut oftj then stuck to their tails, and finally replaced in their original position; and afterwards, to prove their perfect recovery, goiug through a variety of tricks. Let me introduce the reader to an ordinary paity of jugglers which presented themselves to me one tepid evening as I sat outside my tent, attired in a style which might be called classical, as there was very little of it, and that little remarkably loose and easy. They consisted of three men and a little boy. All their sage propeities and needful apparatus were carried between two of them in a circular basket some three feet high, which appeared at first sight to be minus a lid, but which proved, on closer inspection, to hare a more fatal defectthat is to say, it was bottomless— the rounded shape of the other end evidently showing that it was not intended to rest upon the ground. Baskets of this kind are common in many parts of India, and are used to confine the erratic propensities of kids, fowl, and such like small deer, or are placed over grain or food of any kind to preserve it from their incursions. One of the two -whom the other." addressed as Roostum (the Indian Hercules)— having announced that he was universally allowed to be the strongest man in the universe, commenced operations by lying down, and having folded a cloth double, placed it on his bare chest, and allowed several good-sized stones to be broken thereon with a hammer, Then, standing up, he threw a heavy paving-stone up some twenty or thirty feet, and caught it as it came down on some part of his head, neck, or shoulder, which he had previously pointed out. This he repeated several times, and never failed to catch it exactly on the spot indicated. Of course he had some knack of breaking the fall, as otherwise it must have bruised him severely, or even stunned him when it fell on his head. He then procured from the cook-shop a large 104 of wood, intended to be cut up for firing. It was green'and heavy, about eight feet long, and the thickness of his own waist. Round the centre of this he fastened a piece of thin cotton rope, which he shifted until both ends were evenly balanced. He then went away a little distance, made a short run, and stooping down, seized the loose ends of the cord between his teeth, and with many uncouth yells and gesticulations, threw the log of wood clear over his head and several feet behind him.

A friend who dropped in just at this time made him repeat the tri k, which he did nearly in the same manner, except that he swung it backwar is and forwards several times before giving it the final throw, and we were both convinced that he did not touch it with either hand or foot, or in fact in any way except by the cord he held in his teeth. To look at the man who performed these feats you would say he was an active, loose-made fellow, but by no means athletic. He had none of the well-developsd muscle and starting sinews of an English prize fighter, and his calves were as nought compared to those of a stout navvy or a London porter ; nevertheless, he must have been in capital condition, as he did not appear in the least tired after performing these and many other feats, all of which he accompanied with muttered groans and various strange noises, probably to convince us how^ difficult they were, and to induce us to proportion our bucksheesh to the greatness of the exertion required. The boy was then brought forward— a plump, merry, well-fed little fellow, about nine years old. Whatever he may have cost his parents for eating, he certainly was not expensive in the item of clothes, as his entire costume consisted of an amulet, hung round his neck by a coloured string, to avert the evil eye, and a pair of very retroussee shoes. Having hrat asked him if he was afraid, which he at once denied, they tied him up in a kind of coarse net so tightly that his legs and arms appeared quite pinioned. Then having emptied the basket above mentioned of its miscellaneous contents, they placed it over him till the lower part touched the ground and completely hid him from view— a tight fit it seemed too. A Bpear was then thrust through the centre of the basket until its point protruded ac the other side, and the boy was asked if he was hurt. The reply, ' I am not hurt anywhere," appeared to come from some distauce. which was probably a bit of ventriloquism. After this the spear was withdrawn, and the basket lifted up, when the little fellow , was discocovered in precisely the same position as when it was put over him. The spear used on this occasion was one of the ordinary kind ; a wroughtiron head fitted to a handle made of a male hill bamboo, which is solid all through and very tou^h, while the female is hollow, except at the joints, and brittle. Economical housekeepers often convert the latter into a cheap and portable vessel for holding salt, fiour, &c, by sawing it off so that the solid part of the joint forms the bottom, scraping the inside smooth with a bit of glass, nnd hanging it up by a string fastened round the top. A swordsman then came forward to exhibit Lis ■

dexterity with the weapon, whirling it about in most alarming proximity to the heads and faces of Ins companions, and showing both force and address in the way in which he managed it. . He was most anxious to operate on a coat of mine which was teihered near, undertaking to cut it in two by a single blow. However, as the goat was an old friend and travelling companion, as well as a capital miker. I preferred keeping it in its undivided state, and was foolish enough to refuse the tempting offer.

The best thing he did was with a vegetable, something like one of our vegetable marrows, which one of the other men held for him at arm's length. Off this he shred several slices perfectly even and not much thicker than a penny piece. The remainder was then placed on the palm of the hand, and cut iv two by the other without drawing blood from the hand on which it was placed. This was not done very accurately, for as my friend observed, one-half was a good de;il larger than the other. The tulwar, or native sword, is a fearful weapon in skilful hands. It is very much curved from the centre up, broad, well-tempered, and keen as a razor. The scabbard is always wood or leather, as a metal one would dull the edge. Its shape not being adapted for thrusting, the point is never used, but a drawing cut invariably given, to assist which the gripe is small, am! handle narrow, lest it might turn in the hand. The natives are generally much more skilful in its use than our men, and sometimes wield it with an effect too terrible to be believed except by those who have witnessed it. I have several times seen a hand lopped away clean from the wrist, or a head cut off by a single blow. The head, however, is seldom severed completely from the body ; it generally remains attached to it by a small strip of cartilage, making the ghastly spectacle more hideous even than when the swift and silent guillotine has performed its bloody office.

The third man, evidently the leader of the party, was the last to come forward. His face looked young, though his hair was grey ; probably he had overtaxed his energies, and was paying tor it by premature ®M age. His limbs were so supple that they seemed as if all bones had been taken out of them, like a turkey dressed forsunper, and some pliable stuffing introduced instead, for he could bend and twist them into all imaginable postures. He approached nearer to the quadrumana than any human being I ever saw, being literally as handy with his feet as with his fingers. He possessed, also, an extraordinary power of isolating the volition which directed the motion of one set of muscles so as not to interfere with the action of another set. Thus, he could balance a spear on his head whilst he kept up a set of knives in the air ; or, squatting on the ground, he would keep up several different-colored balls with his hands, and a set of rings in motion with his feet, at the &tme time joining occasionally in his companions' conversation.

I should have mentioned that every new trick was ushered in by a dialogue, ostensibly secret and confidential, but as it invariably contained some allusion to the anticipated reward, and the propriety of making it a large one, I may perhaps be pardoned for listening, under the impression that it was intended for my ear. Take, as a sample, the way in which the last and perhaps best part of the performance was introduced. First juggler, loquitur— " Brother, you nre a very clever fellow. lam sure this illustrious gentleman must be greatly pleased."

" I hope io," quoth number two. " I would like to gratify him, for I have always heard he is so generous to poor folu like us." " True, my brothers," chimes in number three. " I have heard him praised everywhere for his condescension and liberality ; but 'what I see of him now far exceeds thp reports I heard. I am certain he will order us a good buksheesh." It is, of course, unnecessary to mention that the rascals had never heard of me in their lives and did not even know my name. One of them suggests that it would doubtless be very pleasant to me to have a tree growing near my tent whereupon I am appealed to, as to whether I would prefer a citron or a lime-tree, and also to point out exactly where I would wish it to grow. I decide in favor of the lime, and indicate the spot by dropping the ash of my cheroot about a yard away from the place where I had been sitting. The bottomless basket— as manifold in its uses as the cocoa- palm to a K_adrassee or reindeer to a Laplander— was again brought into requisition, placed over the snot selected, and covered with a cloth. Iv less than a minute the cloth was removed, and I was allowed to look in, when there appeared the stem of a young tree growing out of the sand, with a couple of bright fresh" leaflets making their appearance near the top. The covering was put on again and water poured over it to make it prow, and I was then given another peep through a hole in the top of the basket. The tree had grown considerably, and was covered with leaves and blossoms. The covering and watering process was repeated a third time, and when J was next permitted to look in there appeared a bona fide lime-tree, about two feet high, with fruit in various stages of maturity growing on it. The men were naked from the waist up, so that they could not secrete anything ia their sleeves or about their persons, and how they managed to perform this trick in so exposed a place, surrounded on every side by spectators is a mystery to me, but I have related it exactly as it occurred.

Besides those jugglers who confine themselves to thfir legitimate line— feats of legerdemainthere are an innumerable host of showmen, who remain at home only dnring the rains, and wander about dvi iug the rest of the year through all parts of India, reaping a scanty subsistence by gratifying public curiosity. Fortunately for those who sojourn there, street music, as practised with ire, is unknown. If it ever extends to the East, it mu«t prove a more intolerable nui-ance than hot winds, mosquitoes, and sand storms put together; for the natives possess several instruments, f twenty-organ power too excruciating in their shrill discordance to be home by any ear that has not been accustomed to them from childhood.

Katpootlee ( a nglice, wooden doll), nautches, or puppet-shows, are common, and often very cleverly done, as they embrace a much wider range of characters than the stereotyped performance of our Punch and Judy. But the thing in which natives excel is training animals, domestic or otherwise. AVith them time is not money, and their patience appears inexhaustible. They seldom lose their temper, and seem to delight in teaching; consequently, under their tuition, birds and animals exhibit a degree of docility seldom seen elsewhere. In the days when Pandies and mutineers were not synonymous, every regiment could have furnished birds enough to form an aviary. On the march, every hackery was covered with little oval tin cages, containing their

feathered favorites ; and you could not go near the lines of an evening without seeing pet birds generally parroquets or partridges — perched on their master's shoulder, or running after his heels like a dog. Having- mentioned the word " Pandies," which occurs so frequently in letters and accounts from India, it may be as well to explain what it means, without pausing to inquire whether the name was bestowed from that innate love of slang which characterises Anglo-Indian society, or because a recondite phrase always appears to convey more obloquy than a familiar one. The Brahmin tribe is subdivided into more than a hundred different castes, which, though all included in the generic term " Brahmin," are so distinct that they will not intermarry or eat with each other, and may be distinguished by their final name, which is common to every individual of the same caste. The commonest of these, the very John Smith amongst (he thrice-bora, is " Pandy," and hence the term is applied to mutineers in general, as about one-third of the late Bengal army was composed of Brahmins of various sorts.

A man bringing round a monkey and a goat may frequently be met with in all parts of India. The monkey, a wrinkled, sedate old fellow, has evidently made up his mind that it is his kisraut to suffer for other people's amusement, and goes through the most ludicrous antics with a gravity as immoveable as that of Mr Tupraan dancing a quadrille.

The goat is well trained too, and exhibits the most extraordinary power of retaining his equilibrium in the most difficult postures. Three or four pieces of wood, shaped like an hour glass, and each about eight inches high, are placed a top of each other, forminar so unstable a pillar that the slightest touch, or even a puff of wind, would upset it. There seems hardly space on the top for any quadruped to find footing there ; nevertheless, the f> oat manages to find room, and balances himself with apparent ease by placing all four feet close together. Bears are led about, who dance without any poetry in their motion, and fight most savagely without hurting each other, as they are kept muzzled, and their claws closely pared! They wrestle and then roll over each other, uttering most ferocious growls, stirring up a cloud of dust, and occasionally essaying to scalp their antagonist, which is a favorite and generally successful method of attack with them. It produces little apparent effect upon the tough hide and thick <>oat of one of their own species, but probably repeated attempts had established a raw there, as an assault of the kind always seemed to stir the other up to the most ungovernable fury, and showed that there is some reason for comparing a cross person to " a bear with a sore head."

There is another very interesting animal which I have seen exhibited in various parts of India, but regarding which I never could arrive at any satisfactory conclusion, nor did I ever meet any one who could solve the difficulty regarding it. It is a cow or bullock of the humped species common in Hindostan, led about by a fakeer, who makes a good tiling of it by exacting coin from all Hindoos as a tribute to the odour of his sanctity, which is generally strong enough to be unpleasantly apparent, and expecting from every one else some recompense for the pleasure of beholding him. The fakeer, when showing oft, delivers a kind of address to the spectators, and without changing his tone or looking at the animal, tell? them it is L-oiug to lie down, get up, make a salam, or pretend to be lame of a leg.^ill of which it instantly does ; but its docility and intelligence are not so surprisinjj as a peculiarity in the animal's formation. It i 3 so much bedecked with strings of beads, necklaces, and small bells, that you may not observe anything singular until the fakeer draws your attention "to a piece of skin hanging down by its shoulder. On examining more closely, you perceive there is growing out of the top of the hump what appears to be the skin of a diminutive calf. All is perfect except the head, down even to the tiny hoof which terminates each leg, and the boneless tale hangs down in empty helplessness like a hussar's dolman. 1 looked upon the first specimen I met as a lusus natural, and attributed it to some congenital malformation, but from" having met two or three others subsequently, of different colours and opposite sexes, I am leti to doubt whether this conclusion was quite correct or not.