Many years ago there lived in a village on the banks of the Indus River an old Fakir, by the name of Shah BilÂwal. Like most of his class he was living a life of mortification, frequently torturing himself; and the few garments that he wore were rotten and dirty. This old Fakir was one day crossing the River ChenÂb in a boat with a number of other persons who were also bound for the other side.

After the boatmen had pushed off and had got well into the stream, they all fixed their eyes on the Fakir, who they thought was a mad man; for his appearance made him look like one.

Some of the company in the boat belonged to a class called “BhÂnds,” and the boatman said to them “Cannot some one of you perform some act that will please the Spirit of the River “Kwaja Khizr,” so that we may reach the opposite shore in safety?”

Upon this, some of the BhÂnds began to snigger and laugh at the Fakir, and tried to ridicule him in every possible way; but Shah BilÂwal, who was a devout man after his class, passed all their sneers away and took no notice of them.

Mockery, however, in Oriental philosophy, and in the traditions of all people, we know is looked upon with contempt.

A voice came to the Fakir, “Are these mockers to be destroyed?” and he replied audibly, “No! make them sensible people to respect their Allah,” the Almighty.

Before they had arrived at the opposite shore they desisted from their fun and frolic, and paid all due respect to the Fakir, and became his followers ever afterwards.

In the course of time they all died, and their graves are to be seen in the village of “LalliÂn,” in the district of Jang.

EXPLANATORY NOTES.

“Fakir.”—So often described that little new can be really said. There are both Mahomedan and Hindu Fakirs. They are indeed ascetics and recluses, or monks who have retired from the world in all its temporal concerns, and have devoted themselves to a religious life.

Ordinarily they are poor men, and so they are mostly represented to be; but some of them are known to possess great wealth, and many are even landed proprietors. Some live in solitude, others in communities under a leader or ruler, and the house they congregate in is called a “Guddi,” literally, a seat or cushion, on which the head of the community sits.

The Mahomedan Fakirs in the district may be divided into, say four leading sects, viz., the Chishti, Nuksh-Bhudee, Kadria, and Malang. There is also a sub-division denominated “Majzub,” from the Arabic word “juzb,” which means absorbed. These latter, however, do not keep to the strict rules of Mahomed, and are known to take intoxicants to a great degree, and are called by the natives, “Ghair Sherrah,” or outside the pale. In the case of the Malang it was customary for them to go about in a state of nudity, but this has been prohibited for some time, and they now go about with hair loose and uncombed.

The Hindu Fakirs may be said to be sub-divided into three prominent sects, viz., the Sunyasis, the ByrÂgis, and the Jogis. These three classes, and other sub-divisions also, have much in common, being all ascetics, and striving to attain a command over all elementary matter, while also endeavouring to effect a junction between the spirit in the body and the spirit pervading all Nature. The Sunyasis are followers of Siva, and the ByrÂgis of Vishnu, while the Jogis, who also worship Siva, are close followers of the “Yoga” school of philosophy, which was introduced into India about the eighth century, under the name of the “Palanjula” school.

There is a peculiarity about the garments of the latter class, which are dyed with red ochre (geyru). Their body is smeared with the ashes of burnt cow-dung, as are indeed the bodies of most of the other two classes.

There is a sub-division of the Jogis named “Kanpathay,” or “ear-torn,” from the fact of their ears being pierced at their initiation, in which they place sometimes a ring made from rhinoceros horn, or at other times a prickly seed, called a “Moodma.” Those who do not bore the ear are often called “Ongur.”

The ByrÂgis, or more correctly Viragis, use a short stick, on which they lean to support themselves when reclining on the ground. The stick is mostly crooked, and they place it beneath the arm-pits. It is called a ByrÂga, by some a “Zafr-tukeea.”^[1]

Many of the Jogis bury their dead in a sitting posture, and place rock salt round the body. Some of these Hindu Fakirs carry medicines, and others again, water from the Ganges for sale. One may meet with many also with a dry gourd slung over their shoulders, with the upper part cut to act as a sort of handle. These gourds are frequently covered with the ashes of cow-dung when in growth, and are allowed to remain until they are ripe with seed, so that they may be as hard as possible in the rind.

The “Gosains” are also a numerous sect of Hindu mendicants. The etymology of the word is from the Sanskrit, and means “Master of the senses and passions.” They are to be found mostly in Southern India. A complete Gosain is a celibate, and will only eat with a Brahman or Rajpoot. Some of them have considerable property, and keep elephants and horses.

“BhÂnd.”—Literally a clown or buffoon, employed often to make sport at festivals and other assemblages of the people.

“Spirit of the River.”—River worship is common amongst most Aryan tribes, and nearly every river has its tutelary divinity who presides over it. The voice would, in the belief of the Fakir, have come from this Spirit.

The practice of religious veneration for rivers by these races no doubt preceded that given to them by the ancient Greeks and Romans. We read of Xerxes of Persia offering sacrifices to the River Strymon, on his way to Greece.

Kwaja Khizr, a Mahomedan Saint, is acknowledged to be the special god of water, with whom it is well to keep on the best of terms. In one of their trite sayings they express themselves thus:

“What! live on the River bank, and be at enmity with Kwaja!”

Opposite to Rohri, on the Indus, is the Island of Khawja Khizr, and there is now a Mosque on it, with an inscription dated 952 A.D.

The Mahomedans, on Thursdays in the month “Bhadon,” float little lamps on rafts called Berah, as an offering to this Saint. Sometimes they have the face of a female, and the crest and breast of a peacock at the prow.

Kwaja Khizr is thought by Moslems to be immortal, and to perambulate the earth in a green garment, and to appear to different people. By some he is supposed to be St. George of England, and they term him Khizr Elias.