The fakir or faqir (/fəˈkɪər/; Arabic: فقیر (noun of faqr)) Derived from faqr (Arabic: فقر, "poverty") is a Muslim Sufi ascetic in Middle East and South Asia. The Faqirs were wandering Dervishes teaching Islam and living on alms.
The term has become a common Urdu, Bengali, and Hindi byword for "beggar". The term has also been used to refer to Hindu and Buddhist ascetics (e.g., sadhus, gurus, swamis and yogis). These broader idiomatic usages developed primarily in the Mughal era in India. Calanus, a Hindu Naga sadhu of 4th Century B.C., whom Greek named as gymnosophists is often called as Fakir by historians.
There is also a now a distinct caste of Faqir found in North India, descended from communities of faqirs who took up residence at Sufi shrines.
Historically, the terms tasawwuf, Sufism, faqr, faqer (noun of faqr) were first used (with full definition) by Husayn ibn Ali who was the grandson of Muhammad.[citation required] He wrote a book "Mirat ul Arfeen" on this topic, which is said to be first book on Sufism and tasawwuf. However, under Ummayad rule, neither could this book be published nor was it allowed to discuss tasawwuf, Sufism or 'Faqr' openly. For a long time, after Husayn ibn Ali, the information and teachings of 'faqr', tasawwuf or Sufism, kept on transferring from heart to heart.
Fakir Musafar (born Roland Loomis, August 10, 1930 in Aberdeen, South Dakota) is considered the father of the modern primitive movement. He has experimented on his own body with body modification techniques such as body piercing, tightlacing, scarification, tattooing, and suspension, and has documented, shared and taught others as part of his life's work making him an underground icon in BDSM, kink and fetish communities.
At age four Musafar claimed to have experienced dreams of past lives. He gave himself his first body piercing when he was twelve. He performed the O-Kee-Pa suspension in 1966 or 1967. His first public appearance as Musafar was at the First International Tattoo Convention in Reno, Nevada in 1977.[citation needed]
Musafar has documented and shared his explorations in writing, speaking and teaching others "body play". In the early 1990s, Musafar appeared in mainstream media shows like NBC's Faith Daniels Show, CBS's People Are Talking, CNN's Earth Matters and Discovery Channel's (Beyond Bizarre). In 1998 Musafar produced documentary segments for London Weekend Television's Southbank Show and Playboy Television's "Sexcetera". In 2000, 2001 and 2003 he has appeared in documentaries for The Learning Channel (Human Canvas Part I and Part II), TBS, FX Channel and Discovery Channel plus a major appearance in the 2001 documentary film "Modern Tribalism". In 2004 became a spokesperson for the National Geographic Channel's Taboo (TV series) and has expressed "radical contemporary" views on body rituals on the Travel Channel's "Eye of the Beholder" series hosted by Serena Yang.
Fakir sat down on his carpet, mysteriously grumbling
The crowd began to throw him money, and angrily snarling
He was like a mummy, and he stood up when
He picked up the money, and sat down again
The crowd was rooted to the spot, Fakir continued grumbling
He was like a mummy, and he stood up when
He picked up the money, and sat down again
He was like a mummy, and he stood up again