Fakir Imamuddin, 1865 (c)

Watercolour by a Company artist, Punjab, 1865 (c).

The term 'fakir' was used by the British to describe a whole variety of South Asian Sikh, Hindu and Moslem ascetics and teachers such as sadhus, gurus and Sufi mystics. It was also used to describe street entertainers who performed feats of magic and endurance such as walking on hot coals or lying on a bed of nails.

From the second of two volumes of watercolours titled, 'The Kingdom of the Punjab. Its Rulers and Chiefs', 1865 (c).