Rafai Fakirs, Hyderabad - No.3

Further scenes of the Muslim sect’s self-mutilation practices, filmed in late-1920s India

This is the third of four films shot by E.H. Hunt as part of his research into the self-mutilation practices of the Rafai Fakirs, a Muslim sect in Hyderabad, southern India. This film features further scenes of extreme piercing – including through the neck - and the group’s signature eyeball gouging. Not for the faint hearted!

Edmund Henderson Hunt (1874-1952) was Chief Medical Officer of the Nizam's State Railway, Hyderabad, from 1903-31. Hunt’s papers and photographs relating to the Rafai Fakirs can be found in the National Archives.