"A "holy man" on his bed of spikes. By torturing himself in this way, he believes he will go to the Hindu heaven without repentance for sin." A man dressed in rags with a necklace around his neck sits on a bed of spikes. This photograph is from an ...
"This Hindu "holy" man sitting on his bed of spikes has his forehead painted with a "sign of the beast". The two little idols in the foreground are worshipped by the Hindus." A gathering of men, women, and children watch a man who is sitting on a be...
"The foot sticking out over this man's shoulder is his own foot that he has twisted around. This is his idea of earning religious merit." A bald man sits on the ground dressed in rags with bracelets around his arm and necklaces around his neck. Thi...
"Another "holy" man who has taken a vow that he will never allow the finger nails of his left hand to be cut or broken." A man stands with wide eyes and hands openly facing the camera. The fingernails of his left hand are very long. This photograph...
"A balancing trick. To earn merit this man swings on a stretched wire and counts his prayer beads." A nude man lies on a single wire that is stretched between trees while he counts prayer beads. He is also wearing beads around his neck. This photo...
"A "holy" man on his bed of spikes which is so arranged that it can be pulled about." A nude, bearded man sits on a bed of spikes that has wheels on it so that it can be rolled around. Two other men sit near him and a cow stands to his right. This ...
"This man tortures himself by holding his breath. His nostrils and his mouth are stopped. He claims he can hold his breath 5 minutes." A man sits cross-legged on the ground with a robe wrapped around him. There is a wire fence in front of him. Th...
"A man having a hook fastened into the muscles of his back preparatory to the "hook swinging sacrifice"." A man with his back facing the camera is having a hook attached to his back. There are other men standing around, including a man who is pierci...
"Another man hanging by his knees with his head over a fire. He swings back and forth hoping by this torture to have his sins forgiven." A man dressed in rags hangs by his knees, swaying back and forth over a fire. There are many observers standing...
"The man in the center is hanging by his feet with his head over a slow fire." A man dressed in rags is hanging by his feet over a slow fire. There are many observers who stand around him in a semi-circle. This photograph is from an album prepared ...