Fakir Musafar

Modern or urban primitives are the people who are involved in the process of body thrusting, tattooing, girdle coaching, scarification, etc., the reasons for all this being, personal curiosity. Roland Loomis is prominently known as Fakir Musafar. According to him, his performances are proving the power of mind, beyond body limitations. The people who practice this art feel that it is a union of past and the future. Youth gather for this experience with laser and light special effects and remixed music. They dress themselves in old fashioned attires, thrusting their bodies with computer chips. They are famous for their practices on magic.

Fakir Musafar, recognized universally as the man of primitive body decoration and rites, has over 50 years of research experience in the art of body alterations. In his view, it is ‘body game’. Many books and articles have been published in this regard. Some of his interviews and authorship can be seen in collections and academic works in the electronic media and press.

A doctor by practice, he played a significant role in body relating patterns.

He started a training institute in California to train professionals in the art of body piercing and body intensifiers.

Fakir, who has regularly worked for National Geographic Magazine, feels that tribals are the role models and a source of inspiration and spirit for the days ahead. He is believed to have been gifted with some supernatural powers that enabled him to move anything, on his wish. He even experimented of going into trance to know the secrets behind the ritual practices. When he was in his early teens, he underwent his first piercing, thus enabling him to insert a ring into his skin. He wanted this to be permanent. He did this by using a bundle of needles, dipped in the ink and thrashing them into his skin. He often used holy symbols for this. When he was of 17 years of age, he fastened himself with ropes, attached to a wall and abstained from sleep for 24 hours. He even danced for several hours. After that he conducted more complicated practices of piercing and training the body. After practicing vigorously all alone for 30 years, he appeared before the public in 1970’s.

Fakir gave various lectures as well as demos in the year 2007. He wanted to familiarize the European audience with his performances. It is because, people who are overtaken by advances in technology and science, feel that, such practices are things of past, with no or less importance.

It was here that Fakir performed with hooks attached to his chest with several yoga poses. He became extremely popular in UK after this show was conducted.

Fakir owns a training institute and has over 40 years of experience in the art of branding and body piercing. He offers comprehensive courses for those interested in learning safe and convoluted marking and body penetrating art. His classes are limited to few and are conducted by skilled professionals. The students are required to attend the training for about five days, in the areas around San Francisco. On completion of the training, the trainees are awarded with an attractive certificate, revealing their expertise, in the course completed. The trainees receive all the necessary material and workbooks containing diagrams and drawings. They even get a safety manual on after concern solutions.
A doctor, an artist, master thrust and body changer, Fakir has played a substantial part in the resurgence of body cutting, body graving, stigmatizing and other body-related practices for personal expression, spiritual expedition, rites of conversion, restoring and body cutting and marking intensifiers, the only courses of instruction of their form in the world, and only such school recorded by the State of California as a career training institution.

Fakir holds a BSE degree from South Dakota University and MA degree from San Francisco State University. He held many positions as a teacher and physical instructor at various levels and made his first public appearance in International Tattoo Convention in Reno Nevada. Since then, he became famous for his works on body play. He even came out in many media shows like NBC’s Faith Daniels show, Beyond Bizarre for CNN, Body Mod Squad for Playboy. Many documentaries have been made on him for various channels. Famous amongst them was ‘Modern Tribalism’.

Fakir has been invited to speak, from various colleges and universities all over the world. Articles and journals have been published from the sources he has worked upon. Performance art, fetish and SM exploration are to name a few, under this category. He executed and lectured at many International art festivals like ICA in London and seminar at Copenhagen in the year 1995, Festival in Portugal, 1997 and Conference at the American College on changing the body and shamanism. He had a group of performers, who performed at Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Fakir loves to perform even today, to give performances, organize shamanic workshops, and for conducting branding classes on body piercing. He is also a good photographer, and has a record of his various performances over the time frame of 50 years. An art exhibition was held with a collection of Fakir’s performances at Klein Gallery in Los Angeles.

Fakir played a key role in the resurgence of body related patterns that are in existence in today’s world. He is a person known for his body alterations what is called piercing. Popularly known as father of modern primitives, who disagrees with the ideas of owning the body apart from soul. He spent most of his life in writing and explaining others about what he has learnt. Being a good photographer by interest, he shared most of his photos, which were displayed in art galleries in most parts of the world.

Even after acquiring much name and fame, he is humble enough to say that he is delighted to share the things he has mastered out of his own hardships and ex-Fakir loves to exchange his views, with those who are really interested.
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