chins in pits, and thus remained for daj's ; others have imprisoned themselves for life in iron cages ; one has had his cheeks and tongue pierced with a sharp iron, kept in its place by another passing under the chin ; another would drag along a heavy chain, one link of which passed through the tenderest part of the body, the penis ; one bears on his neck a heavj' j'oke, with heavy weights in his hands ; another lies down on a bed of iron spikes; one suspends himself head down- wards over a fire until his scalp is burned to the lione ; another traverses long distances bj' rolling on the ground, receiving his food and drink from the hands of the people ; one makes the singular vow to perform a long journej'- by rolling himself along as a sort of cart-wheel : having for this purpose fastened his wrists and ankles together, and caused a tire, made of chopped straw, mud, and cows' dung, to be laid along the ridge of his back-bone, with a bamboo-stick passed through the angle made by his knees and el!>ows for an axle, he rolls himself to the first village on his route, where he is received with- demonstrations of joyous respect, and conducted to the tank or well for ablution. As- certaining what house of the village promises the 1 est cheer, thither he repairs, and there remains until the supplies fail. He then repeats the process of prepara- tion, and journeys to another place. Some fakirs have combined traffic with their religious pilgrimages, and 1)3' the exchange of valuable, yet easily transported ar- ticles, carried in their belts and clothing, have made great gains in the pelf of the world which thej' so much affect to despise. The lives of some, perhaps, comport with the spirit of sanctity and self-denial pro- fessed, but most of them are in secret addicted to gross vices, and whenever favorable opportunitj' offers, the pride and crueltj' of their hearts display themselves.
4. Literature. — Strabo, § 712-719 ; Arrianus, Indica, cap. xii ; Quintus Curtius, lib. viii, cap. ix ; Plutarch, Vita Alexandri ; Plinj', Hist. Nat. lib. "v-ii, cap. ii ; Cle- mens Alexandrinus, Stromata, lib. i, 305 d. ; Bolilen, Das Alte Indien; Coleman, Mytholor/i/ of the Hindus; Duff, India and Indian Missions ; ^\'ard, Hist. Literal. Mythology, etc. of the Hindus; Iconographic Enci/clojjcB- dia, iv, 12-13 (N.York, 1851); D'Herbelot, Biblioth'eque Orientale, s. v. Fakir and Calender ; Ennemoser, His- tory of Magic, i, 205-10 (Bohn's ed. 1854) ; India, Pic- torial, Descriptive, and Historical, p. 73, 115-119, 430 (Bohn's Hlustr. Librarj-) ; Iluft'ner, The Fathers of the Desert, i, 23-51. For pjirtorial illustrations, see Har- jKr''s Weeldy for 1857, p. 540, and Iconographic Ency- chpcedia, Plates to Mytholoqy and Relif/ioiis Rites, pi. 2, fig. 20, and pi. 3, fig. io, 11,' and 12. (J. W. M.)
Falaquera, SriEjt Tobias BEN-JosEni ben, a Spanish Jew of great learning, and a philosopher of the school of Maimonides, was born about 1228. Be- sides a work on The Relation of Religion and Philosophy, he wrote, in 12G3, ^L'p2"2n, the Inquirer (printed at Amsterdam, 1779). Later he wrote ITE:!! 0, Psychol- ogy (Amst. 1835), in which he follows the Arabic school of Aristotle's disciples; D'^'i't'^n riTl^U.", Ethics; and in 1280 a work on the philosophical parts of Mo- reh, n-iTcn fl'i'^^ (printed at Pressburg, 1837). We mention also r'^XZp rn:":, a work written in 1290 in defence of Maimonides.— ^Tost, Gesch. d. Judenthums u. seiner Sehten, iii, 27. (J. H. W.)
Falashas {Blach Jews), a large and peculiar race inhabiting the province of Semen, on the shores of the Tzana Sea, near Gondar and the mountainous regions of northern Abyssinia. The word Falaslui means ex- ile, and sufficiently indicates that thev were not na- tives of the soil. Thej' have a skin more or less dark, without possessing, however, the negro type, and speak l)Oth the dominant language of the country — the Ani- haric, and a dialect of the Agaon language. They possess the whole of the Jewish Canon (O. T. Canon) in the Gueez language (a sister language of the He-
FALCANDUS
469
FALCON"
t)rcw, Arabic, end Aramasan dialects, and from which the Amharic is derived), together with the apocryphal books accepted by the Abyssinian Church. Tlieir priests, who live round the inclosures of the temple (which are situated near the edge of the Falasha vil- lages and have more the appearance of the ancient sanctuary than the modern synagogue), observe the laws of purity with rigor, prepare their own food, and keep aloof from the world. Tliey are principally en- gaged ill the education of youth, making the Bible and the traditional practices the basis of their instruction. Tlie Falashas deviate from Jewish usages in many re- sp3Cts. Thus the fringed praying-scarf (taleth, q. v.), the phylacteries (q. v.), arc not used in their devo- tions. They retain tlie usage of offering sacrifices, but rather as commemorative ceremonies than as real Bacrilices ; the most common is the ottering for the re- pose of the dead. No sacrifices can be ottered on the Sabbath or on the day of atonement. The Falashas, with all other Jewish sects, hope for a return to the sacred city, Jerusalem. While polygamy is not for- bidden by law, it is nevertheless censured. The}' have a special hatred of slave-dealers, yet slavery is tolerated among them ; they instruct the slaves in the law of Moses, and manumit them on conversion. They are a very industrious race, and have the repu- tation of beiiig good formers. Thej' are also able war- riors (many fought under king Theodore in the late Abyssinian war), but are averse to commerce, which they consider an obstacle to fidelity and rigor in re- ligious observances. The Falashas were formerly gov- erned b}"- an independent prince, whose residence was in the fastness of Ainba Gideon, and it is only since 1800, after the extinction of the race of their original masters, that they have passed under the domination of the princes of Tigre. They claim that their ances- tors settled in Abyssinia as early as the time of Solo- mon, but it is likely that they came mucli later. The knowledge of Hebrew they- have lost. In 18G7, the central committee of the Jewish Alliance Univsrselle, ■which has its seat in Paris, sent M. Leon Halevy to Abyssinia to make a tour of exploration among the Falashas, and report on what miglit be done for their education, with a special view to counteracting the in- fluence of the Christian missionaries wlio had been sent out from India. After his return, M. Halevy made, in July, 18G8, a very interesting report on the Falashas, and announced the publication of an "Essay on the Falashah," which will undoubtedly be the first thorough work on the subject. He brought with him a j'oung Falashah, who will be educated in France. — ■ Pierer, Universal-Lexikon, vi, 79 ; Israelite, vol. xv, No. 21 and 25. (J. H. W.)