This film is part of Free

Title of error

Rafai Fakirs, Hyderabad - No.3

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

Amateur film 1930 3 mins Silent

Overview

Warning: this film contain very explicit images of self-mutilation that you may find disturbing. 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.

Genres

Amateur film

Country

United Kingdom

Language

No Dialogue with English subtitles

Subjects

Watch for free

Villenour. (French India: Territory of Pondicherry) Villenour. (French India: Territory of Pondicherry)

Travelogue 1914 4 mins Silent

Gorgeously dreamlike colour images of (then) French India – present-day Puducherry

Watch for free

Uti 1925 Uti 1925

Amateur film 1925 15 mins Silent

Snapshots of colonial life around Tamil Nadu, plus a visit to the Toda tribe

Watch for free

Sir John Laing Missionary Films Madras & Ceylon Sir John Laing Missionary Films Madras & Ceylon

Amateur film 1947 18 mins Silent

Rare amateur footage of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka

Watch for free

Houseboating in Waltair Houseboating in Waltair

Amateur film 1926 13 mins Silent

The Uzielli family takes to the water in Visakhapatnam, southern India

Watch for free

Dancers at Trivandrum Gopinath Dancers at Trivandrum Gopinath

Amateur film 1946 7 mins Silent

Kathakali performance featuring the great Indian dancer Guru Gopinath, filmed in remarkable colour by ‘envoy of the Raj’ Clarmont Skrine

Watch for free

Cochin and Malarax Cochin and Malarax

Amateur film 1930 18 mins Silent

Amateur film capturing life and buildings in and around Kochi, in Kerala, south-west India.

Watch for free

Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A

Short interview 2024 24 mins

Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.

Watch for free

Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A

Short interview 2024 30 mins

Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.

Watch for free

Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell

Documentary 2024 42 mins

Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.

Watch for free

Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels

Short documentary 2024 12 mins

Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.