Indian Conjuring ([1922])

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INDIAN CONJURING

My old friend SHAH MAHOMMED,

aged 87 years,

son of

GHAUS MAHOMMED, and grandson

who

died aged 75 years,

of

NUR MAHOMMED,

who

died at the age of 78 years.

All three were itinerant conjurors and The Rope Trick.

had never seen

INDIAN CONJURING

BY

MAJOR

L. H.

BRANSON

Indian

With 8

M.I.M.C.

Army

Illustrations

/

LONDON

GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS N:ew

YORK

:

K. P.

DUTTON &

LTD.

CO.

Printed in Great Britain by F. Robinson

&

Co., at

The Library

Press, Lowestoft.

7 dedicate

this

small volume

to

MY WIFE who has always been yny best audience and my keenest critic at the innumerable sleight-of-hand performances that I have

had

the

pleasure

of

giving

presence.

in

her

Portions

oj

this

hook were published

hy the

TIMES OF INDIA, ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY, by ivhose kind permission they are reprinted.

KSZ V

/->T/

-373 CONTENTS CHAPTER I.

II.

III.

IV.

A COMPARISON

...

THE CUP AND BALLS

.

.

THE BAMBOO-STICKS

.

.

THE RING ON THE STICK

.

THE GLASS BOX

VI.

VIII.

.23 .

26 32

.

.

35

.

•

•

39

THE COLOURED SANDS

.

.

.42

A ROPE TRICK

.

.

.

.46

THE SWASTIKA

.

.

.

.49

.

.

.

.

.

THE BOWL OF RICE

THE DANCING DUCK

.52 .54

THE MANGO TREE TRICK

.

.

THE BASKET TRICK

.

.65

.

IX.

THE INDIAN ROPE TRICK

X.

SNAKES AND CROCODILES

XI.

.16

.

THE EGG BAG VII.

PAGE

.1

....

THE BUNDER BOAT V.

3

57

.

.

76

.

.

89

GENERALITIES AND OTHER MYTHS

.

98

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

aged 87 years, son of Ghaus Mahommed, who died aged 75 years, and grandson of Nur Mahommed

My old friend Shah Mahommed, who

died at the age of 78 years.

All three

were itinerant conjurers and had never -

-

,

seen the rope trick

Front

Shah Mahommed singing Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay between two experiments

Facing page 10

...

Facing page 28

Preliminaries of the Restored Rope, the only rope trick that I have ever seen performed in India

Facing page 46

Shah Mahommed performing the egg bag

Facing page 52

Shah Mahommed with two Ring on the Stick

assistants for the

trick

The Dancing Duck, performed with an enamel bowl instead of the cocoa-nut

shell

The preliminary stage of the mango as shewn by Shah Mahommed Conclusion of the

mango

tree trick

-

1

Facing page 54

tree trick -

-

Facing page 60

-

-

Facing page 62

INDIAN CONJURING

CHAPTER

I

A COMPARISON the

Since

world

Magic

began

and

wizardy seem to have held a great fascination for mankind, an example being in the story of the Witch of Endor.

That

tendency has in no wise altered is clear from the popularity of conjurors, this

magicians who East or West, attract an audience

illusionists, still,

be

it

so easily

and

and so

so

called

surely.

This

little

written in the hopes that it of interest to the thousands

is

in India,

volume

may

prove

who

reside

and those other thousands who, 1

INDIAN

CONJURING

visiting its coral shores

often

how

discuss

wondering

Indian

the

tricks.

in

from time to time,

conjuror

amazement

performs

It is also written to

his

uphold the

reputation of the Western conjuror against the spurious ascendency held by his

Eastern confrere. Before describing the many well known " house to tricks that are shewn by the

house" Jadoo-wallah, and explaining how they are done, we will compare the average Indian conjuror with his mystic friends in Europe,

America and China.

Let us for a

moment

picture

in

our

mind's eye the stage and person of the European or American conjuror. A few small tables with spindle legs (upon

them

transparent

and

decorative) are exposed to our view.

The

a

steel

frame

or

so,

performer appears with rolled up sleeves in close fitting clothes and by the end of his

performance has

filled

2

the stage with

A COMPARISON several large flags,

and,

may

a bouquet of flowers

be, a beautiful lady,

from

all,

possibly

His pertop hat. is given to the accompaniment of amusing patter and is brightened with the colour of the articles he produces.

produced formance

He may

a

be an

illusionist

and does not indulge

in

pure and simple sleight-of-hand

In this case the comparison with the Indian Jadoo-wallah is not a fair one, at

all.

as the latter has not the

means

to purchase

the complicated mechanism necessary for

up-to-date illusions as shewn by European magicians.

Whether

or

no

his

superior education

the reason, the European conjuror gains in skill and shows his inventive genius is

as time goes on.

and

his paraphernalia

more varied of

His

effects are studied,

embraces more and

The disappearance

articles.

a Christmas tree with

Ughted

is

all

its

candles

an excellent example to what 3

INDIAN CONJURING he has

risen.

He

takes an interest in his

and

profession or calUng

others

in

neatness

or

strives to

outdo

by inventing an

name can be

exclusive trick to which his

given and handed down to posterity. This may be the result of large fees that

can be earned at the

*'

Halls

"

or

by private

entertainments by those at the top of the tree. But these fees are open to a conjuror of

any

nationality,

and

I

am confident

that the interest the European takes in

hobby has more

do with his superiority than education and large fees. The

his

to

ruling Princes of India are very fond of

watching a clever conjuror and can pay enormous fees, but no Indian conjuror appears to appeal to them.

A

Western

performer always wants to give his best to his audience and takes a pride in mystifying them. David Devant, who is one of the greatest living exponents has quite recently written an article in the 4

/

A COMPARISON Strand Magazine of his dreams of tricks that he would like to be able to do. To

meet the

late Charles

was a study

Bertram

"

To have

in itself.

at

home

seen

"

him

would play, with a pack he stumbled across a new

playing, as a child of cards until

and watched the enjoyment written over his face, was a proof of his deep

sleight all

interest in his

hobby.

Can anyone imagine an Indian conjuror Ghee and dreaming of a new trick ? " khana (clarified butter and food) form '*

the subject of the majority of his dreams.

When

he does play with anything

to caress lovingly the of

money

"

"

paisa

it

is

or pieces

that he last earned, not to im-

prove his dexterity but because they

will

him a good meal, a cup of arak, (or intoxicating liquor) and a long lazy sleep. The Chinaman gives his entertainment give

with his stage well filled with tables covered with gorgeous dragon-be-decked draperies 5

INDIAN CONJURING that reach the ground, and behind which useful assistants could be easily concealed.

His own garments are roomy and his sleeves could contain a multitude of billiard balls

and

But he

rabbits.

performance

with

clean

gives

a

bright

showy articles,

ending up occasionally, as I have seen, with the production of twelve large Chinese lanterns

all lit

!

The Chinaman is the inventor of many of the most beautiful illusions that are One of the prettiest tricks performed. imaginable is that of the production of bowls of gold fish in real water, one of

He has improved from Chinese origin. ancient times as an up-to-date showman, and is a wonderful illusionist. To show what can be done

voluminous garments of a Chinaman, on one occasion. I,

in the

in his national costume,

bowl

of

produced a large water which took two men to carry

away, then a

little

boy aged 6

ten,

and

his

A COMPARISON younger brother aged five, ostensibly from a shawl without moving from the centre of a stage devoid of trap doors, or

any

furniture.

strength than as

one

may

skill

It

was more a

at conjuring,

readily

imagine,

feat of

though,

extremely

effective.

The Chinaman is ductionist and excels

a

also

clever

pro-

in producing flowers

;

lanterns and similar articles.

His dexterity or sleight-of-hand is good but inferior to He has and uses that of the European. well,

or

"

many

extremely ingenious devices, fakes." One in particular has always

appealed to me and is worth describing. He takes a piece of tissue paper which he either chews, or moistens it

rolls

This he places into the air several

into a small ball like pulp.

on his fan and tosses up times while of

somehow and

an egg.

become a

gradually assumes the shape After some few seconds it has

it

large duck's egg

which he places

INDIAN CONJURING in

an egg cup on the table in This

audience.

the

effective, easy to do,

for half-a-crown at

little

view of

full

trick

is

very

and can be purchased any magical depot

I

hope that

I

have gained

my

point in

showing that the Chinaman is an ingenious and a neat performer. There are many other amazing tricks which were originated in China and the far East, (as the Japanese are as good,

if

not better than the Chinese)

but this egg trick

is

to

my mind

symbolical of Chinese magic. The Indian juggler or arrives with a basket large

man, as we

tain a

^

in

London. I

|

!

j

i

'

|

j

!

the most

j

Jadoo-wallah

enough to con-

!

a huge delapidated bag, a voluminous dhotie or

loin

cloth,

or two. "

admi

in the

will see later,

and possibly a snake basket

He

a poor man or gareeb and looks it. He starts a whine

hope

sympathy.

!

"

is

i

an audience through he does not whine he assumes

of getting If

8

i

A COMPARISON an

air

of

superiority

At

exasperating. far

below the

performer.

that

he

sleight-of-hand

level of the

He

somewhat

is

average European art

his

spoils

is

the

by

continual diving into his bag ostentatiously to dig out the bone of a cow or an "

antequated dolly," of the rag doll type. If only he would do his little tricks away

from

impedimenta in clean clothes he would add 50% to the merit of his his

performance though it would probably be not so entertaining to those newly arrived in India. I

have very

Indian

little

conjuror

in

sleight-of-hand, illusionist.

unpaid bills have been

as

praise to give to the

an

artist,

"

the

with

performed

"bean"

strument.

I

or so

may

old as

my

the

irritating

called

here 9

B

an

and from time immemorial

monotonous patter and the of

"

in

as

or

juggling,

His tricks are as

either

say

same drone

musical inthat

this

INDIAN CONJURING musical torture

ments

way

of the

as the

is

used to disguise move-

showman's hand

European uses

his

in the

same

magic wand,

an instrument that does not appeal to me at

though at times very useful. The articles used by the Indian conjuror all,

are very very primitive

and

of indifferent

The Jadoo-wallah has rehe was 50, 60, or 100 years ago.

manufacture.

mained

as

old gentleman whose portrait forms the first illustration of this book told me

The

that the tricks he does were learnt

by

his

great grandfather from a friend in Lahore.

This takes us back some 150 years. tricks have remained the same as

The when

taught at Lahore though my old friend has brought them up-to-date by singing " " each between Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay

experiment The Indian conjuror has never indulged !

in pure sleight-of-hand to

any extent, and

has never improved upon any of his 10

illu-

^'^£_'