FIRE-WALKING, a religious ceremony common to many races, and widespread in all ages. It still survives in Bulgaria, Trinidad, Fiji Islands, Tahiti and India, the Straits Settlements, Mauritius, and Japan. Indian settlers in Natal performed the rite in Pietermaritzburg in the autumn of 1927, in fulfilment of a vow. The details of its ritual and its objects vary in different lands, but the essential feature of the rite, the passing of priests, fakirs, and devotees barefoot over heated stones or smouldering ashes, is always the same. Fire-walking was usually associated with the spring festivals and was believed to ensure a bountiful harvest.
The interesting part of fire-walking is the alleged immunity of the performers from burns. On this point authorities and eye witnesses differ greatly. In the Natal case no injuries were seen. The bulk of the reports certainly leave an impression that there is something still to be explained in the escape of the performers from shocking injuries. The preparations, perhaps physical in part, produce a feeling of intense nature associated with the phenomenon of possession. In some way anaesthesia is induced.