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Sword Swallowing

Sword swallowing is a performance art, in which the performer inserts a sword into his or her mouth and down the esophagus towards the stomach. The name given to this art is technically misleading, as performers have to suppress their gag reflex and not actually swallow while the sword is down their throat. Sword swallowing is a life-threatening activity, and many deaths and serious medical complications have arisen from attempting this feat. Of a world population of over 6.6 billion people, only about 100 sword swallowers exist worldwide today, some of whom are members of the Sword Swallowers Association International (SSAI). [1] Of these, only a few dozen are actively performing professional sword swallowers, with the remainder being either amateurs or injured or retired performers.

History of the art

Having originated in India prior to 2000 BC, the deadly art of sword swallowing has a lengthy and varied history. Its age alone can account for the many transformations through which it has gone, being perhaps one of the oldest forms of extant performance art.

During its early period of development in India, it was used primarily as a demonstration of divine union and power. It can still be found in modern India being performed by Indian fakirs, alongside such noted demonstrations as the eating of burning coals, stopping of the pulse, raising of the body temperature, and snake swallowing and regurgitation. These and many other demonstrations, some genuine, others mere feats of conjuring trickery, have served to enlist millions into the worship and service of many an Indian guru, even into the 21st century.

The migration of the art to other lands, most notably China in the 8th century, saw its transformation from divine demonstration to theatrical production. It quickly migrated to Japan, where it became a central part of the Japanese acrobatic theatre, Sangaku. This form of theatre featured an array of performance delights, including fire eating, tightrope walking, juggling and early illusion.

Simultaneous to the arts' eastern migration was a migration to the north and west, all the way to Greece and Rome. In Europe it developed into yet a third distinct type of performance associated with the medieval jongleurs, that of the street performance. Sword swallowing was performed during the Middle Ages as part of street theatre and was popular at festivals and other large gatherings. However, from the founding of the Holy Inquisition in 1231, it and other forms of religious persecution slowly spread in their influence throughout Europe. Sword swallowers along with jugglers, magicians, prophets and other performers, found themselves increasingly the target of religious persecution, being condemned and executed as heretics, witches and practitioners of the dark arts.

Though performers reemerged following the Inquisition and enjoyed a resurgence in activity and reception, this was to be short lived. Sword swallowing once again began to die out in the mid 1800s. This was due to a declining interest in street and festival theatre and a growing interest on the part of audiences in more "organized" and "proper" theatre.

However, in 1893 the art of sword swallowing was featured at the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago. This marked the beginning of the popularity of the American practice of the art, with its many permutations.

Circuses and sideshows quickly became the dominant venue for sword swallowers. Traveling all throughout North America and presenting their skills to the show-going public, any connection with religion or divine power was immediately lost. Sword swallowing became a stunt, and as such, it became competitive. Whereas the European practice of the art certainly saw performers attempting to swallow larger numbers of swords, there seemed to be an undue focus on the novel and bizarre in the American practice. This is certainly understandable, as there were a large number of sword swallowers at this time, and innovation was the only recourse performers had in the effort to make money, for themselves and for their employers.

It is during this time that we see a growing popularity with swallowing multiple swords, longer swords, hot swords, bayonets recoiled down the throat, glowing neon tubes and so forth. It seems that the interest in the art had never been so great, and the variations upon it never so clever. In fact, one could often find sword swallowers on the same bill as the magic greats such as Houdini, clearly indicating their appeal.

Western Europe and England also saw during this period an upsurge in sword swallowing interest, and you can find many cross-Atlantic influences.

It was during the late 19th and early 20th centuries that traveling magic shows from the Orient toured Europe and America, bringing some unique twists on standard effects, some entirely new effects (the secrets of which were lusted after by American magicians), and of course sword swallowing, along with their traditional fire eating, juggling and acrobatic feats.

At around the middle of the 20th century, circuses, and sideshows in particular, began to fall by the wayside. Today there remains only one full-time sideshow in the world, the Coney Island Sideshows by the Seashore, in New York City. Some attribute the decline of the sideshow to the increased interest in and decreased cost of mechanical circus and carnival rides. Many skills typically associated with the circus or sideshows have been appropriated by individual performers and incorporated into their acts. This has fueled a revival in many of these arts. Sword swallowing, like many has seen such an interest and growth. Among contemporary sword swallowers are Red Stuart, Johnny Meah, Johnny Fox, Natasha Veruschka, Dai Andrews, Dan Meyer, Roderick Russell, Bill Berry, and Joey Joey.

References

External links

Performance art is art in which the actions of an individual or a group at a particular place and in a particular time constitute the work. It can happen anywhere, at any time, or for any length of time.
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A sword is a long-edged piece of metal, used as a cutting and/or thrusting weapon in many civilizations throughout the world. The word sword comes from the Old English , which cognates to Old High German swert, Middle Dutch swaert, Old Norse
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mouth, also known as the buccal cavity or the oral cavity, is the orifice through which an organism takes in food and water.

Location

In all mammals, the mouth is forward-facing in the face. Non-mammals have mouths in other locations (e.g.
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The esophagus (also spelled oesophagus/œsophagus, Greek οἰσοφάγος), or gullet
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In anatomy, the stomach is a bean-shaped hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication. The word stomach is derived from the Latin stomachus, which derives from the Greek word
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The pharyngeal reflex or gag reflex is a reflex contraction of the back of the throat, evoked by touching the soft palate[1], that prevents something from entering the throat except as part of normal swallowing. This helps prevent choking.
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Swallowing, known scientifically as deglutition, is the reflex in the human body that makes something pass from the mouth, to the pharynx, into the esophagus, with the shutting of the epiglottis.
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Death is the permanent end of the life of a biological organism. Death may refer to the end of life as either an event or condition.[1] Many factors can cause or contribute to an organism's death, including predation, disease, habitat destruction, senescence,
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A fakir or faqir is a Sufi, especially one who performs feats of endurance or apparent magic. Derived from faqr (فقر Arabic), Lit: poverty.
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A Guru (Sanskrit: गुरू), is a teacher in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism, as well as in many new religious movements.
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21st Century is the present century of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. It began on January 1, 2001 and is due to end December 31, 2100. However, more modern methods of dating begin the century in the year 2000.
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The 8th century is the period from 701 to 800 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era.

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During this century the Middle East, the coast of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula comes rapidly under Islamic Arab domination.
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Sangaku or San Gaku (算額; lit. mathematical tablet) are Japanese geometrical puzzles in Euclidean geometry on wooden tablets created during the Edo period (1603-1867) by members of all social classes.
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fire eater is an entertainer, often a street artist or part of a sideshow. The performer places flaming objects into their mouth and extinguishes them. They also practice controlling and transferring the flame.
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Tightrope walking (or funambulism) is the art of walking along a thin wire or rope usually at a great height. One or more artists perform in front of an audience (a common act in circuses) or as a publicity stunt (often attempting to set location-specific distance or height
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Juggling is a form of object manipulation. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling, where the juggler throws objects through the air. Jugglers often refer to the objects they juggle as props
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An illusion is a distortion of a sensory perception, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. While illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people.
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Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. Physically and geologically, Europe is the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, west of Asia. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea,
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minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories about distant places or about (real or imaginary) historical events. Though minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others.
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Busking is the practice of doing live performances in public places to entertain people, usually to solicit donations and tips. Those engaging in this practice are called buskers. Busking is a British term used in many areas of the English-speaking world.
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Middle Ages form the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three "ages": the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages and Modern Times.
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Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves and street corners.
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Inquisition (Inquisitorial system) is a common legal procedure where the tribunal is actively involved in determining the facts of the case. Inquisition is also a department of the Roman Catholic Church charged with suppressing doctrinal heresy, using the inquisition system described
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