An English officer, Mr. Osborne, gives the following account of one of
these operations, which took place in 1838 at the camp of King Randjet
Singh:
"After a few preparations, which lasted some days, and that it would
prove repugnant to enumerate, the fakir declared himself ready to
undergo the ordeal. The Maharajah, the Sikhs chiefs, and Gen. Ventura,
assembled near a masonry tomb that had been constructed expressly to
receive him. Before their eyes, the fakir closed with wax all the
apertures in his body (except his mouth) that could give entrance
to air. Then, having taken off the clothing that he had on, he was
enveloped in a canvas sack, and, according to his wish, his tongue was
turned back in such a way as to close the entrance to his windpipe.
Immediately after this he fell into a sort of trance. The bag that held
him was closed and a seal was put upon it by the Maharajah. The bag was
then put into a wooden box, which was fastened by a padlock, sealed, and
let down into the tomb. A large quantity of earth was thrown into the
hole and rammed down, and then barley was sown on the surface and
sentinels placed around with orders to watch day and night.
"Despite all such precautions, the Maharajah had his doubts; so he came
twice in the space of ten months (the time during which the fakir was
buried), and had the tomb opened in his presence.
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