Eating Fire

by Venetia Featherstone-Witty

Title

Eating Fire

Artist

Venetia Featherstone-Witty

Medium

Photograph - Photographs

Description

Fire eating is the act of putting a flaming object into the mouth and extinguishing it. A fire eater is most commonly an entertainer, often a street artist, part of a sideshow or a circus act. Fire eating torches are generally metal with wrapped kevlar wicks or cotton, secured with kevlar thread.Fire eating was a common part of Hindu, Sadhu, and Fakir performances to show spiritual attainment. It became a part of the standard sideshow acts in the late 1880s and is often seen as one of the entry-level skills for sideshow performers, although skilled fire performers, such as those who can utilize the difficult and dangerous vapor transfers and produce large breaths of fire are regarded as equals in the circus community for their skill and devotion to their art. Such performers include record holder Preacher Muad'dib, Lucifre, Heavy Metal Pete,Snake Fervor, Murrigan Mystic Tom Black and Chris Riley all of whom are known as exceptionally skilled performers within the circus and sideshow industry.Other than sound fire safety precautions and some practical advice regarding the laws of physics (i.e. "hot air rises"), there are few secrets to eating fire. Torches do not burn with "cold flames" nor is there any special substance in the performer's mouth other than saliva. It is instead the cutting off of the oxygen from the flame which extinguishes it. According to Daniel Mannix's 1951 sideshow memoir Step right up!, the real "secret" to fire eating is enduring pain; he mentions that tolerating constant blisters on your tongue, lips and throat is also necessary. Many other fire eaters dismiss this, claiming that a skilled fire eater should not burn themselves. The most common method of safely performing fire eating acts relies on the fact that it takes time to transfer heat, and that heat rises in air. Fire eating and fire breathing (and all variants) is a skill usually passed on from a skilled master to an appropriate student and almost all teachings include instructions on first aid, fire safety, chemistry and other appropriate skills.
FEATURED 12/4/14 IN "Images That Excite You"
FEATURED 12/29/14 in "The World We See"
FEATURED 2/28/15 in "All Types of Women"

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December 3rd, 2014

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