![]() ![]() Only then did they realize that the cries were those of the sacred icons, which were calling for help. Then, so the story goes, they heard a groaning from within and hurriedly made a check of their number to see if someone had recklessly entered. Lacking any fire-fighting apparatus, the stunned villagers could only stand helplessly and watch their beloved church burn. In 1250 in the mountain village of Kosti in northern Thrace the little church of St. The Anastenaria of the Greeks in Thrace and Macedonia is a good example of fulfilling a vow by means of a firewalk. If performed as an honor to an individual, it takes place annually on the clay dedicated to him. It may be performed to honor some deceased saint or holy man, to commemorate a miracle once performed on the spot where the firewalking takes place, or in fulfillment of a vow. ![]() The motivation for firewalking is nearly always a religious one. Today, firewalking is performed in India, Greece, Spain, China, Japan, Bulgaria, Ceylon, Thailand, Fiji, Tibet, and many other parts of the world. Whatever the facts of its provenience, the virtually worldwide distribution of the practice of firewalking and its persistence in a period as materialistic and as science-oriented as the present are both indisputable and striking. 21), Virgil (70-19 B.C.), and other early writers. 23-79) tells us, “at the yearly sacrifice to Apollo, performed on Mount Soracte, walk over a charred pile of logs without being scorched and who consequently, under a perpetual decree of the Senate, enjoy exemption from military service and all other burdens.” This event has been described also by the geographer Strabo (63 B.C.-A.D. In Europe the practice can be traced back to an ancient Roman family, the Hirpi, who, so Pliny the Elder (A.D. Although this claim may very well be true, it is impossible of substantiation. According to some firewalkers, it had its beginning in Central Asia, the ancient birthplace of mankind. Where and how the practice originated can only be a matter of conjecture. Of all phenomena, the ability of certain individuals to walk barefoot through fire without being burned is perhaps the most spectacular and unquestionably the most puzzling. ![]()
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