The Mysterious Case of Mirin Dajo, the Human Pincushion
I can scarcely think of a way I’d less rather die than having a sword run through my abdomen. Yet Dutchman Mirin Dajo did it every day.
In the 1940′s, Dajo was known for his stage performances, in which he’d stand barechested while his assistant would take fencing foils, and one by one, run him through. The show was appalling and horrible to watch, but Dajo never flinched, never showed the slightest pain. The curious were invited to watch as closely as they liked, and to examine the blades even while they were stuck through him.
Doctors wanted to know more, so he was invited to a medical center for tests. In front of the doctors’ scrutiny, Dajo’s assistant stuck a foil into his back, and then pressed it all the way through. The doctors watched in amazement as the skin pushed outward on his chest and the foil finally broke through. Despite all the doctors’ tests, Dajo seemed quite well. With the foil stuck through him, Dajo walked to their X-ray lab, where they took shots verifying that there was no trickery. The foil did indeed pierce his abdomen all the way through, passing through and among major organs.
Professional magicians have offered explanations of their own. They believe it’s real, and that Dajo had simply learned a mental technique for coping with the trauma. Dajo often told of having visited India and learned from fakirs, mystics who perform similar but much less dramatic feats. Generally speaking, performers who do self-mutilation are actually doing what they appear to be doing; they’re just well practiced, well disciplined, and used to it. But nobody had ever heard of a case as dramatic as Mirin Dajo. Studying from the fakirs was as plausible an explanation as anyone could come up with.
And though it has the sound of a bogus cover story, it may indeed be the way he learned how to do what he did. Some fakirs would pierce their own bodies in the same way that westerners pierce their ears or other body parts. When you do this, it creates what’s called a fistula, a tunnel of scar tissue. So long as you keep the fistula open by having something inserted through it, like an earring, it won’t close up. Modern doctors and bodypiercing professionals agree that’s probably how Dajo did it. Little by little, he and his assistant would drive a sharp object a little further into a hole in his abdomen, leaving it in place, letting it heal, and then driving it in a little further. Photos of Dajo’s back show it riddle with scars and holes, which are probably failed fistulas where their efforts were blocked by bones, nerves, major organs, or something too painful to get past. Eventually Danjo had at least four fistulas that went all the way through. He probably lived with metal bars inserted through them all the time, and when it came time for a performance, these were removed. His assistant had only to carefully slide the fencing foils through the fistulas at the proper angles, as they’d practiced together many times.
And thus were the doctors fooled, the magicians stumped, and the audiences thrilled. It was perhaps not the best career choice, though, as Dajo died at age 35 from an aortic rupture, resulting from swallowing a long steel needle. Guess the fakirs hadn’t clued him in on that one.
comments (16)
That is totally fascinating! It seems plausible as an explanation, though still creeps me out completely.
Would the fistulas explain why no blood ever came out?
Most likely. If the scars were maintained in such a manner, it’d be like having pierced ears through your whole body.
Thank you for ruining my appetite.
… there’s no business like show business!
The idea that someone could do this through their own abdomen is astonishing. If you moved while the swords were inside (even after forming a fistula) would having a metal extending through your body cause you pain if you moved?
i have to wonder what the guy ( be it him or someone who passed on the knowledge) who discovered you could do this was up to.
seeing as he died swallowing a large steel needle i am thinking he may have being trying to create a new opening vertically through his body. that would have been impressive the hilt of the sword in his mouth and the point somewhere else completely.;)
Was that Liam Neeson?
Hah, talk about rippin’ yourself a new one – you say he had at least four?
I can just imagine how a conversation with his high school career counselor might have gone: “Well,young Mirin, have you pinned down what you want to do with your life?” No, not yet.I would like to do something on the cutting edge,but I am really open to anything”.”Have you thought about taking a stab at Holistic medicine?” “Not really.It seems kind of pointless”.”I see.Well,Mirin,you’re a sharp young man,and a deep thinker,and what ever you decide,if you just stick to it,you will be successful”.
That’s the punniest – I mean, funniest – post thus far! ;)
Amazing! I wonder how he suvived the unsuccessful attempts in creating the holes. He must have nicked or pierced some of his organs quite a bit. Nevermind, I don’t want to dwell on that…
Thanks Brian for doing the research about this guy. The self mutilation thing has always fascinated me. From plain old earrings to nailing yourself on a cross for a religious parade. Personalty my favorite feat is the human blockhead. Where the performer nails a six inch nail into his skull through their nose With a hammer.
If you want to see the human blockhead routine done by a pro, look for Brian Brushwood on YouTube. He is a fellow skeptic, a fantastic magician, and the host of Scam School. On one of the Scam School episodes, he shows how to do the human blockhead trick.
You know, I think there are people born with a syndrome that makes them less able, or unable, to feel pain, but they often die early because they don’t learn much from their mistakes.
Maybe this guy just couldn’t feel pain and thus had no immediate reason not to do insane experiments.
Ok, about the sindrome that makes a person not feel pain – those poor kids die completely mutilated at young ages such as 8 and 9; it is the thing with leprosy – it does not cause the wounds, it only causes the impairment of feeling any pain… there is an interesting book on the subject (it is “inspirational christian stuff” I shall warn you) by Paul Yancey, The Gift of Pain.
But there is some people aflicted by Personality Disorders, mostly the commonly cited Border Line Personality Disorder that are not much afflicted by pain, these people seem to find confort in it – hence they self-mutilate.
(please excuse my language mistakes, I´m brazilian)
Anyone have any updates on this? Wish to know more.