This photograph of an elderly Baluch (Baluchistan is a region in
present-day southwest Pakistan and southeast Iran) is from an album of
rare historical photographs depicting people and places associated with
the Second Anglo-Afghan War. Despite the title, it is unclear whether
the man is truly a beggar or, perhaps more likely, a Sufi fakir or
dervish who would have been regarded as a holy man and relied solely on
alms for his livelihood. He wears a pair of worn-out boots, a long
quilted coat, and a woolen shawl and has prayer beads around his neck.
In his lap is a
kashkul, a bowl or pot for receiving food
donations, symbolizing the emptying of the Sufi’s ego through the
renunciation of worldly goods and aspirations. The Latin quotation in
the caption, “Dato Obolum Belisario,” refers to the legend of
Belisarius, a Roman soldier reduced to begging for alms after Emperor
Justinian ordered his eyes to be put out. The story became popular in
the Middle Ages and later became the subject of a novel, sculpture, and
paintings, including a 1781 work by Jacques-Louis David.
Source: Library of Congress
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