Mirin Dajo

Mirin Dajo
Promotional photograph of Mirin Dajo showing a rapier piercing his thorax from back to front
Born	Arnold Gerrit Henske' August 6, 1912 Rotterdam
Died	May 26, 1948
Known for	radically piercing his body

Mirin Dajo was the pseudonym of Dutch fakir Arnold Gerrit Henskes (August 6, 1912 – May 26, 1948).^[1]

He became famous for radically piercing his body with all kinds of objects and apparently without injury, even astounding the medical community at the time.^[1]

Early life

He was born in Rotterdam. He started out trying a career in the Beaux Arts. He headed a design firm in his twenties. During his earlier years he had had all sorts of dreams and "paranormal" experiences. It was not until he turned 33 he claimed to realize that his body was "invulnerable." As a result he left his job and went to Amsterdam. Hanging around pubs, he made money by letting people pierce his body with "dagger-like objects." He also swallowed glass and razor blades.^[1]

Mission

Promotional photo showing Mirin Dajo jogging with a rapier through his abdomen.

Notorious for his radical “body piercings” Dajo was now able to explain, or preach, his views of reality. As he saw it people should abandon the materialistic world view and accept there was a higher force, the Source. God was using him, through his invulnerability, to show us there was something better out there. His conviction was that materialism only results in misery and war.^[1]

At that time he adopted his stage name Mirin Dajo, Esperanto for "wonder" (the right form should be: "mirindaĵo" - wonder, abstract substantive derived from adjective "mirinda" - wonderful). He saw the use of Esperanto -one language to be used around the world- as a way of uniting mankind, his primary goal. Because he needed a license to perform in public he was taken to Professor Carp, Dr. Bertholt and Dr. Stokvis of the University of Leiden. They allowed his act but not his concomitant lecture, thereby hindering the "mission" to inform the world of his message of "love and peace".^[1]

Although not as widely documented as his sword piercing feats, there were claims by his name that said his invulnerability had been proven by numerous means. In the interview by Time, he also declared his invulnerability having been tested with burning irons, boiling water and having been shot through the head from half a yard distance in two opportunities. He supported this by exhibiting two scars allegedly from the shots, one in the center of the forehead and the other above his right eye.^{[citation needed]}

Switzerland

X-Ray of his abdomen on May 12, 1948 showing the needle he swallowed

In 1947, he moved to Switzerland and initially was only granted a license to perform without the ability to speak to the public. In his performances Dajo used several assistants but after meeting Jan Dirk de Groot he became his only one. According to De Groot, Dajo had several guardian angels, was telepathic and could heal people.^[1] Time magazine reported on an appearance at the Corso Theatre in Zürich. The article alleged: "that Dajo had 'proved' to Zurich doctors that his act was not based on fakery."^[2]

He was allegedly instructed by voices to eat a steel needle which he did on May 11, 1948. It was surgically removed on May 13, 1948. Ten days later he laid down on a bed and apparently was in a trance-like state for the next three days. After that he was pronounced dead. The medical examiner performed an autopsy which revealed Dajo had died of an aortic rupture. This was contested by De Groot and the aforementioned surgeon.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Mirin Dajo: Wonderman by Philip Coppens
2. ^ Miracle Man Time, June 23, 1947

External links

• „Lost original film“
• De Onkwetsbare Profeet: Het Nederlandse Fenomeen Mirin Dajo[1] (Dutch) by Jan Dirk de Groot
• Mirin Dajo, de wonderman by Luc Bürgin
• L'homme brochette video with French commentary.
• Bloke getting stabbed with Sword! on YouTube on Youtube
• Unverletzbar! Mirin Dajo und seine Wunder by Luc Bürgin
• Fistula of fun Lightweight BBC Three show tries to debunk, posted at Cabinet of Wonders.
• Mirin Dajo by Klapetek J., Cas Lek Cesk. 1968 Mar;107(13):400-2. PMID 4874675
• Miracles of the human body; the case of Mirin Dajo by DA SILVA MELLO A., Rev Bras Med. 1950 Jul;7(7):450-6. PMID 14781476

Persondata
Name	Dajo, Mirin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	August 6, 1912
Place of birth	Rotterdam
Date of death	May 26, 1948
Place of death