For the feet: bastinado and falaka

 

Bastinado and falaka are old words, used across centuries and civilizations. As all old and heavily used words, bastinado and falaka mean different things to different people. I'll try to  get to the original meanings as far as I can, and its use today.

 

Bastinado

Bastinado is a probably a word of Spanish origin. Its root could be that of "bastón" (baton, walking cane), and it means nothing in Spanish (believe me, it is my first language), but it could be derived from "bastonada", a blow with that instrument.

 

As used in old reports, the name was given to a traditional Chinese punishment that consisted in giving moderate blows with a long light cane, usually bamboo, for an extended period (one hour or more) on the buttocks or on the soles of the feet. The suffering was not in the pain of each blow, not too severe, but in the mounting pain and anguish caused by the duration of the punishment. The executioners were trained by hitting on bean curd (tofu?), and were capable of delivering a hundred blows without breaking the skin. A person could die or go crazy under such a torture. 

They could also hit violently to draw blood, and sometimes the bamboo cane was split at the end, cutting like a knife.

 

Some sources mention the bastinado as one of the tortures of the Inquisition, but it was probably only a conventional caning.

 

As a domestic or school punishment, a short and light stick was used on the soles of the feet. It was the Chinese equivalent of our spanking. Children of both sexes were so punished, and also the wife by her husband. Sometimes the lashes were given on the calves.

 

The word is now used mainly for lashing on the soles of the feet.

 

The falaka.

The falaka (also falanga, falaq or fallagas),  originated in Persia, is the traditional punishment on the soles of the feet of Middle East, Greece, Turkey, and in general the Muslim countries.

 

It is actually the name of the device for immobilizing the feet, equivalent to the European stocks. It is a thick and long pole with a rope tied at its ends. The rope hangs loosely from the pole in the form of a "U". The bare feet of the punished are put inside the rope and the pole is turned, making the rope tighten, until the ankles are firmly pressed against the pole. Two men hold the ends of the pole about waist height, and then the soles are beaten. When no falaka is available, the feet are bound with a rope, and held in the air by two men in the same fashion.

 

 

The word is now used also for the punishment itself, and for an instrument for hitting on the feet not unlike a modern riding crop without the slapper, consisting of a flexible core, covered with spiral or braided leather. But for the punishment also canes, heavy sticks, rubber hoses and even metals pipes are used . The blows are supposed to be hard and painful, unlike those of the bastinado, and could cripple a person.

 

The punishment is known as madda in Egypt (thanks Sidan)

 

The falaka is used in judicial and domestic punishments. It is still used at schools and at home. It seems to be used as corporal punishment legally at Iran, and illegally, as torture, in most Middle East countries. There are recent reports of illegal use of the falaka by the Turkish police.

 

It was used also by the Taliban in Afghanistan. They used a simple but practical device instead of the falaka. Its only a log with metal eyes attached, and the feet of several people could be restrained by a metal rod passing by the eyes.  In this demo of the instrument the "executioner" is holding a rubber hose.

 

 

They would be subjected to the treatment by the school's vice-principal (na@zÂem: lit., regulator, or disciplinarian) for laziness or unruliness, particularly in traditional maktabs, the elementary, one classroom schools common in Persia to the end of the Qajar rule (effectively 1921; see EDUCATION iii), but also in modern schools with diminishing usage under Rezµa@ Shah (r. 1304-40 ˆ./1925-1941).

 

It was used at school, particularly in traditional "maktabs", the elementary, one classroom schools common in Persia.

 

The culprit could be restrained by the falaka, or could be made to sit at the teacher's desk, take off his/her shoes and socks, and put his/her feet on the desk, with a pupil holding each ankle. It also could be given with the pupil laying on his back on the floor, and two others holding one foot each in the air. The punishment instrument, in this environment, could be a stick or a wooden ruler.

 

Sometimes the pupil had to go back to his/her home barefooted (probably receiving there some additional punishment).

 

 

For very small children, the parent held the children ankles in the air with one hand, hitting with the palm of the hand on the soles of the children feet.

 

In most Arab countries, (and for many westerners) showing the feet, especially the soles, is considered demeaning for men, (women of low condition go usually barefoot) so embarrassment was part of the punishment. If the punishment was severe enough, the man couldn't be able to walk. Having to crawl on your hands and knees adds to the humiliation.

 

If you are an adult, and interested in BDSM, read also Flogging the feet

 

Published: 05/09/03

Rev: 15/02/06; 95/31/06