- Flatulist
[
thumb|Le Pétomane .] A flatulist, fartist, or professional farter is a performer who receives payment for farting in an amusing and/or musical manner. [http://www.ljhelms.com/pet/_pujol/thestory/retro.htm]Antiquity and Middle Ages
There are a number of scattered references to ancient and medieval flatulists, who could produce various rhythms and pitches with their intestinal wind. Saint Augustine in "City of God (De Civitate Dei)" (14.24) mentions some performers who did have
Juan Luis Vives in his1522 commentary to Augustine's work, testifies to having himself witnessed such a feat, a remark referenced byMichel de Montaigne in an essay.The professional farters of medieval
Ireland were called braigetori. They are listed together with other performers and musicians in the12th century "Tech Midchúarda ", a diagram of the banqueting hall of Tara. As entertainers, these braigetori ranked at the lower end of a scale headed bybard s,fili andharp ers.The occupation of the flatulist appears to have been common at the courts of European nobility during the
Dark Ages , and may even haveProto-Germanic roots. Thepeordh rune of the Anglo-Saxonfuthorc has been suggested to be named after the fart based on therune poem stanza::( [a fart?] is a source of recreation and amusement to the great, where warriors sit blithely together in the banqueting-hall.)Another widely accepted interpretation links the name to
pear wood, suggesting that the poem aludes to arecorder or similar wind instrument, since pearwood is traditionally used to carve such musical instruments. [http://www.musicaviva.com/buyers-guide/catlist.tpl?instcategory=srec]The art of farting was also practiced in Japan, as is evident from a story dating to the Kamakura period (
1185 –1333 ). Recorded in an illustrated narrative hand-scroll, it tells of a professional performer of fart dances called Oribe, who tricked his rival into soiling and thus disgracing himself in an attempt to mimick him.An example of a late medieval flatulist is preserved in an entry in the
13th century English "Liber Feodorum " (Book of Fees), listing oneRoland the Farter , who heldHemingstone manor in the county ofSuffolk , for which he was obliged to perform "Unum saltum et siffletum et unum bumbulum" (one jump, one whistle, and one fart) annually at the king Henry II's court every Christmas. But professional farting no longer seems to be restricted to the aristocracy. The "Activa Vita" character in the14th century allegorical poemPiers Plowman appears to number farting among the abilities desirable in a good entertainer in general, paralleling with storytelling, fiddling or playing the harp::("As for me, I can neither drum nor trumpet, nor tell jokes, nor fart amusingly at parties, nor play the harp.")
Evidence of deliberate farting at social occasions continues into the Modern Age. In the
16th century ,Rabelais details how Panurge when getting up, gave :"a fart ('un pet'), a leap ('un sault'), and a whistle ('un sublet'), and joyously cried out 'Long livePantagruel !' "Pantagruel so addressed immediately intends to respond in like fashion, but miserably soils himself in the attempt. Panurge's salute is closely paralleled by the obligation of Roland the Farter detailed above.19th through 21st Centuries
A notable flatulist in
Victorian times wasJoseph Pujol, known by his stage namele Pétomane (pictured above), who performed inFrance from1887 until1914 . A contemporary flatulist, allegedly the only professional of his trade today, appears asMr. Methane .Folklore and Fiction
In the
Innu mythology of Canada,Matshishkapeu (literally the "Fart Man") is the most powerful spirit, a legendary shaman capable of inflicting gastrointestinal pain or relief.There are also
fictional professional farters. A notable one would be Ross McPharter (a professional farter fromScotland ) from theDerek and Clive comedy ofPeter Cook andDudley Moore . McPharter explains that he became an expert because there is nothing to do in Scotland except fart and listen toBilly Connolly .Terrance and Phillip from the animated series "South Park " could also be classified as flatulists.Peräsmies , featured in thePahkasika magazine, is asuperhero whose only superpower is the ability to fart supernaturally hard, similar toFartman (Howard Stern) . An episode of the sketch comedy series "Mr. Show " features two fictional flatulists named Fartin' Gary and Fartin' Rudy. In the sketch, Rudy steals a comedy show from professional Fartin' Gary, a professional comedic flatulist. Rudy then earns the title of "Clown Prince of Fartistry" and his talents win him a starring role in his own TV sitcom entitled "Second Wind."Famous flatulists
*
Mr. Methane
*Le Pétomane References
*Valerie J. Allen; "Broken Air" [http://www.english.ufl.edu/exemplaria/index03.html Exemplaria] (2004). ( [http://web.english.ufl.edu/exemplaria/Cohen2003/vja.pdf]
PDF version)
*Jim Dawson; "Who Cut the Cheese?: A Cultural History of the Fart"
*Steve Bryant; "The Art Of The Fart"External links
* [http://www.mrmethane.com Mr Methane - The World's Only Performing Flatulist]
* [http://www.innu.ca/fartman1.html Innu myth of the Fart Man]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.