Foot whipping, falanga/falaka or bastinado is a method of inflicting pain and humiliation by administering a beating on the soles of a person's bare feet. Unlike most types of

flogging Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed ...

, it is meant more to be painful than to cause actual injury to the victim. Blows are generally delivered with a light rod, knotted cord, or lash. Bastinado is also referred to as ''foot (bottom) caning'' or ''sole caning'', depending on the instrument in use. The German term is ''Bastonade'', deriving from the Italian noun ''bastonata'' (''stroke with the use of a stick''). In former times it was also referred to as ''Sohlenstreich'' (corr. ''striking the soles''). The Chinese term is ''dǎ jiǎoxīn'' (打脚心 / 打腳心).

Overview

The first clearly identified written documentation of bastinado in Europe dates to 1537, and in China to 960. References to bastinado have been hypothesised to also be found in the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

(Prov. 22:15; Lev. 19:20; Deut. 22:18), suggesting use of the practice since antiquity. Bastinado was practiced in the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

era. In several German and Austrian institutions it was still practised during the 1950s."krone.at" vom 29. März 201
Berichte über Folter im Kinderheim auf der Hohen Warte
3 March 2014Ruxandra Cesereanu: ''An Overview of Political Torture in the Twentieth Century''. p. 124f.

Impact

Hyperpigmentation was found on torture victims' feet after months or years since being tortured. As a physical sign of torture, it can support requests for

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

Appearance

Regional

Antoin Sevruguin 12 Falak Whipping the soles of a criminal

Foot whipping was common practice as means of disciplinary punishment in different kinds of institutions throughout Central Europe until the 1950s, especially in German territories.
In German prisons this method consistently served as the principal disciplinary punishment. Throughout the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

era it was frequently used in German penal institutions and labour camps. It was also inflicted on the population in occupied territories, notably Denmark and Norway. In Greece, during the

Greek junta The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels was a Right-wing politics, right-wing military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974. On 21 April 1967, a group of colonels with CIA backing 1967 Greek coup d'état, overthrew the caretaker gove ...

period, in a 1967 survey 83% of the inmates in Greek prisons reported about frequent infliction of bastinado. It was also used against rioting students. In Spanish prisons 39% of the inmates reported about this kind of treatment. The French

Sûreté (, but often translated to 'safety' or 'security') is, in some French-speaking countries or regions, the organizational title of a civil police force. Algeria The Directorate General for National Security is known in French as the Sûreté ...

reportedly used it to extract confessions. The British used it in Palestine, and the French in Algeria. Within

Colonial India Colonial India was the part of the Indian subcontinent that was occupied by European colonial powers during and after the Age of Discovery. European power was exerted both by conquest and trade, especially in spice trade, spices. The search for ...

it was used to punish tax offenders. Bastinado is still practised in penal institutions of several countries around the world.

In history

*The Bastinado was a common punishment during

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

's Porfirian era, when the ''

Rurales In Mexico, the term ''Rurales'' ( Spanish) is used to refer to two armed government forces. The historic Guardia Rural ('Rural Guard') was a rural mounted police force, founded by President Benito Juárez in 1861 and expanded by President Porf ...

'' secret police would commonly use bull penises for the task. *In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, corporal punishment through foot whipping was reported from juvenile penal institutions until 1969, as for example in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. *Foot whipping was practised in juvenile institutions and protectories in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

until the 1960s. *In

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

caning the soles of a prisoner's bare feet was employed as a form of chastisement in

concentration camps A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...

, prison camps and penitentiaries.Vgl. Ruxandra Cesereanu: ''An Overview of Political Torture in the Twentieth Century''. S. 124f."Weibliche Angelegenheiten": Handlungsräume von KZ-Aufseherinnen in Ravensbrück und Neubrandenburg ("Female Matters": Responsibilities of overseers in the concentration camps of Ravensbrück and Neubrandenburg)

1.6.2023 *

Indian Imperial Police The Indian Imperial Police, referred to variously as the Indian Police or, by 1905, the Imperial Police, was part of the Indian Police Services, the uniform system of police administration in British India, as established by Government of India Ac ...

officer

Charles Tegart Sir Charles Augustus Tegart (5 October 1881 – 6 April 1946) was an Anglo-Irish police officer who served extensively in British Raj, British India and Palestine. Early life Born in Derry on 5 October 1881, Tegart was the son of a Church ...

is said to have instituted foot whipping, a practice derived from Ottoman times, in an interrogation centre established at

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

in 1938 as part of the effort to suppress the 1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine. *Foot whipping was used by

Fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

Blackshirts The Voluntary Militia for National Security (, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts (, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party, known as the Squadrismo, and after 1923 an all-vo ...

against

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

critical of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

as early as 1923 (Dalzell, 1961). *It was used as a method of torture during the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War () took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communism, Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels decl ...

of 1946 to 1949 and the

regime of the Colonels In politics, a regime (also spelled régime) is a system of government that determines access to public office, and the extent of power held by officials. The two broad categories of regimes are democratic and autocratic. A key similarity acros ...

from 1967 to 1974. *It was reported that Russian prisoners of war were "bastinadoed' at Afion camp by their Ottoman captors during World War I. However, British prisoners escaped this treatment. *Foot whipping was, among other methods, used as a method of obtaining confession from alleged political criminals during the communist regime of Czechoslovakia * Bahá'u'lláh (founder of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

) underwent foot whipping in August 1852. (Esslemont, 1937). *Foot whipping was used at the S-21 prison in

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since 1865 and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its political, economic, industr ...

during the rule of the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and by extension to Democratic Kampuchea, which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by Norodom Sihano ...

and is mentioned in the ten regulations to prisoners now on display in the

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (), or simply Tuol Sleng (, ; lit. "Hill of the Poisonous Trees" or "Strychnine Hill"), is a museum chronicling the Cambodian genocide. Located in Phnom Penh, the site is a former secondary school which was used as ...

. *This punishment has, at various times, been used in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. "No crimes pass unpunished in China. The bastinado is the common punishment for slight faults, and the number of blows is proportionable to the nature of the fault... When the number of blows does not exceed twenty, it is accounted a fatherly correction. The emperor himself sometimes commands it to be inflicted on great persons, and afterwards sees them and treats them as usual."

Modern era

*Foot whipping was a commonly reported torture method used by the security officers of

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

on its citizens between 1974 and 2001. See

Torture in Bahrain Torture in Bahrain refers to the violation of Bahrain's obligations as a state party to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Convention against Torture) and other internatio ...

. *Falanga is allegedly used by the

Zimbabwe Republic Police The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) is the national police force of Zimbabwe, having succeeded the British South Africa Police on 1 August 1980. History The predecessor of the Zimbabwe Republic Police was the British South Africa Police of ...

(ZRP) against persons suspected of involvement with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change parties ( MDC-T and MDC-M). *The Prime Minister of

Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini Prince Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini (15 May 1942 – 28 September 2018) was a Swazi politician who served as List of Prime Ministers of Eswatini, Prime Minister of Eswatini, from 1996 to 2003 and again from October 2008 to September 2018. Car ...

, threatened to use this form of torture (''sipakatane'') to punish South African activists who had taken part in a mass protest for democracy in that country. *Reportedly used during the dictatorship of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

(1979–2003). *Reportedly used in Tunisia by security forces. *Recent research in imaging of torture victims confirms it is still used in several other countries. *Foot whipping amongst other methods is still practised today in the torture of prisoners in Russia. *Foot whipping is a common torture method in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

In literature

*In act V, scene I of the

Shakespearean comedy In the First Folio, the Play (theatre), plays of William Shakespeare were grouped into three categories: comedies, Shakespearean history, histories, and Shakespearean tragedy, tragedies; and modern scholars recognise a fourth category, ''romance' ...

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'', Touchstone threatens William with the line: "I will deal in poison with thee, or in bastinado, or in steel..." *In act I, scene X of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

, ''

Die Entführung aus dem Serail ' () (Köchel catalogue, K. 384; ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''; also known as ') is a singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's . The plot concer ...

'' ("The Abduction from the

Seraglio A seraglio, serail, seray or saray (from , via Turkish, Italian and French) is a castle, palace or government building which was considered to have particular administrative importance in various parts of the former Ottoman Empire. "The S ...

"), Osmin threatens Belmonte and Pedrillo with bastinado: ''"Sonst soll die Bastonade Euch gleich zu Diensten steh'n."'' (lit. "Or the bastonade will serve you soon."). *In act I, scene XIX of Mozart's opera ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'', Sarastro orders Monostatos to be punished with 77 blows on the soles of his feet: "He! gebt dem Ehrenmann sogleich/nur sieben und siebenzig Sohlenstreich'." (lit. "Give the gentleman immediately just seventy-seven strokes on the soles.") *In Chapter 8, Climatic Conditions, of Robert Irwin's novel '' The Arabian Nightmare'', Sultan's

doppelgänger A doppelgänger ( ), sometimes spelled doppelgaenger or doppelganger, is a ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its own fleshly counterpart. In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or p ...

is discovered and is questioned. "He was bastinadoed lightly to make him talk (for a heavy bastinado killed), but the man sobered up quickly and said nothing." *In Chapter 58 of ''

Innocents Abroad ''The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrim's Progress'' is a travel literature , travel book by American author Mark Twain. Published in 1869, it humorously chronicles what Twain called his "Great Pleasure Excursion" on board the chartered stea ...

'' by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

, a member of Twain's party goes to collect a specimen from the face of the Sphinx and Twain sends a sheik to warn him of the consequences: "...by the laws of Egypt the crime he was attempting to commit was punishable with imprisonment or the bastinado." * In

Henri Charrière Henri Charrière (; 16 November 1906 – 29 July 1973) was a French writer, convicted of murder in 1931 by the French courts and pardoned in 1970. He wrote the 1969 novel '' Papillon'', a memoir of his incarceration in and escape from a p ...

's '' Papillon'', the author recalls having this done to him at

Devil's Island The penal colony of Cayenne ( French: ''Bagne de Cayenne''), commonly known as Devil's Island (''Île du Diable''), was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953, in the Salvation Islan ...

, whereupon he had to be carried about in a wheelbarrow, with the soles of his feet resting against garden fork handles. * In Tony Anthony's autobiography: ''Taming the Tiger'', he was tortured and interrogated by Cyprian policemen using primarily this method, before being imprisoned in Nicosia central prison. * When "Gonzo" journalist

Hunter S. Thompson Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author, regarded as a pioneer of New Journalism along with Gay Talese, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, Joan Didion, and Tom Wolfe. He rose to prom ...

ran an unsuccessful campaign for Sheriff of

Pitkin County, Colorado Pitkin County is a county in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,358. The county seat and largest city is Aspen. The county is named for Colorado Governor Frederick Walker Pitkin. Pitkin County is includ ...

, in 1970, he said his plan for dealing with the illicit drug trade was that "My first act as Sheriff will be to install, on the courthouse lawn, a bastinado platform and a set of stocks in order to punish dishonest dope dealers in a proper public fashion." * In

Mario Puzo Mario Francis Puzo (; ; October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999) was an American author and screenwriter. He wrote crime novels about the Italian-American Mafia and Sicilian Mafia, most notably ''The Godfather (novel), The Godfather'' (1969), which h ...

's novel of ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...

'', three corrupt home-repair workers are "thoroughly bastinadoed" by

Sonny Corleone Santino "Sonny" Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and its 1972 film adaptation. He is the eldest son of the mafia boss don Vito Corleone and Carmela Corleone. He has two brothers, Fredo and Micha ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foot Whipping Corporal punishments Penal imprisonment School punishments Whipping Physical torture techniques