Eight Finger Eddie

By ⋅ October 27, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment
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Eddie was an 85 year-old American who made his life in Goa, the beach hang-out in India.He arrived there in 1965 and helped pioneer a quiet brand of drop out spiritualism among Westerners. Eight Finger Eddie died recently; we hear some of his philosophy in his own words. The World’s Alex Gallafent reports. Download MP3

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Now, we want to tell you today about Eight Finger Eddie. Eight Finger Eddie died a few days ago. He wasn’t a politician. Wasn’t a famous musician either. He was an 85-year old American who made his life in Goa, the beach hang-out in India. Eddie’s real name was Yertward Mazamanian, and he arrived in Goa in 1965 and never left. Today Goa is a massive party resort, fuelled in part by alcohol and drugs. But in the 60s, Eddie pioneered a quiet brand of drop-out spiritualism for Westerners in India. Along the way, he became something of a legend for generations of travelers to Goa. Here, then, in his own words, Eight Finger Eddie.

EIGHT FINGER EDDIE:  Oh, yeah. You’re going to take the train and get off in Nirvana station. Is that it? They call me Eight Finger Eddie because I do have eight fingers. I was born with this hand. It’s no accident. In India, if you’re born with a hand like this, you’re a very lucky person. One day my arms started to move by themselves. I couldn’t believe it. I’m not making any effort at all. And this had never happened to me before. I was amazed. I was just watching my arms going ding, ding, ding. Then I got this [INDISCERNIBLE] power [INDISCERNIBLE] like your whole body is shaking and suddenly there was a light in my room, like a sun. Very bright, but it didn’t hurt my eyes to look at it. In fact, I could not look away from it. And I felt this power and all this light and I said this is the source of all life. This is where all life comes from. And I said [INDISCERNIBLE] has to be in everybody. Who dropped the acid in my tea? When we die, we are going to the light. It doesn’t matter what you were, criminal, bad guy, where else can you go after you’re dead? There’s nothing else. That’s all I have to tell you now. Thank you for coming. Thank you for being.

MULLINS:  Eight Finger Eddie, who died recently in Goa, India, age 85. The music, by the way, was a tribute track called Eight Finger Funk.


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Discussion

2 comments for “Eight Finger Eddie”

  • Sunny

    What a treat to hear this. Anyone who has ever been to Goa has wondered about the Anjuna flea market regulars. The only other time I have ever heard the media cover Goa was on a very old West 57th Street, where they went to the trees on the beach.

  • Fritz

    Eddie in fact, did leave Goa. I met Eddie in Kathmandu in 1968. I remember sitting in an upstairs room in a place in Kathmandu and watching Eddie do his hand dancing. We were all about 20 years younger than he was and loved his gentleness. I had travelled overland from Europe, as some of us did in those days, just experiencing life, and Eddie was part of that. When I came back to the U.S. in ’69, after two years, I used to speak of Eddie. Now I am 65 yrs. old and was listening to NPR and almost fell off the floor when I heard the segment. I had a clear memory of how he looked and when I accessed the site, and saw the pics, I deeply choked up. He was the real thing. He found his groove and stayed in it. God Bless.