KORINGA

While getting some things ready for "The Dime's Store" I was going through some photos from Europe in the "Buster" Bailey collection, I found this interesting lady, & was curious enough to do a little more research and found her even more interesting. As a bonus, I also discovered the blog, "Raffaele De Ritis' Novelties and Wonders", [www.raffaelederitis.blogspot.com] Raffaele is a major contributor to Buckles' Blog.

KORINGA



Koringa started with Bertram Mills' Circus in 1937 and her 'female fakir' act was such a novelty that it was given top billing on the poster for that season. Koringa played with pythons, and mesmerised fully grown crocodiles without touching them. Other specialities included having a granite paving stone laid on her chest and then broken with fourteen pound sledge hammers; rolling on a bed of freshly broken glass with a naked back; climbing up a ladder of swords in just her bare feet; and being buried in sand for over five minutes. When she had worked on the Continent, she also had large needles stuck into her body as part of her act, without drawing blood; an act considered unsuitable for British family audiences. She was still performing with Bertram Mills' Circus in the 1960s.