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Victoria Times Colonist, BC, Canada
Oct 30 2010
Eight Finger Eddie blazed a beach trail for hippiedom
Agence France-Presse October 30, 2010 4:14 AM
An aging American hippie known as Eight Finger Eddie who was famous
across India's resort state of Goa as a relic of its drug-fuelled,
drop-out culture of the 1960s has died.
The 85-year-old, whose real name was Yertward Mazamanian, died in the
former Portuguese colony after a long illness on Oct. 18, according to
online tribute websites.
His cremation was streamed live on the user-generated content site
www.blogtv.com. The video showed his body covered in flowers and
burning incense sticks, next to a black and white photograph of him
from the early 1970s.
One post on a Facebook site tribute page read: "He more than anyone
put Goa on the Map." Others called him "the original freak."
"All of us over the decades who have shared precious moments with
Eddie will miss his smile, his energy, his love for Life and Dance,"
said another.
Became known as Eight Finger Eddie because he was born with two
fingers missing on one hand. He was a U.S. expatriate of Armenian
heritage who came to Anjuna Beach in 1965 at the age of 40 and never
left.
The secluded sands of north Goa became the sun-kissed final
destination for the beatniks and drop-outs on the Hippie Trail from
Western Europe to Asia.
With a culture based on drugs, free love and music, the hippies found
the beach a haven but it has since become overcrowded, with a
reputation for drug- and alcohol-fuelled excess and crime, as foreign
tourism has increased.
Eddie began the popular Anjuna flea market in 1975, originally as a
place for tourists to sell or exchange their belongings.
The open-air bazaar still exists but is mainly a place for tie-dyed
clothing, ornaments and sometimes stolen goods.
He also ran a soup kitchen for foreign visitors who had lost their
way, money -- or occasionally their minds.
http://www.timescolonist.com/Eight+Finger+Eddie+blazed+beach+trail+hippiedom/3751717/story.html
From: A. Papazian
Oct 30 2010
Eight Finger Eddie blazed a beach trail for hippiedom
Agence France-Presse October 30, 2010 4:14 AM
An aging American hippie known as Eight Finger Eddie who was famous
across India's resort state of Goa as a relic of its drug-fuelled,
drop-out culture of the 1960s has died.
The 85-year-old, whose real name was Yertward Mazamanian, died in the
former Portuguese colony after a long illness on Oct. 18, according to
online tribute websites.
His cremation was streamed live on the user-generated content site
www.blogtv.com. The video showed his body covered in flowers and
burning incense sticks, next to a black and white photograph of him
from the early 1970s.
One post on a Facebook site tribute page read: "He more than anyone
put Goa on the Map." Others called him "the original freak."
"All of us over the decades who have shared precious moments with
Eddie will miss his smile, his energy, his love for Life and Dance,"
said another.
Became known as Eight Finger Eddie because he was born with two
fingers missing on one hand. He was a U.S. expatriate of Armenian
heritage who came to Anjuna Beach in 1965 at the age of 40 and never
left.
The secluded sands of north Goa became the sun-kissed final
destination for the beatniks and drop-outs on the Hippie Trail from
Western Europe to Asia.
With a culture based on drugs, free love and music, the hippies found
the beach a haven but it has since become overcrowded, with a
reputation for drug- and alcohol-fuelled excess and crime, as foreign
tourism has increased.
Eddie began the popular Anjuna flea market in 1975, originally as a
place for tourists to sell or exchange their belongings.
The open-air bazaar still exists but is mainly a place for tie-dyed
clothing, ornaments and sometimes stolen goods.
He also ran a soup kitchen for foreign visitors who had lost their
way, money -- or occasionally their minds.
http://www.timescolonist.com/Eight+Finger+Eddie+blazed+beach+trail+hippiedom/3751717/story.html
From: A. Papazian