August 8, 2004

The book under review documents the place of women in Sufi practice in the subcontinent. This is largely uncharted territory and Dr Shemeem Burney Abbas does a commendable job detailing female participation in devotional practices. Using Abida Perween, Surraiya Multanikar, Reshma and Taj Mastani as protagonists of the musical tradition the author brings the focus to the present. The interviews with these singers are very compelling. As are the many verses, along with their English translation, cited as examples of certain metaphors used in the lyrics sung by female devotees.

Dr Abbas investigates the rituals at the Sufi shrines in Pakistan and looks at female participation and female voices in the ceremonials. To this end she studied Sufi practices at the shrines of Bulleh Shah in Kasur, Bibi Pak Daman, Data Ganj Bakhsh Hujwairi, Shah Hussain, and Hazrat Mian Mir in Lahore, Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai in Sindh, and Hazrat Bahauddin Zakariya and Ruknuddin Shah Alam in Multan.

Women’s participation in singing sufiana kalam or Islamic mystical poetry is noticeable in the shrines, at the melas, in concerts and in the larger domains of female domestic life. In the oral tradition romance is created through the aesthetics of female voices. The lyrics have strong female voices and although there is a long history of women’s participation in the many dimensions of Sufi life, that is, in the traditions of Islamic mysticism, there has been no adequate documentation of it in literature.

Mystical performances originated in Sufism in the eighth century in the Arabian peninsula. Sufi poetry in the high tradition was written by Sana’i, Attar, and Mansur Hallaj, the famous martyr of love who was crucified in 922 AD for his free-thinking beliefs and his famous doctrine of Ana’l-Haqq, which means “I am the truth”. Mansur Hallaj was a master of word play and a favourite person in the lore of musicians of mystical poetry in the subcontinent. Sufi poetry outside the high tradition of the sama was used in the eleventh century in Iran. From there it spread to Turkey and gradually into the subcontinent, where it became popular in the 13th and 14th centuries. Jalaluddin Rumi founded the Mevlevi order of the whirling dervishes at Konya in Turkey. He wrote exquisite mystical poetry in Persian and became a strong influence for the Sufis of the subcontinent. Sufi poets and musicians adapt his Persian poems in their compositions to establish the authenticity of their narratives.

There are several explanations underlying the theory of the female voice in the Sufi poetry of the subcontinent. The most basic appears to be the fact that the poetic form of this discourse is rooted in indigenous linguistic traditions. Generally, it is the woman who professes divine love. In the Sufi poetry sung in the oral tradition in the Saraiki belt around the Multan, Bahawalpur, Mianwali and Northern Sindh areas, the female voices are very prominent. A large number of Abida Perween’s lyrics are derived from resources such as the kafis (short verses for expressing mystical thoughts). The kafi is a lyrical composition meant to be sung with music, its subject is mystical, and its central theme is repeated in the refrain to create the sama (the context). It uses folk motifs from the environment to emphasize the mentor-disciple relationship.

Dr Abbas dwells at some length on the Kohlis who are the indigenous peasant communities of Sindh. They are non-Muslims, and together with the Bhils they are the native inhabitants of the Sindh-Rajasthan continuum. Their women are ardent devotees at Muslim shrines such as those of Shah Abdul Latif at Bhit Shah. Shah’s jamal (aesthetic) poetry, written in a syncretic context and sung in falsetto by his faqirs who imitate the female voices of his heroines, draws non-Muslim populations to his shrine. Shah’s surmis (heroines) such as Sassi, Sohni and Marvi are drawn cross-culturally from the centuries-old pre-Islamic mystical framework. He made the surmis into representations of the pining soul in search of the beloved.

Sufi poetry was created in the political turmoil of the subcontinent. For instance, in the 13th and 14th centuries through the following centuries, the region was a place of extreme contrasts. On the one hand, society witnessed the grandeur and splendour of the Muslim aristocracy and the opulent lifestyles of the rajas and maharajas; on the other hand, most of the population was struggling under feudal tutelage. Society was crushed with illiteracy, poverty, disease, caste and gender apartheid.

The Sufis through their teachings and through their poetry provided relief to the people. Their khanqahs became places where lay persons found simplifications of the Quranic teachings. The Sufis spoke to the people in metaphors they could understand, in images that came from life around them, such as spinning, weaving, grinding, and husking. Images in Sufi poetry were drawn from woman’s domain, such as that of her work.

The female voices in the musicians’ narratives are additionally borrowed from indigenous sources where the woman is empowered with shakti (strength). She is the creator and life force. Indeed all the sources from which the musicians draw inspiration glorify the woman.

The Female Voice in Sufi Ritual: Devotional Practices of
Pakistan and India
By Shemeem Burney Abbas
Oxford University Press, Plot # 38, Sector 15, Korangi Industrial Area, Karachi
Tel: 111-693-673
Email: ouppak@theoffice.net
Website: www.oup.com.pk
ISBN 0 19 579838 4
209pp. Rs595

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