DADU, March 17 The number of devotees at the annual Urs of Pir Gaji Shah known as King of Djinns dropped significantly as the Urs concluded earlier than usual at the saint's shrine in the mountainous area of Katchho on Tuesday amid fears of a recurrence of bloodshed among two groups of faqirs.
The group headed by Ali Mukhtiar Khoso and Haji Rakhial have been at loggerheads for years over income from the shrine and its property. The rivalry took a violent turn last month when a lawyer, Sherbaz Khoso, of Haji Rakhial group was killed in a clash near Tando Allah Yar.
Fears about a flare-up deepened further after death of a faqir Peeral Khan 24 days ago in mysterious circumstances although taluka medical officer of Johi Dr Mehboob Rind said he did not find any marks of torture or infection on Peeral's body.
The SHO of Pir Gaji Shah police station Qurban Ali said that there was more than 30 percent drop in number of visitors this year because of fears about bloodshed.
The Urs was held under supervision of police and a magistrate after Fakir Ali Mukhtiar requested the Hyderabad circuit bench Sindh High Court through an application that the Urs should not be held because there was possibility of bloodshed.
He said that the district administration had sought undertakings from all faqirs and notables of the area before giving permission to hold the Urs. A civil judge supervised distribution of Nazrana among the two groups, he said. A sum of Rs250,000 Nazrana was distributed among seven faqirs. The Urs officially started from March 13 and concluded on March 16 though it traditionally continues for eight days.
Hundreds of women along with their families visit the shrine every year for eight days. They believe that women possessed by djinns can get a year's riddance from evil spirits after dancing dhamal to the tune of flute and Suroz or Surando (a musical instrument).
But this year, the devotees cut short their rituals and hastened to return after spending four days instead of eight days.
There were very few makeshift shops, which formed a significant feature in saints' fairs across the province. Only five shops selling sweet and 10 shops of toys and five hotels had been set up.
A shopkeeper Mohammad Omer Hingoro said that he had suffered a loss of Rs25,000 because of drop in number of devotees.
Manzoor Hussain Jamali, a devotee, said that he had been visiting the shrine for 30 years and this year the number of visitors was very low.
Fakir Rasool Bux Khoso, one of the caretakers of the shrine, rejected drop in number of visitors and said that only commercial side of the Urs had been affected. Devotees had come from different parts of Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh as usually, he said.
He blamed the administration for delaying issuance of permission for setting up shops.
Dance continues despite fears
But despite the fear, groups of faqirs played flutes and Surandos as women kept gyrating to rid themselves of djinns.
Faqir Talib Hussain Shahani, a flute player, said that he had been visiting the shrine since his childhood. “He plays Sur Sourath and Gaji Shah which throws a spell on the djinns possessing a woman's body and he starts dancing,” he said.
“In the end the djinns promise that he will not disturb or create any problem for the possessed woman till the next annual Urs,” he said.
Ms Nathi of Punjab said that she had been visiting the shrine for 30 years to get a year's respite from the djinn that possessed her.
Pir Gaji Shah was an active member of historical Mianwal Movement and a disciple of Mian Naseer Mohammad Kalhoro who led the movement. He was a general and belonged to Khosa tribe contrary to common belief. All important persons were bestowed the honorific title of Shah during the Mianwal movement.
His shrine is located some 35 kilometres southwest of Johi town in Dadu district.