The female voice in Sufi ritual : devotional practices of Pakistan and India

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The female voice in Sufi ritual : devotional practices of Pakistan and India

by Shemeem Burney Abbas ; foreword by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea

University of Texas Press, 2002

1st ed

  • : cloth : alk. paper
  • : pbk

Available at  / 3 libraries

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Note

Bibliography: p. 183-204

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

: cloth : alk. paper ISBN 9780292705159

Description

The female voice plays a more central role in Sufi ritual, especially in the singing of devotional poetry, than in almost any other area of Muslim culture. Female singers perform sufiana-kalam, or mystical poetry, at Sufi shrines and in concerts, folk festivals, and domestic life, while male singers assume the female voice when singing the myths of heroines in qawwali and sufiana-kalam. Yet, despite the centrality of the female voice in Sufi practice throughout South Asia and the Middle East, it has received little scholarly attention and is largely unknown in the West. This book presents the first in-depth study of the female voice in Sufi practice in the subcontinent of Pakistan and India. Shemeem Burney Abbas investigates the rituals at the Sufi shrines and looks at womenOs participation in them, as well as male performersO use of the female voice. The strengths of the book are her use of interviews with both prominent and grassroots female and male musicians and her transliteration of audio- and videotaped performances. Through them, she draws vital connections between oral culture and the written Sufi poetry that the musicians sing for their audiences. This research clarifies why the female voice is so important in Sufi practice and underscores the many contributions of women to Sufism and its rituals.

Table of Contents

  • Author's Note: Transliterations, Translations, and Conversation Analysis Transcript Notation
  • Foreword by Elizabeth Warnock Furnea
  • Preface: Woman's Place in Sufism
  • Acknowledgments
  • Chapter 1. History and Economy of Women in Sufi Ritual
  • Chapter 2. Ethnographies of Communication
  • Chapter 3. Female Myths in Sufism
  • Chapter 4. The Female Voice in Sufi Ritual
  • Chapter 5. Closing the Circle of the Mystic Journey
  • Notes
  • Glossary
  • Bibliography
  • Index
Volume

: pbk ISBN 9780292725928

Description

The female voice plays a more central role in Sufi ritual, especially in the singing of devotional poetry, than in almost any other area of Muslim culture. Female singers perform sufiana-kalam, or mystical poetry, at Sufi shrines and in concerts, folk festivals, and domestic life, while male singers assume the female voice when singing the myths of heroines in qawwali and sufiana-kalam. Yet, despite the centrality of the female voice in Sufi practice throughout South Asia and the Middle East, it has received little scholarly attention and is largely unknown in the West. This book presents the first in-depth study of the female voice in Sufi practice in the subcontinent of Pakistan and India. Shemeem Burney Abbas investigates the rituals at the Sufi shrines and looks at women's participation in them, as well as male performers' use of the female voice. The strengths of the book are her use of interviews with both prominent and grassroots female and male musicians and her transliteration of audio- and videotaped performances. Through them, she draws vital connections between oral culture and the written Sufi poetry that the musicians sing for their audiences. This research clarifies why the female voice is so important in Sufi practice and underscores the many contributions of women to Sufism and its rituals.

Table of Contents

Author's Note: Transliterations, Translations, and Conversation Analysis Transcript Notation Foreword by Elizabeth Warnock Furnea Preface: Woman's Place in Sufism Acknowledgments Chapter 1. History and Economy of Women in Sufi Ritual Chapter 2. Ethnographies of Communication Chapter 3. Female Myths in Sufism Chapter 4. The Female Voice in Sufi Ritual Chapter 5. Closing the Circle of the Mystic Journey Notes Glossary Bibliography Index

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