Abstract
Qawali is an Islamic devotional form of music invented and re-appropriated mainly by Chishtiyya Sufi order in the Indian sub-continent. Ever since qawali is an integral part of samma (ceremony). Thought not strictly limited to but a qawali is often performed at shrines. Sufis who came to sub-continent used qawali as a medium of intra-faith communication with local population. Not so surprisingly Sufis also produced literature, mainly lyrical poetry, on themes such as divine love, reunion, and miraculous interceding powers of the last apostle Muhammad (PBUH). Consequently, qawali emerged as a form of music eulogizing divine love and love for the last apostle. Sufis patronized qawali and samma because they anticipated the value of music in Indian culture. This paper argues that qawali is a catalyst to spiritual ecstasy, and even a culturally pluralistic audience is spiritually swayed by its quintessentially Islamic appeal and content. However, what distinguishes the spiritual music manifested in the performance of qawali are certain restrictions imposed from within Sufi orders to preserve its purity and to keep it in congruence with basic tenants of religion so that the spiritual realm, a qawali invoked, is not compromised through worldly deviations. Therefore, this paper will also analyze contents of samma (ceremony) celebration) conducted at the shrine of Mehar Ali Shah (a Chishtiyya saint) in order to read the complex configuration of the genre of qawali.
Keyword(s)
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