Sufi Music of India and Pakistan: Sound, Context and Meaning in Qawwali, Volume 1For the Sufis of India and Pakistan, the Qawwali songs are 'food for the soul', a means of attaining union with God, the ecstatic culmination of mystical experience. Regula Burckhardt Qureshi's study carefully describes and documents the performance of this music in the traditional Sufi assembly, the ritual of sama', first presenting the rich musical repertoire of Qawwali song, and then exploring everything else that is relevant to an understanding of the ritual: the profound belief system and its powerful articulation through mystical poetry in three languages (Farsi, Hindi, Urdu), the social and economic relationships between Sufi listeners and musicians, and, finally, all the specific rules governing the making of and listening to Qawwali in the Sufi assembly. All this leads up to a moment-by-moment account of actual Qawwali performances where the interplay between the musical sound and the diverse and often dramatic audience responses is described and analysed by the author. |
Contents
Introduction The Qawwali experience and ethnomusicological questions I | 1 |
Qawwali music 17 499 | 17 |
The Qawwali musical structure | 46 |
the Qawwali occasion | 77 |
The structure of the Qawwali occasion | 103 |
the Qawwali event | 133 |
Observing the Qawwali performance | 143 |
Explaining the Qawwali performance | 187 |
Common terms and phrases
accordance Ahmad analysis applied appropriate arousal assembly audience BACK basic beginning classical complete concept considered consists context continues devotees dimension direct disciple duration emotion entire established example experience expression extended fact Farsi final focus follow formal framework function hand Hindi identity idiom important Indian Indic individual initial Insert interaction lead leader listeners meaning melodic Meraj metre movement moves mystical needs Nizamuddin Auliya offering opening participants particular pattern performer's Persian pitch Plate poem poetic poetry present principle Qawwali music Qawwali occasion Qawwali performance raises recitative reference repeat Repertoire repetition representative requires response rhyming rhythmic rises ritual rules saint sequence serve setting sheikh shrine signals singer singing social song sound specific spiritual standard statement status structure Sufi Sufism sways Table takes tonal tradition tune turn unit verse
References to this book
Ecstasy and Enlightenment: The Ismaili Devotional Literature of South Asia Ali S. Asani No preview available - 2002 |
Engendering Song: Singing and Subjectivity at Prespa Albanian Weddings Jane C. Sugarman No preview available - 1997 |