Everyday Shi'ism in South Asia

The first textbook to focus on the history of lived Shi'ism in South Asia

Everyday Shi'ism in South Asia is an introduction to the everyday life and cultural memory of Shi'i women and men, focusing on the religious worlds of both individuals and communities at particular historical moments and places in the Indian subcontinent. Author Karen Ruffle draws upon an array primary sources, images, and ethnographic data to present topical case studies offering broad snapshots Shi'i life as well as microscopic analyses of ritual practices, material objects, architectural and artistic forms, and more.

Focusing exclusively on South Asian Shi'ism, an area mostly ignored by contemporary scholars who focus on the Arab lands of Iran and Iraq, the author shifts readers' analytical focus from the center of Islam to its periphery. Ruffle provides new perspectives on the diverse ways that the Shi'a intersect with not only South Asian religious culture and history, but also the wider Islamic humanistic tradition. Written for an academic audience, yet accessible to general readers, this unique resource:

• Explores Shi'i religious practice and the relationship between religious normativity and everyday religious life and material culture

• Contextualizes Muharram rituals, public performances, festivals, vow-making, and material objects and practices of South Asian Shi'a

• Draws from author's studies and fieldwork throughout India and Pakistan, featuring numerous color photographs

• Places Shi'i religious symbols, cultural values, and social systems in historical context

• Includes an extended survey of scholarship on South Asian Shi'ism from the seventeenth century to the present

Everyday Shi'ism in South Asia is an important resource for scholars and students in disciplines including Islamic studies, South Asian studies, religious studies, anthropology, art history, material culture studies, history, and gender studies, and for English-speaking members of South Asian Shi'i communities.

Auteur

Karen Ruffle, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Historical Studies and the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto where she specializes in the study of South Asian Shi'ism. Her research and teaching interests focus on Shi'i devotional texts and ritual and material practices in South Asia. She is the author of Gender, Sainthood, and Everyday Practice in South Asian Shi'ism.

Contenu

Acknowledgments xii

Transliteration Note xvi

Introduction 1

Everyday Shiism 6

Center and Periphery Reconsidered 8

The Hypervisible Invisible Community 13

Redefining Norms: Shii/South Asia/Everyday 15

Representing Shiism 20

Contributions 31

The Scope of Everyday Shiism 32

References 34

Recommended Readings 38

Theoretical Lessons 38

1 South Asian Lovers of the Ahl-e Bait: Hindu and Non-Shii Muslim Traditions of Devotion 39

Muharram beyond Shiism: The Composite Culture of Commemorating Karbala in South Asia 40

The Husaini Brahmins: Hindu Devotees of Imam Husain 42

Pirla-Panduga: The Festival of Pirs among Hindus and Sunnis in South India 48

Devotion to Piru-Swami 51

Dulha! Dulha!: Sunni and Hindu Possession Rituals for the Bridegroom Qasem 56

The Shrine of Bibi Pak Daman in South Asian Muslim Cultural Memory 63

Conclusion 68

References 70

Recommended Readings 72

Theoretical Lessons 73

2 Come, and Cry, Because Ashura Is Today: Shii Literary Aesthetics 74

Tears of a Horse: Sufi Metaphors in Shii Devotional Narratives of Birds and Horses 76

The Female Voice and the Development of Shii Devotional Literature 82

A Solace for the Heart, a Source of Religious Guidance: Multiple Perspectives on the Nauhah 84

'Why not Beat My Head in Lamentation?': Gender and Voice in the Nauhah 86

'Karbala: Come to the Best of Deeds': The Nauhah and Normative Discourse 88

Hearing the Miraculous: A Different Kind of Love Story 92

Human Rights and Communal Harmony: ReVisioning Karbala in South Asian Literary Prose 106

References 109

Recommended Readings 111

Theoretical Lessons 111

3 In the House of the Tenth: Spaces of Shii Devotion 113

Mosques 115

Case Study-Microscopic 3.1: Toli Mosque, Hyderabad 120

Case Study-Snapshot 3.2: Ashurkhanah wa Masjid-e Ahl-e Bait: A Mosque-Ashurkhanah in Hyderabad 124

In the House of the Tenth: Ashurkhanahs in Southern India 130

Lions, Arches, and Chains: Visual Representation andSymbolic Meaning in Shii Built Spaces 135

Case Study-Microscopic 3.3: Panjah Shah-e Wilayat Ashurkhanah, Hyderabad 141

Imambaras: Dwelling in the Court of the Imam 146

Case Study-Microscopic 3.4: The Bara Imambara of Lucknow 148

Karbala Grounds: Pilgrimage and Burial 151

Case Study-Microscopic 3.5: Karbala Kazmain, Lucknow 157

Conclusion 160

References 161

Recommended Readings 163

Theoretical Lessons 164

4 Metal Hands and Stone Footprints: Shii Material Practice 165

Conceptualizing Shii Materiality 168

Gazing in the Eyes of a Martyr: Embodiment and Presencing in the Alams of Karbala Heroes 171

Naizah 172

Bori 174

Peta 174

Hatheli 175

Sharja 179

Jibh 180

Case StudyMicroscopic 4.1: Alame Sartauq, Hyderabad 182

Case StudyMicroscopic 4.2: The Alam of Imam Husain at Dargah Hazrat Abbas, Lucknow 187

Taziya: Karbala on the Move in South Asia 192

Ephemeral Taziya 196

Permanent Taziya 197

Case StudySnapshot 4.3: Permanent Taziya: Seeing, Embodying, and Making Imam Husain Close 197

Zuljanah: Remembering Karbala with Imam Husain's Loyal Horse 203

Debating Devotional Representations of the Imams and Ahle Bait 208 Conclusion...