Bureau report - The News International - Pakistan
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
KARACHI: Many Sufi poets and scholars in Sindh are influenced by Malamati Sufis”, claimed Abdul Haque Chang, a lecturer of Mehran University during the first seminar conference on, “The cultural and historical legacy of Pakistan: investigating interpretations of regional patrimony in Sindh”, at the Alliance Francaise on Wednesday.
The element of Malamat is found in poetry of Sufi Saints like Qalander Shahbaz and Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, who are critical of the self. Malamati Sufi is usually defined as the “blameworthy”, but Chang defined them as the “critical thinkers”, whose points of view are not understood.
“Malamati Sufis think critically about religion, about society, and about practices of the time”, he said during his presentation on The concept of Malamat in the Sufi Poets of Sindh. It originated in the 3rd Century Hujra by Abu Ali Sindhi, who was originally a Hindu and later converted to Islam, and continues to influence the contemporary Sufi movement in Sindh.
Jamaat of Shaitan (Satan) is the contemporary Malamati Sufi group which celebrates “Shaitan Day”, once a year and continues to question the dogma of society and religion-so while they are called the blame worthy, he maintains that “they are the critical thinkers of society”. Another speaker, Mohan Devraj Thontya, a PhD student of General History at University of Karachi, said that shrines in Sindh attract many pilgrims from neighboring countries.
In his paper “The Shrines of Maheshwari Meghwar Saints in Sindh”, Thontya mentioned that the four shrines of Maheshwari Meghwar Saints in Sindh belong to Bar Mati Pantj, which was initiated by Shree Dhani Matang Dev in the 11th Century A.D through preaching in Sindh and Kutch, including some parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
These shrines, which are located in the Southern part of Sindh, are visited by pilgrims of Maheshwari Meghwar followers. He said that “the shrines earlier were simple compared to the decorated shrines of today”.
Dr. Juergen Frembgen, the Chief Curator of the Oriental Department at the Museum of Ethnology in Munich and a private lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, said that Sufi posters were the icons of devotion and of the tales of healing and deeds of these saints. Showing slides of various posters and post cards he collected of famous Sufi Poets Lal Shahbaz Qaladar over the years, he highlighted the significance of poster art in the Sufi movement.
His presentation titled, “Icons of Love and Devotion: Sufi Posters depicting Lal Shahbaz Qaladar”, focused on the persona and characteristics attributed to the late saint through the images depicted in many of his posters. Explaining some of the posters, Frembgen said that some of the depictions like the saint flying, dancing and interacting with other saints were reflective of the characteristics attributed to Qaladar.
“He was imagined as flying high, miraculous, and superhuman”, he said. He believed that some posters showing the saint in a long black robe with his arms open, and at other places interacting with his disciples could have been the influence of Christian depiction of Jesus Christ with his disciples.
Other papers read were:
“The Chaukundi Tombs: will they too die?” by Muhammad Adeel Qureshi, a research assistant at the Pakistan Study Centre, University of Karachi,
“The Archaeological Evidence helping in Building the History of Karachi”, by Dr. Kaleem Lashari, Director of Sindh Archives,
“The Temple of Rama Pir in Tando Allahyar: some preliminary reflections related to its History, Architecture and Symbolism”, by Sohail Amir Ali Bawani, student of Islamic Studies and Humanities at The Shia Imami Ismaili Tariqa and Religious Education Board (ITREB ),
“Neither Hindus nor Muslims: history of Sufism and devotion in Dalit communities”, by Dr. Michel Boivin, a research fellow and a teacher of Contemporary History of South Asia at the Centre of South Asian Studies-France and who is currently working on An interdisciplinary study on Sufi devotion in Sehwan Sharif,
and "Understanding Karachi: planning, history and reform for the Future" by Arif Hassan, Chairman of the Urban Resource Centre.
The programme was divided into three sessions which were chaired by Dr. Asma Ibrahim, Ameena Saiyid, and Pervez Siddiqui respectively.
Friday, December 22, 2006
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Friday, December 22, 2006
Philosophy of Sindh’s Sufi poets highlighted
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
KARACHI: Many Sufi poets and scholars in Sindh are influenced by Malamati Sufis”, claimed Abdul Haque Chang, a lecturer of Mehran University during the first seminar conference on, “The cultural and historical legacy of Pakistan: investigating interpretations of regional patrimony in Sindh”, at the Alliance Francaise on Wednesday.
The element of Malamat is found in poetry of Sufi Saints like Qalander Shahbaz and Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, who are critical of the self. Malamati Sufi is usually defined as the “blameworthy”, but Chang defined them as the “critical thinkers”, whose points of view are not understood.
“Malamati Sufis think critically about religion, about society, and about practices of the time”, he said during his presentation on The concept of Malamat in the Sufi Poets of Sindh. It originated in the 3rd Century Hujra by Abu Ali Sindhi, who was originally a Hindu and later converted to Islam, and continues to influence the contemporary Sufi movement in Sindh.
Jamaat of Shaitan (Satan) is the contemporary Malamati Sufi group which celebrates “Shaitan Day”, once a year and continues to question the dogma of society and religion-so while they are called the blame worthy, he maintains that “they are the critical thinkers of society”. Another speaker, Mohan Devraj Thontya, a PhD student of General History at University of Karachi, said that shrines in Sindh attract many pilgrims from neighboring countries.
In his paper “The Shrines of Maheshwari Meghwar Saints in Sindh”, Thontya mentioned that the four shrines of Maheshwari Meghwar Saints in Sindh belong to Bar Mati Pantj, which was initiated by Shree Dhani Matang Dev in the 11th Century A.D through preaching in Sindh and Kutch, including some parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
These shrines, which are located in the Southern part of Sindh, are visited by pilgrims of Maheshwari Meghwar followers. He said that “the shrines earlier were simple compared to the decorated shrines of today”.
Dr. Juergen Frembgen, the Chief Curator of the Oriental Department at the Museum of Ethnology in Munich and a private lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, said that Sufi posters were the icons of devotion and of the tales of healing and deeds of these saints. Showing slides of various posters and post cards he collected of famous Sufi Poets Lal Shahbaz Qaladar over the years, he highlighted the significance of poster art in the Sufi movement.
His presentation titled, “Icons of Love and Devotion: Sufi Posters depicting Lal Shahbaz Qaladar”, focused on the persona and characteristics attributed to the late saint through the images depicted in many of his posters. Explaining some of the posters, Frembgen said that some of the depictions like the saint flying, dancing and interacting with other saints were reflective of the characteristics attributed to Qaladar.
“He was imagined as flying high, miraculous, and superhuman”, he said. He believed that some posters showing the saint in a long black robe with his arms open, and at other places interacting with his disciples could have been the influence of Christian depiction of Jesus Christ with his disciples.
Other papers read were:
“The Chaukundi Tombs: will they too die?” by Muhammad Adeel Qureshi, a research assistant at the Pakistan Study Centre, University of Karachi,
“The Archaeological Evidence helping in Building the History of Karachi”, by Dr. Kaleem Lashari, Director of Sindh Archives,
“The Temple of Rama Pir in Tando Allahyar: some preliminary reflections related to its History, Architecture and Symbolism”, by Sohail Amir Ali Bawani, student of Islamic Studies and Humanities at The Shia Imami Ismaili Tariqa and Religious Education Board (ITREB ),
“Neither Hindus nor Muslims: history of Sufism and devotion in Dalit communities”, by Dr. Michel Boivin, a research fellow and a teacher of Contemporary History of South Asia at the Centre of South Asian Studies-France and who is currently working on An interdisciplinary study on Sufi devotion in Sehwan Sharif,
and "Understanding Karachi: planning, history and reform for the Future" by Arif Hassan, Chairman of the Urban Resource Centre.
The programme was divided into three sessions which were chaired by Dr. Asma Ibrahim, Ameena Saiyid, and Pervez Siddiqui respectively.
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Bureau report - The News International - PakistanWednesday, December 6, 2006
KARACHI: Many Sufi poets and scholars in Sindh are influenced by Malamati Sufis”, claimed Abdul Haque Chang, a lecturer of Mehran University during the first seminar conference on, “The cultural and historical legacy of Pakistan: investigating interpretations of regional patrimony in Sindh”, at the Alliance Francaise on Wednesday.
The element of Malamat is found in poetry of Sufi Saints like Qalander Shahbaz and Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, who are critical of the self. Malamati Sufi is usually defined as the “blameworthy”, but Chang defined them as the “critical thinkers”, whose points of view are not understood.
“Malamati Sufis think critically about religion, about society, and about practices of the time”, he said during his presentation on The concept of Malamat in the Sufi Poets of Sindh. It originated in the 3rd Century Hujra by Abu Ali Sindhi, who was originally a Hindu and later converted to Islam, and continues to influence the contemporary Sufi movement in Sindh.
Jamaat of Shaitan (Satan) is the contemporary Malamati Sufi group which celebrates “Shaitan Day”, once a year and continues to question the dogma of society and religion-so while they are called the blame worthy, he maintains that “they are the critical thinkers of society”. Another speaker, Mohan Devraj Thontya, a PhD student of General History at University of Karachi, said that shrines in Sindh attract many pilgrims from neighboring countries.
In his paper “The Shrines of Maheshwari Meghwar Saints in Sindh”, Thontya mentioned that the four shrines of Maheshwari Meghwar Saints in Sindh belong to Bar Mati Pantj, which was initiated by Shree Dhani Matang Dev in the 11th Century A.D through preaching in Sindh and Kutch, including some parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
These shrines, which are located in the Southern part of Sindh, are visited by pilgrims of Maheshwari Meghwar followers. He said that “the shrines earlier were simple compared to the decorated shrines of today”.
Dr. Juergen Frembgen, the Chief Curator of the Oriental Department at the Museum of Ethnology in Munich and a private lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, said that Sufi posters were the icons of devotion and of the tales of healing and deeds of these saints. Showing slides of various posters and post cards he collected of famous Sufi Poets Lal Shahbaz Qaladar over the years, he highlighted the significance of poster art in the Sufi movement.
His presentation titled, “Icons of Love and Devotion: Sufi Posters depicting Lal Shahbaz Qaladar”, focused on the persona and characteristics attributed to the late saint through the images depicted in many of his posters. Explaining some of the posters, Frembgen said that some of the depictions like the saint flying, dancing and interacting with other saints were reflective of the characteristics attributed to Qaladar.
“He was imagined as flying high, miraculous, and superhuman”, he said. He believed that some posters showing the saint in a long black robe with his arms open, and at other places interacting with his disciples could have been the influence of Christian depiction of Jesus Christ with his disciples.
Other papers read were:
“The Chaukundi Tombs: will they too die?” by Muhammad Adeel Qureshi, a research assistant at the Pakistan Study Centre, University of Karachi,
“The Archaeological Evidence helping in Building the History of Karachi”, by Dr. Kaleem Lashari, Director of Sindh Archives,
“The Temple of Rama Pir in Tando Allahyar: some preliminary reflections related to its History, Architecture and Symbolism”, by Sohail Amir Ali Bawani, student of Islamic Studies and Humanities at The Shia Imami Ismaili Tariqa and Religious Education Board (ITREB ),
“Neither Hindus nor Muslims: history of Sufism and devotion in Dalit communities”, by Dr. Michel Boivin, a research fellow and a teacher of Contemporary History of South Asia at the Centre of South Asian Studies-France and who is currently working on An interdisciplinary study on Sufi devotion in Sehwan Sharif,
and "Understanding Karachi: planning, history and reform for the Future" by Arif Hassan, Chairman of the Urban Resource Centre.
The programme was divided into three sessions which were chaired by Dr. Asma Ibrahim, Ameena Saiyid, and Pervez Siddiqui respectively.
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