The Colours of Sufism

Staff Report, "Desert delights" - Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
Sunday, November 9, 2008

Karachi: The courtyard of a local hotel located on the edge of the Arabian Sea was a sight to behold, with men and women attired in traditional Thari dresses dancing to the rhythm of Thari or desert music.

The occasion was the fourth annual Manghaar festival, organised by the Folklore Society of Pakistan, in collaboration with the European Union.

The festival aims to highlight the neglected folk music of Pakistan and the aim was duly fulfilled, with more than a dozen folk singers and Manganhaars from Sindh and Punjab, including dholak player Muhammad Yaqoob from Rahim Yar Khan, banjo player Ghulam Hussain, harmonium player Ghulam Sabbir and other folk singers from Umerkot, Chhachro, Hyderabad and Rahim Yar Khan, churning out entrancing beats till after midnight.

The literal meaning of the word Manganhaar is a ‘beggar’ but it also refers to a cohesive ethnic community that has a rich heritage of traditional folk music and resides on both sides of the Indo-Pak border.

While in India, the community concentrates in Jaisalmer, Barmer and Jalore, this side of the border, most of the Manganhaars live in the Thar desert, located in northern Sindh and the south of Punjab.

“The colours and essence of Sufism and traditional Thari music are in the air tonight,” said Kirshan Lal Bheel of Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab, “Manganhaars are above religions and have devoted their lives to the survival of folk music.” Bheel further reveals that, while their patrons were the Rajput Hindus, many of them have converted to Islam.

The Manganhaars, whose inspirations include the Sufi poetry of Mirabai, Bhagat Kabir, Surdas, Bulleh Shah, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Sachal Sarmast and Baba Farid, were an important part of their patron’s lives of their patrons, performing at all important occasions such as childbirth, marriage and death.