Their Beloved Saint

By Jan Khaskheli, *Urs celebrations begin for Hazrat Shaikh Salamat* - The News International - Karachi, Pakistan; Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Jati, ordinarily a quiet coastal locality that shares a border with Punjab, will spring to life today (Tuesday), when the town becomes the focal point of hundreds of devotees, who are making their way to the shrine of Hazrat Shaikh Salamat to pay homage to their beloved saint during his annual death anniversary festival.

Popularly referred to by his followers as Bhayani, the sufi saint is the spiritual leader of many communities residing along the coastline of Pakistan and India, including Sindh’s 350 km long coast spreading over the districts of Karachi, Badin and Thatta.

For one whole week starting form Rabi-ul-Sani 23 (April 29), Bhayani’s 830th annual ‘Urs’ will be celebrated in full force and vigor in the form of various festival activities unique to this event. Devotees, including shop keepers begun pouring into the town’s limits a few days earlier in order to make arrangements for their stay in Jati.

Newly-wed couples along with their families and parents of infants will soon throng the narrow streets of this coastal town with food offerings while seeking their beloved saint’s blessing in their first year of marriage or parenthood.

Herdsmen visit the shrine whenever their animals fall ill in order to rub its sacred earth on their wounds and feed them dried grass, which they believe will as a cure. To show their gratitude the herdsmen make offerings of musical ornaments, which are ordinarily tied in the neck of the animals, and hang them outside the gates of the shrine.

Various groups are assigned different duties during the Urs celebrations. For instance, fishermen provide various forms of water vegetation and paddy grass, which will act as the natural carpet for the shrine, as beds and bed sheets are not allowed in the holy premises. They even bring plenty of fish to feed hundreds of cats that call the shrine home. Members of the Thaheem tribe paint the entire shrine, including its graves, in a whitish colour while carpenters do their part by tending to the doors and general structures within the area. A different group is responsible for the cleaning of the shrine’s sacred cloth in the local canal. Similarly, the Blacksmiths and Goldsmiths that visit the shrine are assigned specific duties based on their craft.

Traditionally, members from coastal communities make sure that no wedding ceremonies are held in this week of the festival, during which time they devote themselves completely to the event’s rituals and activities. They even make a point to don new clothes bought specifically for the occasion.

While recalling his experiences at previous Urs ceremonies, Noor Mohammed, a local activist and devoted follower, said that hundreds of fishermen families from India’s Gujrat used to make the long trek to Jati at this time of year. Unfortunately, due to the strained political relationship between Pakistan and its neighbor, and subsequent border restrictions, these devotees have been deprived of paying homage to their revered saint, he added.

Noor elaborated that the elders from various communities and others alike enter the town’s streets barefoot out of respect, as people are unsure about the exact location of Bhayani’s eternal abode and so the entire area is considered sacred. Noor pointed to an ancient myth that says Bhayani was martyred in the war against evil forces at his time.

One of the festivals many attractions is a boat rally in which hundreds of disciples, mostly comprising of fishermen, walk through the streets of Jati carrying elaborately decorated small wooden boats, which end up at the shrine itself. Another unique feature of the shrine is that it is the only one of its kind where devotees are forbidden from entering its locked gates, and followers offer their prayers and respects outside. Only a member of the shrine’s caretaker’s family is bestowed the honor of entering the shrine each year to light a dia (lamp) and change the sacred cloth that adorns the grave. Some believers maintain that the shrine is a mass grave of all the martyrs that gave their lives while allegedly fighting evil forces. Other important rituals like the ‘malakhro’ and music show starts from Rabi-ul-Sani 26, 27, 28 and 29 (April 1—4, 2011).

Previously it was the tradition amongst prosperous coastal communities to travel to the shrine via bull-carts, horses and camels, bringing with them food items such as rice, wheat, milk and meat; a generous contribution to the festival’s feasts. But sadly enough, due to poverty and food shortages, traditions had to be altered, it was learnt.

Local activists say that despite falling victim to the horrors of natural disasters, including the July 2010 floods, many affected families will spend a portions of the money, given to them by the government to rebuild their lives, on Bhayani’s annual death anniversary.

Sindhi Adabi Sangat, a literary organization is organizing a literary conference for the Urs celebrations on April 2, in which writers and historians will share their work and singers will perform sufi songs to pay homage to their beloved saint.