Witness to Marvels : Sufism and Literary Imagination / Tony K. Stewart.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stewart, Tony K., 1954-2024, Author.

Series:

Islamic Humanities.

Islamic Humanities ; 2

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Islam and literature--India--Bengal.

Islam and literature.

Sufism--India--Bengal.

Sufism.

Hinduism--India--Bengal.

Hinduism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxxi, 300 pages) : illustrations; PDF, digital file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Oakland University of California Press 2019

Berkeley, CA : University of California Press, [2019]

Language Note:

In English.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org. There is a vast body of imaginal literature in Bengali that introduces fictional Sufi saints into the complex mythological world of Hindu gods and goddesses. Dating to the sixteenth century, the stories-pir katha-are still widely read and performed today. The events that play out rival the fabulations of the Arabian Nights, which has led them to be dismissed as simplistic folktales, yet the work of these stories is profound: they provide fascinating insight into how Islam habituated itself into the cultural life of the Bangla-speaking world. In Witness to Marvels, Tony K. Stewart unearths the dazzling tales of Sufi saints to signal a bold new perspective on the subtle ways Islam assumed its distinctive form in Bengal.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Conventions Regarding Transliteration and Nomenclature

Conventions Regarding Dates

1. Heavenly Orchestrations: The World of the Legendary Pīrs of Bengal

2. The Enchanting Lives of the Pīrs: Structures of Narrative Romance

3. Subjunctive Explorations: The Parodic Work of Pīr Kathā

4. Mapping the Imaginaire: The Conditions of Possibility

5. Manipulating the Cosmic Hierarchy: A Practical Act of Conceptual Blending

6. Pragmatics of Pīr Kathā: Emplotment and Extra-Discursive Effects

Epilogue

Works Cited

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

This eBook is made available Open Access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 https://www.degruyter.com/dg/page/open-access-policy

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 06. Apr 2020)

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9780520306332

0520306333

OCLC:

1089279590

Access Restriction:

Unrestricted online access.