Everyday Shi'ism in South Asia / Karen Ruffle.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ruffle, Karen G., author.

Series:

Lived religions

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Shīʻah--India.

Shīʻah.

Shīʻah--Customs and practices.

Religious life--Islam.

Religious life.

India.

Physical Description:

xvii, 344 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 23 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Chichester, West Sussex ; Hoboken, NJ : Wiley-Blackwell, 2021.

Summary:

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, Karen G. Ruffle draws upon an array of primary sources, images, and ethnographic data to present topical case studies offering broad snapshots of Shi i life as well as microscopic analyses of ritual practices, material objects, architectural and artistic forms, and more. --

Focusing exclusively on South Asian Shrism, an area mostly ignored by contemporary scholars who focus on Iran and the Arab world, the author shifts readers' analytical focus from the center of Islam to its periphery. Ruffle provides new perspectives on the diverse ways that the Shia 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 Shia --

Draws from the author's research and fieldwork throughout India and Pakistan, featuring numerous photographs --

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

Includes an extended survey of scholarship on South Asian Shrism from the seventeenth century to the present --Book Jacket.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: Everyday Shi'ism

Center and Periphery Reconsidered

The Hyper-visible "Invisible" Community

Redefining Norms: Shi'i/South Asia/Everyday

Representing Shi'ism

Contributions

The Scope of Everyday Shi'ism

References

Recommended Readings

Theoretical Lessons

Muharram beyond Shi'ism: The "Composite Culture" of Commemorating Karbala in South Asia

The Husaini Brahmins: Hindu Devotees of Imam Husain

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

Devotion to Piru-Swami

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

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

Conclusion

Tears of a Horse: Sufi Metaphors in Shi'i Devotional Narratives of Birds and Horses

The Female Voice and the Development of Shi'i Devotional Literature

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

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

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

Hearing the Miraculous: A Different Kind of Love Story

Human Rights and Communal Harmony: Re-Visioning Karbala in South Asian Literary Prose

Mosques

Case Study-Microscopic 3.1: Toli Mosque, Hyderabad

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

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

Lions, Arches, and Chains: Visual Representation and Symbolic Meaning in Shi'i Built Spaces

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

Imambaras: Dwelling in the Court of the Imam

Case Study-Microscopic 3.4: The Bara Imambara of Lucknow

Karbala Grounds: Pilgrimage and Burial

Case Study-Microscopic 3.5: Karbala Kazmain, Lucknow

Conceptualizing Shi'i Materiality

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

Na'izah

Bori

Peta

Hatheli

Sharja

Jibh

Case Study-Microscopic 4.1: 'Alam-e Sartauq, Hyderabad

Case Study-Microscopic 4.2: The 'Allam of Imam Husain at Dargah Hazrat 'Abbas, Lucknow

Ta'ziya: Karbala on the Move in South Asia

Ephemeral Ta'ziya

Permanent Ta'ziya

Case Study-Snapshot 4.3: Permanent Ta'ziya: Seeing, Embodying, and Making Imam Husain Close

Zuljanah: Remembering Karbala with Imam Husain's Loyal Horse

Debating Devotional Representations of the Imams and Ahl-e Bait

"Hobson-Jobson": Representing Muharram in the Religious Imaginaire

The Ten Saddest Days: The Ayyam-e 'Aza

1 Muharram

3 Muharram

4 Muharram

7 Muharram

8 Muharram

9 Muharram

10 Muharram

'Ashura: The Battle of Good vs. Evil, Or Remembering Imam Husain's Martyrdom

Always Weep and Remember in the Majlis-e 'Aza

The Annual Majlis

Silsilah Mourning Assemblies

The Dawrah (Round) of Mourning Assemblies

Regular Mourning Assemblies

The Majlis Structure

Opening: The Call for Blessing (Salawat)

Burning Words: Soz

Poetic Meditations and Salutations: The Salam

Poetry of Epic Heroes: The Marsiyah

The Remembrance: Zikr

Mourning for Husain: Nauhah Recitation

Ziyarat: Prayers of Salutation to the Fourteen Infallibles

Processions

Matam: Inscribing Love for the Ahl-e Bait on the Body

Every Place Is Karbala

Performing Love for Husain

Matam as a Moral Contract

Sweet Blessings: The Niyaz of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq on 22 Rajab

Women's Votive Practices

Spreading the Cloth for Abu Fazl 'Abbas: The Dastarkhwan-e Nazri

Bringing God and the Imams Close: Women's Prayer Rituals

The Prayer of Divine Assistance: Performing 'Amal

Pilgrimage to Husain: India-Karbala-India

Before Joy, a Taste of Sorrow: Celebratory Events

Theoretical Lessons.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Ruffle, Karen G., Everyday Shi'ism in South Asia

ISBN:

9781119357148

1119357144

OCLC:

1031448516