The Female Voice in Sufi Ritual: Devotional Practices of Pakistan and India [Hardcover]

Shemeem Burney Abbas (Author), Elizabeth Warnock Fernea (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2003

The female voice plays a more central role in Sufi ritual, especially in the singing of devotional poetry, than in almost any other area of Muslim culture. Female singers perform sufiana-kalam, or mystical poetry, at Sufi shrines and in concerts, folk festivals, and domestic life, while male singers assume the female voice when singing the myths of heroines in qawwali and sufiana-kalam. Yet, despite the centrality of the female voice in Sufi practice throughout South Asia and the Middle East, it has received little scholarly attention and is largely unknown in the West. This book presents the first in-depth study of the female voice in Sufi practice in the subcontinent of Pakistan and India. Shemeem Burney Abbas investigates the rituals at the Sufi shrines and looks at womenOs participation in them, as well as male performersO use of the female voice. The strengths of the book are her use of interviews with both prominent and grassroots female and male musicians and her transliteration of audio- and videotaped performances. Through them, she draws vital connections between oral culture and the written Sufi poetry that the musicians sing for their audiences. This research clarifies why the female voice is so important in Sufi practice and underscores the many contributions of women to Sufism and its rituals.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: University of Texas Press; 1 edition (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292705158
• ISBN-13: 978-0292705159
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,002,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, March 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Female Voice in Sufi Ritual: Devotional Practices of Pakistan and India (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book that details women's performance of mystical texts in South Asia. A must for anyone who wants to know about the sociolinguistic contexts of the languages of Pakistan and India. The book has lovely photographs. Easy to read language and details.