RMIM Archive Article "394".


From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian

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# RMIM Archives..
# Subject: Qawaali  part 5
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# Posted by: Satish Subramanian
# Source: Teginder Singh Dhanoa's paper in UC Davis 
# Author: Teginder Singh Dhanoa ez054777@ucdavis.edu
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---------------------------------------------------------- Qawwali - Devotional Songs of the Sufi Mystics (Performance and Language) by Teginder Singh Dhanoa ---------------------------------------------------------- The main text of the Qawwali is sung in a universal style with the main Qawwal(30) singing a melodic line that is always reinforced by the Sarangi or Harmonium, and is then repeated by a chorus. After the Alaap, the chorus, hand- clapping and Tabla join in the performance. Each line is repeated at least twice and some lines are repeated many times. "Lines and words are repeated [numerous times] until all meaning is exhausted and only the purity of the form remains."(31) As the Qawwali goes on, the tempo and intensity build to electrifying heights where the concept of Zikr, repeating God's name over and over again, is usually initiated. During the process of Zikr, it is common for members of the audience to start to chant along with the Qawwals, to sway, to move their heads rhythmically, to enter a trance, or even fall into physical convulsions. "This is 'the state of mind' or 'hal' reached at the climax of the music and the point where money is showered on to the stage by the ecstatic audience."(32) In ancient times there were often no physical stages. The Qawwals sat on the floor alongside the devotees. Nowadays it is not uncommon to see Qawwalis being performed on the biggest stages in the world and in the largest of arenas. Much has changed in Qawwali since its rise in popularity among non-Sufis. Whereas, traditionally, Qawwali was sung in Persian or Turkish, with an occasional word of Hindi(33), it is now sung in many languages. Urdu and Panjabi are the primary languages of Qawwali today, while others include Arabic(34), Hindi, and Pastho, along with the traditional Persian and Turkish. No matter what language Qawwali is sung in, it has always had one common trait; the extensive use of idioms. The novice listener can be confused by the seemingly unorthodox lyrics about wine and love. What the layman does not understand is that wine is the "knowledge and love of God which intoxicates the initiate."(35) The reference of worldly love such as a woman longing to meet her beloved is a reference of man waiting to be reunited with the Al- mighty(36). The Sufis use their rustic life style and common ways to express their ideas to the masses. In their seemingly simple language, a spinning wheel can represent the cycle of births and deaths.(37) While language is an important part of the Sama experience, it is not the most critical. A good Qawwal can transport an entire audience of foreigners to a state of Hal, even when they do not understand a single word of the Qawwali.(38) The foreign world was first introduced to Qawwali some hundred years ago when sound recording came to India. ------------------------------------------------------------ END NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------ (30) Known as the Mohri. (31) Khan, Shahen-Shah. (32) Ibid. (33) Khan, Nusrat Fateh Ali. Allah Hoo. England : Oriental Star Agencies, 1993. CDSR068, compact disc and accompanying pamphlet. (34) Most Arabic texts are from the religious scriptures of the Muslims such as the Holy Koran or Hadith, a guide to life based on the lifestyle of the Prophet Mohammed (P.B.U.H). Arabic was never originally a language of Qawwali. (35) Browning, Robert H. "Introduction" The Art of Qawwal. New York : World Music Institute, 1993. Pg. 2. (36) The practice of using a woman's point of view to express mankind's love towards God is not new to the Indian Sub- continent. Many poems had been, and still continue to be written in that style. The Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, is written in the same fashion. (37) The poem "Mera Yeh Charkha Nau Lakha" composed in the 16th - 17th century by the Panjabi poet Hazrat Baba Bulleh Shah is a perfect example of this style. The poem has the line:- Har charkhey de garday main tenu yaad kardi (With every turn of my spinning wheel I remember You.) What seems a common phrase sung by women in remembrance of their husbands, is really a play on words. It deals with Man remembering God in each cycle of birth and death. (38) This is based on the account of Jaques Du Pont who said that Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was able to stir a three day audience of eighty thousand people into ecstasy, even when many did not understand a single word of what was being said. Khan, Nusrat Fateh Ali. Interview with Jaques Du Pont. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan en Concert a Paris. Vol. 3,4,5. Paris : Ocora, 1989. ------------------------------------------------------------
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian