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
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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.
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END NOTES
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(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.
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From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian