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

Glossary

G Glossary abiāt Plural of bait, which is an Arab word meaning a couplet of verses. The form is adopted in Panjabi Sufi poetry and signifies a stanza of four lines. Sultan Bahu and Waris Shah use the bait form in their poetry, such as the Abiāt-e Bahu and Waris Shah’s Hir. adab Cultural norms for appropriate conduct; sanctity. Ahl-e-Taśhīh Followers of Ithna-Ashri Shīi Islam. alāp An introductory rāg preparatory to singing. Ali Cousin and son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad; fourth caliph of Islam and ‘‘titular head of all Sufi lineages.’’ Allāh God. Allāh-hū Zikr chant of Sufis. Allahvālā One who is God fearing. amir The chief of a clan or tribe. ang A regional style of music, for instance, the Panjabi ang in qawwāli. aqīqā In Islamic societies ritual shaving of an infant’s hair within a few days after its birth. An animal such as a goat or sheep is sacrificed. arāĩ A caste of landowners in the Panjab. arif One who is skilled in divine matters. arifānā-kalām Sufi poetry sung in Pakistan and India in the indigenous languages. aślok Derived from Sanskrit ślokā, which is a devotional or philosophical verse; devotional verse sung to music. aulīyā Plural for vali (friend); a term used for Sufi saints, as in Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi. aurat Urdu/Hindi term for a female. āzān The ritual call for prayer among the Muslims. azwāj The prophet Muhammad’s wives. G        G bābul Father; also, ritual songs that mourn a bride’s departure from her father’s home. bādshāh An emperor. bait A couplet of verses with mystical or Sufi content; a form also used in folk poetry. bakhśiś A gift or something given in charity. Balūchī From the Baluch, a province of western Pakistan; also, the language of Baluchistan. banī Devotional verses such as those of Guru Nanak; verses of supplication, entreaty, humility, and reverence. banjārā Generally defined as carriers of grain; in oral culture a reference to roving minstrels. bārāt The bridegroom’s ceremonial procession. bātin In Sufi literature, words that have covert or hidden meanings. Bava Gor Abyssinian lord named Sidi Mobarak Nobi; Ahmed Kabir Rifai perhaps gave him the title Bava Gor in Baghdad. The first reference to him in India is in AD . He was perhaps a descendant of Hazrat Bilal, an African slave whom the Prophet freed. He established the African Muslim community in the subcontinent known as the Sidi, Sheedi, or Syedi. There is a shrine dedicated to him, his sister Mai Misra, and Bava Habash in Ratanpur, Gujrat. bāzār A marketplace. bel Monetary offerings to musicians during a performance. bhajan Indian devotional poetry sung to music. Bhakti Devotional movement in India linked with Hinduism, starting from the sixth century onward, that expressed the devotee’s emotional attachment to a personal God; Surdas (d. AD ), Tulsidas (d. AD ), and Mira Bai (b. AD ) were linked with the Bhakti, and their poetry was composed in the indigenous Indian languages. Bhīls Aboriginal landless roving peasants in Sind. biddat The introduction of novelty or change in religion; schism, heresy, innovation.1 bol Words in a lyric. brādārī An extended-family structure, derived from the term ‘‘brother’’ or ‘‘bradar.’’ Brahaūī A Baluch tribe; also, the culture and language of that tribe. Brajbhāśā Premodern Hindi and language with an established literary standard. cāk The Panjabi term for a menial in a household; for example, Ranjha became a cāk in the Siyal household. cakkī-nāmā From the term cakkī, which means a grinding wheel; in Sufi poetry the songs that women sang at the grinding wheel; a genre of Sufi G   G poetry in the subcontinent composed in the indigenous languages such as Panjabi and Bijapuri. cāmā A genre of Persian poetry; a song. candar A ceremonial Sindhi melody played on auspicious occasions. Cānd Rāt ‘‘Night of the Moon’’: the evening before the Muslim Eid festival when the moon is seen in anticipation of the event; traditionally, women celebrate it by wearing glass bangles and applying henna to their hands. Canesar The hero of the Baluchi-Sindhi myth of Leela-Canesar in Shah Abdul Latif’s...