In Amma's Healing Room: Gender and Vernacular Islam in South India

Glossary

255 Glossary abjad kā phāl kholnā lit., open the mystery of numbers; Amma’s primary (mathematically based) diagnostic procedure; abjad ālim a scholar in religious learning āmil a healer; one who writes amulets and incantations asrat an evil eye cast by a supernatural being bābā a Muslim saint or ascetic and the term of address for the same barkat [Persian, barakat] spiritual blessing; a saint’s spiritual power, accessible at his grave bhagvān (Telugu) god bhakti devotion bot fit fiu (Telugu) vermilion-powder forehead mark traditionally applied by Hindu men and women after worship; a vermilion mark or “stick-on dot” ornamenting women’s foreheads burāq winged mount (horse, mule) upon which Muhammad rode on his night journey from Jerusalem to the gates of heaven burqā long black cloak-type veil worn by many Muslim women in South Asia buzurg venerable person; saint cillā a 40-day meditative retreat; term used for the physical space (room) for that seclusion/meditation; domestic shrine; seclusion practiced by women for forty days after childbirth dargāh lit., royal court; tomb of a Sufi saint or pı̄r; a gate or threshold. dastarkhān ritual of counting out seeds onto a tablecloth spread on the ground in order to count the number of zikr repeated (usually the names of God or kalmā) devaru (Telugu) god dharma religion; ethics; way of life duā personal prayer or supplication; performed independently or at the end of nama ̄z and at the end of Amma’s healing interactions with each patient durūd a prayer of benediction asking for mercy on the Prophet Muhammad and his descendants fālitā amulet soaked in oil and burned, soaked in water and drunk, or smashed Glossary 256 with a sandal; distinguished from tāvı̄z, which is worn on the body as protection fātihā opening chapter of Quran, recited as part of namāz; also recited independently in the name of saints or deceased persons gaddı̄ lit., cushion; throne, royal seat; symbolizes the seat of power that the pı̄r holds; his successor “inherits the gaddı̄” hāl lit., state or condition; an ecstatic mystical state hazrat term of respect, generally to identify spiritual authority; excellence, highness ilm knowledge jalālı̄ fierce, angry ( jalāl means “grandeur, power, majesty”) jamālı̄ easygoing, charismatic ( jamāl means “beauty”) kalmā Muslim declaration of faith: “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is His prophet” karāmat miracle (lit., deed) performed by Sufi saint or healer karesu a type of kartūt kartūt evil eye cast by a human khalı̄fā the person who receives the khilāfat from a pı̄r, after which he becomes a sheikh/pı̄r and may make his own disciples khilāfat succession; the permission given by pı̄r to a disciple to make his own disciples ; also the paper certificate given to the disciple at that time khudā god mazār tomb of a saint maukı̄l [Arabic, mu’akkal] messenger or deputy, often a jinn or angel mirāj the Prophet’s ascension to heaven after his night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem murı̄d disciple of a pı̄r murśid spiritual guide; pı̄r, sheikh nafs human will, lower nature namāz Muslim ritual prayer performed five times a day niyam custom, rule, law pān betel leaf filled with spices (and sometimes tobacco) that is folded up and chewed like chewing tobacco pardā lit., curtain; veiling, segregation panjā hand representing the family of the Prophet; often represented on silver standards atop the flags of the saints that fly above Muslim ritual sites pegambar prophet pı̄r teacher of Sufi path; spiritual guide, saint, sheikh pirānimā wife of a pı̄r qavvālı̄ song genre of Sufi devotional music; devotional songs sung at samās to arouse the mystical state of those attending ramz trance state induced through qavvālı̄ performed at samā; specifically, the act of twirling/dancing that is the manifestation of such a state of ecstasy rūh soul; spirit Glossary 257 samā lit., listening, audition; gathering, assembly; musical sessions of qavvālı̄ singing sheikh title of respect, often used to address a pı̄r; the ritual term by which Abba refers to himself śaitānı̄ evil forces; misbehavior śakti spiritual power; female spiritual being; goddess silsilā lit., chain; Sufi order or lineage surmā powdered...