I S I M NEWSLETTER 2 / 9 9 Regional Issues 15

I n d i a THEODORE GABRIEL The Sufi

The enchanting coral archipelago known as Lakshad- weep comprises ten inhabited and seventeen uninhab- ited islands, which lie about 200 to 400 kilometres off the Indian west coast in the Arabian Sea. The islands of the span from north to south for approximately 350 kilome- tres. The inhabitants of all the islands are ethnically very similar and speak a dialect of , the lan- guage of the neighbouring Indian state of .1 T h e population numbering 50,000 is almost entirely Mus- Islands, lim, mainly Sunnites, apart from a smattering of Waha- bis and Ahamadiyyas who are not very popular with the with the more dignified Sufi ritual and the gal who strokes the wound areas softly. It is Lakshadweep are devoted to . Their faith other population. lower castes with the more lively and charis- believed that the dancers are healed instanta- is strong, as is their adherence to Islamic prac- matic d h i k r. This is in keeping with the ideolo- neously and completely. Not a drop of blood is tice and law. This includes the youth, a mainly and Caste gy of the Riffai order that was inclined to self- shed during the entire ceremony in spite of all university-educated and professional genera- The islanders are devout and main- mortification, a result of the belief in the abili- the frenzied self-mortificatory acts. tion. This commitment is in no small measure ly orthodox in their orientation, but there is a ty of the spirit to overcome the flesh. Perhaps The dancers must perform w u d u before par- due to the Sufi ideology and practice in the substratum of Sufism underlying their faith this reflects the persecution suffered by the ticipating in the rituals, otherwise it is believed islands which lend charisma to the practice of and practice. The Sufi leaders, known as Tan- Melacceris at the hands of the upper castes, that they will suffer pain from their wounds. the faith, stimulating and attracting the popu- gals, are extremely popular and highly regard- and their quest to overcome poverty, sorrow The elders recount that in former times they l a t i o n . ♦ ed, and their followers engage in a lot of heal- and misery by the spiritual acts of the d h i k r, even used to gouge out their eyes and slice off ing, and performing of miracles. The Sufis of that exemplified the transcendence of the their tongues. The islanders also say that it is Lakshadweep belong to two orders, namely spiritual over the worldly and the material. impossible to photograph the ra t i b ritual and the Quadiriyya and the Riffai. The two orders Caste-based discrimination is usually only that the pictures come out blank if someone are identified with two different caste groups visible in social and economic affairs. The tries to photograph the d h i k r. in the islands. Caste-like stratification is Melacceris resented its extension to religious noticeable among Muslims in various parts of matters when they were not allowed to partic- The Tangals India, though none of them can compare in ipate in Mohideen ceremonies. Some Melac- The Tangals of the Sufi orders are all rigidity and chauvinism with the caste system ceri youths secretly learned their songs and in believed to be descendants of the Prophet of the Lakshadweep Muslims. Many attribute 1950 went to the Mohideen at Amini and are highly regarded, not only in Lakshad- the caste systems among Muslims to the ves- and forcibly participated in the d h i k r c e r e m o- weep and in neighbouring Kerala but also in tiges of their Hindu ancestry.2 Modernity has ny being performed there. The Koyas, highly Sri Lanka and even as far away as Malaysia, attenuated the discrimination and social sepa- incensed by this intrusion into what they con- where they are sought after for their miracu- ratism of the caste system of the islands. How- sidered their prerogative, complained to the lous powers and their teachings. One Androth ever, the castes are still endogamous and Tangal, the head of the Quadiriyya order. The islander is a teacher at the prestigious Al Azar caste names are often used in conjunction Tangal, however, held that there was to be no of Cairo. They are known for their powers and with Muslim names. The most prominent discrimination in matters of faith and would charismatic personalities and many periodi- castes among the islanders are the Koya, the not admonish the Melacceri devotees. The cally undertake what the islanders call s a f a r, superior caste, traditionally land and sailing Koyas, taken aback by the Tangal’ s unexpect- journeys to distant lands returning with much ship owners, and the Melacceri, who are their ed response, established their own wealth from the gifts and donations of their serfs and engaged by the Koyas in coconut in each island and conducted their cere- admirers from distant shores. tree climbing, toddy making and menial monies separately, a practice which continues Some have taken to secular education and duties. The Quadiriyya and the Riffai Sufi to this day. No caste discrimination is shown at secular professions. A member of the orders of the Lakshadweep islands are associ- the Mowlid festivals, the annual commemora- Ekkarpally family of the Riffai order Secretary ated with the Koya and the Melacceri castes tion of the Sufi saints whose d a r g h a s a b o u n d for Planning in the Lakshadweep government. r e s p e c t i v e l y . in the islands. Huge amounts of food are pre- The oldest members of the Aranikkat and The origin of the Quadiriyya t a r i q a in Lak- pared and distributed at these events where Ekkarpally families are of course the Khalifas of shadweep is obscure. The Hindu inhabitants all the population of each island takes part. the two orders. The descendants of Ubaidal- of the islands are said to have been converted lah, the first Muslim missionary of the islands, to Islam by Ubaid Allah, a grandson of Caliph D h i k r are mostly to be found in Androth. They are as Abu Bakr. Ubaid Allah was shipwrecked on The Sufi rituals are termed r a t i b in Lakshad- respected as the Tangals, being charismatic Amini Island in 41 AH, where legend has it that weep. The Quadiriyya r a t i b ritual has two rows and miracle-performing individuals, though he was attacked by the population, but mate- of singers, ten to sixteen in number, clad in they do not hold particular offices in the Sufi rialized tigers and other wild animals hitherto white, with white caps, and holding tam- orders. never seen in the islands. It is said that when bourines in hand. They stand facing each Legends of the wonder-working deeds of he stamped his foot on the western shore, the other and sing devotional songs to Allah, the former times abound. For instance, the island tilted towards the West, and this is Prophet and Abdul Kadar al Gilani. The singers Mohammed Kasim is said to have blessed the when the astounded population accepted bow as they sing and tap their tambourines, ladies of the island with painless childbearing. Islam wholesale. He performed similar mira- very slowly at first, the tempo slowly increas- However, this sans trauma child-birth is a cles in the other islands. These legends laid ing until it reaches a crescendo of singing and blessing only for the native inhabitants of the foundation for mysticism in the islands genuflecting, when the singing suddenly Kavaratti and not for expatriate workers. Simi- and led to a more charismatic form of the stops. The euphoria of the singers is clearly larly, the inhabitants of Chetlat Island were faith. Ubaid Allah’s m a q b a r a (tomb) is still visible to the onlookers. The singers’ move- blessed by a local saint with the ability to found at the Juma m a s j i d in Androth Island ments and singing are well synchronized. The climb coconut trees without the aid of ropes and is the scene of a popular and grand festi- Head of the order, the Aranikkat Tangal, if pre- or any of the usual apparatus, a fact I have val each year. sent, stands at the head of the group. A copy observed personally. Sheikh Mohammed Kasim Tangal (died AH of the Qur'an is placed on a pillow at the end The minority community of Wahabis in the 1140), whose tomb is found in Kavaratti Island, of the two rows. Lakshadweep islands is extremely critical of near the picturesque Ujjra mosque that he The Riffai ritual also includes singing praises the Sufi rituals. This is in tune with the general built, is said to have introduced the thau- to God, and the founder of the Wahabi opposition to Sufism, which holds maturgical and self-mortificatory Riffai d h i k r order, Ahmad ar Riffai. The tambourine wield- that this latter abounds in allegedly heretical to the islands. The present leadership of the ing singers are also present. However, about concepts, such as polytheism in the venera- Quadiriyya and the Riffai Tariqas in Lakshad- six or seven , clad only in loincloths also tion of saints, idolatry in rituals such as circum- weep are from the Aranikkat and Ekkarpally take part in the ceremony. Some swords, ambulation and prayers performed at tombs families of Kavaratti Island, both of whom are knives and awls lie piled up in front of the Tan- and to saints, and syncretism such as considered to be the descendants of Sheikh gal, the head of the order, who hands them the adoption of concepts and rituals from Mohammed Kasim. out to the partially-clad dancers after blessing non-Muslim religions. The Wahabis in Lak- Dr Theodore Gabriel is Senior Lecturer at the School The Mohideen mosques – after Mohideen the instruments. The singing and drumming shadweep are mostly teachers who of Theology and Religious Studies, Cheltenham and Sheikh, by which name Abdul Quadr al Gilani begin slowly and as it works up to a faster have been in contact with the dynamic Gloucester College of Higher Education, UK. is known – are the venues of the Koyas, the pace, the dancers enter the arena moving Wahabi community of Kerala. They were for- E-m a i l :T g a b r i e l @ c h e l t . a c . u k upper caste group. The Quadiriyya d h i k r ( a slowly at first and as the rhythm and singing merly students in the Arabic run by remembrance ritual) performed by them is a work up to a furious pitch, they begin swaying Wahabis in Kerala in this neighbouring state. N o t e s sober affair when compared to the Melacceri from side to side as though intoxicated. They However, unlike in Kerala, Wahabism has not 1. Except for Island which is Maldivian. d h i k r which involves magical acts of self-mor- begin to slash their bellies, pierce their cheeks been able to make much headway in Lakshad- 2. See, for instance, Ahmad, Imtiaz (1978), tification (see below). It is interesting that the and throat and hit their heads with hammers, weep. Moreover, Sufi rituals are seen to be as Caste and Social Stratification among Muslims land owning upper caste group is associated etc. The wounded dancers approach the Tan- popular as ever in the islands. The people of i nI n d i a, New , Manohar.