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SACRED GEOGRAPHY to house it; the temple can therefore be located wher­ Sacred geography is an aspect of a people's cosmology, ever its patron desires. In folk religion, by contrast, gods part of the way they see the world as ordered and sig­ manifest themselves at particular spots in "self-formed" nificant. In South Asia this topic encompasses religious (svayambhii), unhewn rocks. People recognize the man­ valuations of nature; ideas about the earthly locations ifestation because the place is marked by a spontaneous of gods and goddesses; memories of the locations of flow of blood, by a cow lactating onto the ground, or events in the lives of saints, founders, and divine in­ by some other natural wonder. carnations; notions of center and periphery, and ideas In many cases, a pai1icular place of worship of a de­ about directional orientation; notions of replication and ity is understood to be the locus of some event in the microcosm; and ideas about the holiness of certain re­ deity's life-the killing of a demon, for instance, or the gions and territories. deity's wedding. When a god (or, less often, a goddess) The religious valuation of nature in South Asia is understood to have descended to earth in human form focuses on mountains, rivers, and the wilderness. las an avutiira), a number of different spots are identi­ Mountains and rivers are not only the abodes of deities fied as loci of specific episodes in the avatara's life story. but also, in some cases, themselves divine. Mountains The same is true of places associated with the lives and are most often associated with the god Siva, by virtue deaths of religious founders (whether divine or not), of his ascetic nature and their appropriateness for as­ saints, and holy persons. Such places are particularly ceticism and because their shape identifies them with important in Buddhist, Jain, and Muslim religious ge­ the lingu, the aniconic or phallic representation of Siva. ography, as well as in the religious geography of Hindu Rivers are most often goddesses, or the homes of god­ devotional (blwkti) and ascetic groups. desses. The sexual imagery is at its most explicit in the A more abstract kind of sacrality inheres in places portrayal of Siva as a male human with the Ganges (In­ that are viewed as the center of the world or of some part dia's holiest river, worshipped as a goddess) as a small of it. In Southeast as well as South Asia, such places female figure entwined in his hair. are sometimes seen as analogous to Mount Meru, the Other religious values are associated with forests cosmic mountain at the center of the world in some ver­ and the wilderness. From within the settled agricultural sions of Sanskrit cosmology. Often a holy place will be village, these areas appear dangerous and frightening, surrounded by a sacred precinct, its paiicakrosf, the area the abode of tigers, serpents, hunters, and robbers. But within a radius of approximately ten miles of it; some­ forests and wilderness are also another preferred abode times the periphery of such a sacred area will he marked of ascetics and hermits and an important source of re­ by shrines of guardian deities in the four cardinal and newal oflife in the village and kingdom. Trees in temple four intermediate directions. The direction in which a courtyards and elsewhere bring an element of wild na­ temple or shrine faces is also often significant: east, ture into the settlement and are sometimes worshipped for instance, toward the rising sun, for most temples as deities or abodes of deities. of Siva and many other gods; south, toward the realm Gods are located at other places as well. In brah­ of death, for less auspicious deities and some guardian manical temple religion, priests invoke the life (prli1za) figures. In paying honor to a deity, shrine, or city, one of the deity into an image that artisans have prepared circumambulates it, keeping one's right side toward it.

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Major holy places are often replicated elsewhere, and Mela; Pilgrimage; Sacred Geography, Afghanistan; they frequently contain replicas of other holy places. Sacred Places; Shrines; Water Lore; Worship; Ziyarat The best example of this is Varai;iasT (Banaras. Kasi). This most holy city contains shrines of important gods from all over India and is itself replicated in many other SACRED GEOGRAPHY, AFGHANISTAN cities and towns. Most frequently, it is holy places and The tradition of associating hallowed locations with the rivers of North India with which other places and rivers esteemed is widely manifest in Islamic Afghanistan, are identified or connected. In addition to KasT, places despite the fact that Islam does not encourage sai11tcults that arc particularly prominent in this respect include and numbers of Islamic societies actively suppress the Prayag (Allahabad), Gaya, and the Ganges river. The veneration of shrines. replication can take the form of a simple assertion of Sites all over Afghanistan are honored because of identity (a local place is Gaya, or it is the "Southern their linkage with events or personalities mentioned in Gaya"); of an expression of the power of the local the Qur· an, with relics of the Prophet Mul.iammad. or place in terms of the power of the distant, more fa­ with eminent early Islamic heroes. A few may be ex­ mous place (the local place destroys as many sins as, ploited simply for commercial or political advantage, or provides ten times as much merit as, Prayag); of ev­ but typically, in addition to offering hope for sought­ idence of the physical connection of the local place to after boons, cures, or solace, sites connected with the the more distant, more famous one (a lemon dropped renowned serve to bond individuals to their heritage and into the Ganges comes out in the tank of a local temple strengthen personal identities by adding significance to far to the south); of a story indicating a god's prefer­ their immediate surroundings. Pilgrims to Chishmah-i ence for the local place (Siva left Varai:iasT and came to I::Iayat (Spring of Life) in Samangan Province, north of stay at the local place because he liked it better); and the Hindu Kush, hope to meet there the green-robed so on. Khwaja Khiir, the only being who can show the way In some cases, it is not only individual places but to the spring of eternal life. While Khwaja Khiir may whole areas that are viewed as holy. Such, for exam­ roam the world to succor the lost and needy, many be­ ple, is the Braj area for devotees of Kr~1Ja. who lived lieve his abode is actually at this spring of northern there, or the GodavarT river valley for Mahanuhhavs, Afghanistan. Those aftlicted with boils visit Chismah-i whose founder, Cakradhar, wandered there. In other Ayyub, a shrine built over a hot spring in Balkh Province cases, holy places are thought of and visited in sets: where Ayyub (Job) is believed to have rested while jour­ the twelvejyotirliilgas ("lingas of Light"), for instance, neying through Afghanistan. spread throughout India, or the live or six holy places Similarly. according to Surah 18 in the Qur'an, cer­ of the god Muruka11 in Tamil Nadu. By encouragi11g tain Seekers of Truth were put to sleep in a cave by pilgrims to travel throughout the area in which they Allah to await the day of Revelation. Jordan and Iraq are scattered. by enabling the pilgrims to meet others also claim the site of this cave, but the brotherhood at the from that area, and even hy allowing people who do not A~IJab al-Kahf (People of the Cave) near Maymanah in travel to the places to think of the area as a whole, such northern Faryab Province, reverently lead pilgrims to sets of places can foster the development of regional or a cave where the Seekers and their faithful hound still national consciousness. slumber under shrouded mounds. Paramount among the locations associated with such References venerated figures or events are those honoring the life and miraculous exploits of 'AIT ibn Abi Talib, cousin Clothey, Fred W. 1972. Pilgrimage centers in the Tamil cultus of Murukan . .!011mal of' the A111cric111lAcade111v of' Religion 40: and son-in-law of the Prophet Mu~ammad, fourth 79-95. caliph of Sunni Islam (656-661 C.E.) and first legiti­ Eck, Diana. 1982. Bonaras: city of' light. New York: Alfred mate imam in the ShT'a tradition. l~a?;rat 'AITis revered A. Knopf. for his role as an intermediary against tyranny. Feldhaus, Anne. 1995. Water and 11·0111anhuod:reli?,io11s mcan­ Mazar-i Sharif (Noble Shrine), from which the cap­ inqs of' rivers ill Ma/l(lmshtm. New York: Oxford University Press. ital city of Balkh Province in Northern Afghanistan Parry. .Jonathan. 1994. neath ill Banams. Cambridge: takes its name, is a shrine held sacred as the tomb of Cambridge University Press. Ha?;rat 'AIT. altho11gh many Sunni and Shfa Muslims believe that after he was assassinated in 661 C.E., 'Ali ANNE FELDHAUS was buried in Najaf, Iraq. According to Afghan legend, SEE ALSO 'AITwas interred in Balkh because his followers, fearing Buddhist Sacred Geography. Sri Lanka; Dargah; Fairs desecration by his enemies, placed the body on the back and Festivals; Goddesses, Place, and Identity in Nepal; of a white she-camel and allowed her to wander until she

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lo offer his respects and comission the construction of another splendid building. The form of this build­ ing survives today, albeit extensively reconstructed and redecorated. Afghanistan's most elaborate religious gathering is held here during the annual celebrations of the Gul-i Surkh (Reel Blossom, a wild desert tulip) festival on Naw Ruz (New Year, 2 1 March). Band-i AmTr (Dam of the Amir) is a chain of six lakes in the Hazarajat mountains of the Western Hindu Kush range in Bamiyan Province. The magical combi­ nation of sparkling sapphire-blue lakes nestled al the foot of sheer magenta-hued cliffs in a vast barren land­ scape calls for miraculous explanations. For the Hazara people living in the region, the answer lies in the inter­ cess ion of Ha~ral 'Alt. The oral traditions describing the creation of the dams that separate the lakes center around Barbar, an irascible infidel king whose conduct became increas­ ingly overbearing when the thousand slaves sent to darn a raging river consistently railed to contain the J-lood. Everywhere, the people suffered great hardship because of the king's frustration. One victim in desper­ ate need of money to release his unjustly imprisoned wik and children sought the aid or l~a?:rat 'Alt, who Band-I-Amir, Bamiyan Province, Afghanistan, 2000, © Karla instructed the young man to offer him as a slave to the Schefrer king without revealing his identity. Barbar agreed to the purchase on condition that the slave build the clam he so fell exhausted. On this spot the remains were buried, but desired. l:fa?rat 'Alt strode over the mountain and with all knowledge of it was lost until the twelfth century C.E. a colossal kick brought down masses of rock to form The tradition recounting the rediscovery of the burial Band-i Hatbat (Dam of Awe). With a mighty stroke or is recorded by Abu Hamid al-Gharnati, an Andalusian his sword, he sliced off another huge hunk for Band-i visiting Balkh in 1153. In 530 II. I I 135- 1136 c.i ~. the 2,ulfiqar (Dam of the Sword of 'Alt) and uprooted Prophet Muhammad revealed the site to several Balkh bushes in great number lo shape Band-i Pudinah (Dam citizens in their dreams. Religious leaders at first dis­ of Mint). counted the revelations until 'Alt himself appeared in Meanwhile, 'Alt's groom assisted his master by con­ the dreams of a noted juri st. The governor then opened structing Band-i Qambar (Dam of the Groom ) and the tomb and found the body in its shroud intact, next to the thousand slaves who had labored so long in vain an identifying inscription. The lirsl magnificent shrine were amazed to find Band-i Ghulaman (Dam of the was built at this time. Slaves) completed. As a token of esteem, a passing Local lore credits Chingiz Khan with the destruc­ nomad woman offered the miracle worker a round of tion of this structure in 1220, but writlen sources are fresh cheese, which l:faf rat 'Alt placed in the river to silent. lbn Ballula in about 1333 described 13alkh as form Band-i Pantr (Dam of Cheese). Finally, in order "completely dilapidat ed and uninhabited." Oral and lit­ that villagers down river might not suffer, 'Alt drew erary sources revive the story late in the fifteenth cen­ his fingers across Band-i l:fa1ba1 to create channels tury C.E. In oral accounts the location or the tomb is for the river to flow through to irrigate the fields. His again revealed through a dream, but the standard writ­ work done, Ha?:ral 'Alt revealed his true identity lo the ten account, Khwanclmir's fla/Jfb al -Siyt'/1; states that king, who was so overcome he immediately embraced in 885 H. I 1480- 148 1 C.E. Shams al-Din Muhammad Islam. Bastami arrived in Balkh from Kabul carrying the work Darra-yi Azhdahar (The Valley of the Dragon) is a of al-Gharnati. Bastami and Balkh's governor opened a small valley five miles west of Bamiyan, the capital of drnm:d t0111htk scrihed in the early work and thn c found Bamiyan Province. The valley is sacred because or its an inscribed tablet corroborating the identification. association with another miraculous victory that con­ So great was the rejoicing when the Timurid ruler tinues l:fa~rat 'Alt's feats undertaken at Band-i AmTr, Sultan Husayn Bayqara (1468- 1506) came from Heral some forty miles to the northwest.

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According to legend, this narrow, barren valley was References once the residence of a dragon who roamed the coun­ Dunn, Ross E. 1986. The adventures of Jbn Batt!lfa: a Muslim tryside, breathing fire and devouring all that passed his traveler of the 14th century. London: Croom Helm. way. Noting the distress of his subjects, the king of the Dupree, Louis. 1976. Saint culls in Afghanistan. American region promised to provide the dragon one beautiful Universities Field StaJJ Reports, South Asia Series damsel, two live camels, and six hundred pounds of (Afghanistan) 20: I. Hanover, N.H.: American Universities other foodstuffs every single day. In return, the dragon Field Staff. ---. 1978. The role of folklore in modern Afghanistan: agreed to remain within his valley. Once this bargain Silas Marner revisited. American Universities Field Sta.ff was struck, peace reigned throughout the kingdom. Reports. Asia 46. Hanover, N.H.: American Universities Field Many years later, the duty of giving up a daughter Staff. fell to the lot of an old woman whose ravishingly beau­ Dupree, Nancy Hatch. 1967. The valley of Bamiyan. Kabul: tiful daughter was all she had in life. Hand in hand, Afghan Tourist Organization. ---. 1977. A historical guide to Afghanistan. Kabul: Afghan they proceeded to the mouth of the dragon's lair where lburist Organization. their bitter sobs awoke a young man who sprang to the Hakin, R. and A. A. Kohzad. 1953. Legendes et Coutumes maiden's defense as the dragon emerged. Tulips fell A.ftshanes. Paris: Irnprimerie Nationale, Presses Universitaires to the ground from his sword as he delivered the fa­ de France. tal blow, splitting the dragon down its entire length. To McChesney, Robert D. 1991. Waqf in central Asia:f our hundred years in the history of Muslim shrine, 1480-1889. Princeton: this day, the body blocks of western exit of the valley. Princeton lJniversity Press. Recognizing that their deliverer could be none other Safa, A. Ghafoor. 1999. 71ie tomb of /lazrat-e Ali: histori­ than I:Ia~rat 'AIT, the king and his subjects came hear­ cal hackgrmmd and recent events. Peshawar: Society for the ing gifts, only lo find that their hero had been spirited Preservation of Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage. away on the back of his faithful horse Duldul. Some Shank, Christopher C. and John Y. Larsen. 1977. A strat­ egy for the establishment and development of Bande Amir eighty miles due south of here an even more realistic National Park. Kabul: FO: DP/AFG/74/016 Field Document rock formation represents the dragon's baby, similarly 38, UNDP/FAO/Ministry of Agriculture. dispatched by the l.fa7=rat.Scores of pilgrims picnic at both these shrines in the spring. NANCY HATCH DUPREE Aside from the New Year festivities held at Mazar-i SEE ALSO Sharif, the only other formally organized fair takes Afghanistan; 'Ali; Dreams; Islam; Muslim Folklore place, also on Naw Roz, in the capital city of Kabul at the Ziyiirat-i Sakhi (Shrine of the Generous One, another title bestowed upon J:la!,rat 'All). It commem­ SACRED PLACES orates the time in 17(18 when J:Ia!,rat 'AH came to pay The idea and institution of sacred places is one of the his respects to the Cloak of the Prophet, which had most complex and powerful expressions of religion in been placed for a few days in a natural basin on the South Asia. The traditional Sanskrit term for sacred hillside. The cloak had been obtained by Ahmad Shah place is rrrtha, a word etymologically derived from the Durrani (1747-1772) from the Amfr of Bukhara as verbal root tf (to cross over). There are a number of part of a treaty settling the northern boundaries. It is words connected to nrtha via the root tf that mean "raft," now enshrined at Kandahar in the lavishly adorned Da "boat," "wave," "escape," "cross a river," "be saved," Khirqah-i SharTf Ziyiirat, one of the holiest shrines in etc. All these meanings point collectively to the idea Afghanistan. of a sacred place being a ford or crossing, at which Most shrines in Afghanistan are, however, simple, an individual undergoes a spiritual transformation. The even humble, constructions cared for by single cus­ Urtha also is conceptualized as a doorway connecting todians. Afghans characteristically dislike ostentation the world of the gods and the world of humans. Given in any form. The most elaborate ritual conducted at the strong metaphoric use of images of rivers and cross­ Mazar-i Sharif and at Ziyarat-i Sakhi in Kabul is the ings, tirthas are, in fact, in many cases located near raising of the heavy pole carrying the J andah (Banner) flowing water. Beyond that, they are associated with symbolizing the renaissance of spring, the blossom­ other natural objects such as mountains (Arunacala in ing of renewed hopes with the coming of a new year. South India), lakes (Manasarovar in Tibet), or stretches El sew here, religious occasions eschew set ceremonial of land lKuruksetra in North India). performances and are most popularly celebrated with The power to transform and heal is thus primarily family outings, picnics, new clothes, culinary special­ connected to specific places. The specificity of place ties, and games, plus much spirited socializing among has led to tirthas being described as the "locative family and friends. strand" of Hinduism (Eck 1980). In fact, in historical

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