Estetisk Filosofiska Fakulteten Religionsvetenskap Katarina Lindahl Is the Mazār a Meeting Place for Multi-culture? A Study of Yakub Shahīd Mazār. C-uppsats religionshistoria och Examensarbete 15 högskolepoäng Lärarprogrammet Datum: 10-06-11 Handledare: Mohammed Toha Karlstads universitet 651 88 Karlstad Tfn 054-700 10 00 Fax 054-700 14 60 [email protected] www.kau.se Abstract Title: Is the Maz ār a Meeting Place for Multi-culture? A Study of Yakub Shah īd Maz ār Author: Lindahl, Katarina Number of pages: 73 Abstract: India is a syncretistic country where several religions coexist. A mystical branch of Islam, Ṣūfīsm, brings Hindus and Muslims together when the devotees from both religions worship the same saints and meet at the same sacred places. The purpose of this essay is to research if, or to what extent, a maz ār is a meeting place of cultures, as well as explore mysticism within religion. A special focus is aimed at Yakub Shah īd Maz ār in Banaras where an interview study was conducted during the autumn of 2009. This essay will also show similarities in religious views and how Hindus and Muslims interact in the multicultural city of Banaras. Results show that the maz ār is a meeting place of multi-culture and that people from varying backgrounds meet there. They come for a variety of reasons, mostly for wishing or praying, and the history of the saint is not the first priority of the visitors. Keywords: Ṣūfīsm , Banaras, Benares, Varanasi, Maz ār, Multi-culture, Bhakti Sammanfattning Titel: Is the Maz ār a Meeting Place for Multi-culture? A Study of Yakub Shah īd Maz ār Författare: Lindahl, Katarina Antal sidor: 73 Sammanfattning: Indien är ett synkretiskt land där flera religioner samexisterar. En mystisk gren av Islam, Ṣūfīsm, sammanför hinduer och muslimer när anhängare från båda religioner ber till samma helgon och möts på samma heliga platser. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka om, och i så fall i vilken utsträckning, en maz ār är en multikulturell mötesplats, samt att utforska religiös mysticism. Ett särskilt fokus ligger på Yakub Shah īd Maz ār i Banaras där en intervjustudie utfördes under hösten 2009. Den här uppsatsen kommer också att visa likheter i religiösa uppfattningar och visa hur hinduer och muslimer interagerar i den multikulturella staden Banaras. Resultaten visar att maz āren är en multikulturell mötesplats och att människor från varierande bakgrund möts där. De kommer dit för en mängd olika orsaker, mestadels för att önska eller be om något, och helgonets historia är inte besökarnas första prioritet. Nyckelord: Ṣūfīsm , Banaras, Benares, Varanasi, Maz ār, Multi-culture, Bhakti Acknowledgments I would like to thank everyone who helped me with my project in India, as well as those who prepared me for my journey before we left. A huge thank you to Ashish Yadav, my interpreter and friend who helped me with everything I needed during my research and stay in Banaras. I would also like to express my gratitude towards SIDA (styrelsen för internationellt utvecklingssamarbete) who financed this minor field study and made my project possible through granting me a scholarship for my research. Notes on transliteration and terms Arabic and Persian languages are both consonantal, i.e. only the consonants are written down. When the words are transliterated into the Roman alphabet used for English the vowels are added, and at this point differences in spelling appear depending on which system of transliteration is favoured by the author. 1 For simplicity I have chosen the spelling used in my references, and where different books are in disagreement I have chosen the seemingly most common spelling. The transliteration of Hindi and Arabic words has been done by using standard methods of showing pronunciation, and is following the methods used in Aditya Behl, R.C. Zaehner, and other literature used. Using diacritics the pronunciation of the word is shown as close to the original language as possible, instead of writing Sufism the spelling Ṣūfīsm is used. For Hindi, the mute a at the end of a word is dropped. Words from other languages, or words that might be new to a reader unaccustomed to the terms of Indian religion, have been italicised and can be found in a glossary of terms in appendix 5, page questions6. They are also explained in a footnote the first time they are mentioned in the text. Two exceptions will be the words Ṣūfīsm and maz ār that will be used throughout the essay without italicisation due to their frequent appearance in the text. 1 Baldock, p. 12 Table of contents 1. Introduction and aims ............................................................................ 1 2. A teaching methodology perspective .................................................. 2 3. Methods and material ............................................................................. 4 3.1 Previous research ...................................................................................... 4 3.2 Interviews ................................................................................................. 4 3.2.1 How the interviews were conducted .......................................................... 5 3.2.2 The interview questions ........................................................................... 6 3.3 Limitations ................................................................................................ 7 4. Background ................................................................................................ 8 4.1 Philosophy and mysticism ......................................................................... 8 4.2 Vedantic Mysticism .................................................................................... 9 4.2.1 The Bhakti Movement ............................................................................10 4.3 Islamic Mysticism, Ṣūfīsm ........................................................................11 4.3.1 The history of Ṣūfīsm .............................................................................11 4.3.2 Ṣūfī teachers .........................................................................................12 4.3.3 Saint Worship in Indian Islam .................................................................13 4.3.4 Mazārs .................................................................................................14 4.3.5 Yakub Shahīd Mazār ..............................................................................15 4.4 Multicultural Banaras ...............................................................................15 5. A study of Yakub Shahīd Mazār ...........................................................18 5.1 Overview of Yakub Shahīd Mazār .............................................................18 5.2 Observations at other mazārs in Banaras .................................................18 5.3 The visitors of Yakub Shahīd Mazār ..........................................................18 5.3.1 A mixed crowd ......................................................................................18 5.3.2 Gender .................................................................................................19 5.3.3 Hindus and Muslims ...............................................................................19 5.3.4 Interview results ...................................................................................19 5.3.4.1 Who was Yakub Shahīd? ...................................................................19 5.3.4.2 Why do you come here? ...................................................................21 5.3.4.3 For how long have you been visiting the Mazār? ..................................22 5.3.4.4 What do you do when you are here? ..................................................23 5.3.4.5 Do you meet people when you are here? Who? ...................................24 6. Conclusion .................................................................................................25 6.1 Suggestions for further studies ................................................................27 References .....................................................................................................28 Printed sources ..............................................................................................28 Interviews ......................................................................................................30 Lectures .........................................................................................................30 Appendix 1: List of observations and places ........................................31 Appendix 2: List of Interviews .................................................................32 Appendix 3: Transcribed Interviews .......................................................33 Appendix 4: Photographs ..........................................................................60 Appendix 5: Glossary of terms .................................................................66 1. Introduction and aims In the pluralistic society of India many religions have to coexist and cooperate. Hindus and Muslims live closely together and meet every day. Their religions might seem very different from each other, with the monotheistic Islam on the one hand and the polytheistic Hinduism on the other hand. They do, however, have many things in common. A mystical branch of Islam, Ṣūfīsm , brings Hindus and Muslims together when the devotees from both religions worship the same saints and meet at the same