MI week 6

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Tuesday (6a)

Sufism, Sufi music, and its relation to Islamicate music

Due today

PLEASE SUBMIT ALL OVERDUE WORK! I went to grade your assignments last weekend but found that I have received less than half of submissions thus far. Oct 6 is amnesty due day on late penalties. Please submit all overdue work by today, via eClass. After today I'll start to deduct points for lateness. (On time assignments before today will receive extra credit.)

A Reminder: in Reading Reports: you should do two things: (a) show me that you've actually done the reading - what is it about, what is its scope, what are the main points? Then (b) critique. Position it within a broader context. Why is it written (or filmed...) the way it is? Who is writing, for whom, when, and why? How is it biased by these contextual factors? Can you address any such biases?

New assignment:

  • Read Sufism: an introduction to the mystical tradition of Islam, by Carl Ernst (available on reserve). Skim chapters 1 and 2; read chapters 6 and 7 more carefully. Write your answer to the question: "What is Sufism?" (one page or less), and submit on eClass (6a). We'll discuss further in class.
  • Watch the following video: I am a Sufi, I am a Muslim (if you have trouble accessing via this link, go to the Films on Demand database in the Library's database page and search for the title)

Class

  • Introduction to Sufism
  • We'll also discuss your assignments from last Tuesday and Thursday:
  1. Examples of classical sources (e.g. Qur'an, Hadith, and other early texts) supporting or rejecting sama` and music; be prepared to present them.
  2. Examples of contemporary sources supporting or rejecting sama` and music; be prepared to present them.

Thursday (6b)

Due today

Read:

Watch:

  • FIve Sufi Hadras. We watched some of this in class, but please rewatch the last segment: the Shaykh Yasin performance, for Shaykh Abu Shamma's "arba`in" (the 40th day after death) (if you didn't make it to class on Tuesday please watch the first four hadras also). Please also have a look at Shaykh Yasin's inshad performance for the mawlid of Imam al-Hussein (the anniversary of whose martyrdom is marked on 10 Muharram, or Ashura' - a week from today). You don't have to watch the whole thing. Just get the feel of the music, and especially the way it builds up.
  • Video segments showing both Tijani (Sufi) and traditional drumming from the north of Ghana.
    • Damba (traditional festival for the Prophet's birthday, held in the village of Tolon, near Tamale in Northern Region, Ghana)
    • Zikiri (Tijani praise singing; the drumming music is known as akwashirawa)
    • Mawlidi (Tijani festival for the Prophet or saints; in this case held for the Prophet's birthday, with akwashirawa music). Note incredible speed of drumming; also the participation of women.
    • Mawlidi (Tijani festival for Shaykh Ahmed al-Tijani himself). Documentary showing several aspects of the mawlidi celebration; watch selectively.

Write:

Based on all readings, listenings, and viewings this week and last, write a one page report: how are local music and musical aesthetics incorporated into Sufi ritual? In what ways is Sufi music the same, and in what ways is it different, from music of the broader culture ("Islamicate music")? How might Sufi music tinge music of the broader culture? (speculate or use readings) Consider examples from Egypt, Turkey, Ghana, and Morocco. Submit on (6b)

Class

  1. Introduce your proposed research projects if you haven't already done so.
  2. Islamicate Music, with a focus on the Middle East
  3. Sufism and (non-religious) Islamicate music: a two way street.
  • Examples:
    • Mevlevi Ayin and Ottoman art music
    • Ghanaian Akwashirawa and traditional drumming music of the Dagomba
    • Inshad Sufi of Shaykh Yasin, and Egyptian tarab music
    • Qawwali and Hindustani music of south asia.
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