Chanting devotions

Assigned readings, listenings, viewings

Islamic. Please read my survey of inshad dini (Islamic hymnody in Egypt). Then read listening notes for corresponding audio examples. You may also listen to a typical mawlid and read the associated album notes. The mawlid is a celebration of the Prophet Muhammad's birth, including devotional singing; it is frequently recited in the mystical orders of Islam, the turuq Sufiyya - in this case the Hamidiyya Shadhiliyya order of Egypt.

Hindu. Please read Slawek's Popular Kirtan in Benares For audio examples of various kinds of Hindu devotional singing (including kirtans and bhajans) see [1].

Baul. The Bauls ('madcaps') are a little-known group of itinerant musicians from Bengal, whose religious tradition draws upon Buddhism, Tantra, and Vaishnavism, and is close to mystical Islam as well. Please read Capwell's Popular Expression of Religious Syncretism. Listen to two Baul songs performed by Subal Das Baul and his ensemble:

• Gyan Anjana Nayane Dao. Text by Radhashyam Gonsai, 1960. Instrumental accompaniment: Khal (two-headed drum), Dhotari (lute typical of west Bengal), Ektara (a single-stringed instrument most emblematic of the Bauls; made of a gourd, it is said to be descended from the gopiyantra, the instrument used by the gopis, Krishna's cowhered maidens), Duggi (small round drum).

• Joga Bole Sonre Madha Bhai. Same instrumentation, plus harmonium.

Optional supplementary readings:

• You may like to read about another Hindu devotional genre, the bhajan.
• For further background on the Bauls, see another article by Capwell.
• For an overview of the religious songs of Nobel-laureate Rabindranath Tagore (whose spirituality was powerfully influenced by both Hinduism and the Bauls) see The Religious Motif in the poetry of Rabindranath Tagore

Your selected readings

Include here articles about devotional chant - intoned religious texts apart from the recitation of Divinely-given ones. Try to cover (collectively) as many religious traditions as possible. Follow your citation with a capsule summary.

Jose Maceda, Chants from Sagada Mountain Province, Philippines Maceda speaks on the daily musical life in the mountain province in the Philippines. "Musical life is in connection with daily activities—dance, play, political, etc. There are various chants for different occasions, identifiable by tune/melody." This particular article analyzes the text and melodies (musical analysis) of seven specific chants recorded by Mr. Alfredo Pacyaya from this province, but played in the United States in 1956, and are currently housed at the University of Chicago. --Stella 21:39, 29 January 2006 (MST)