Devotion, religious authority, and social structures in Sindh: khojas, vanyos, and faqirs
"In a context of rigidification of religious boundaries, especially between Hinduism and Islam, the book argues that many physical and non-physical sites of religious encountering are still at work, both in Pakistan and in India. In India, the Hindu Sindhis worshipped a god, Jhulelal, who is al...
| Summary: | "In a context of rigidification of religious boundaries, especially between Hinduism and Islam, the book argues that many physical and non-physical sites of religious encountering are still at work, both in Pakistan and in India. In India, the Hindu Sindhis worshipped a god, Jhulelal, who is also venerated in Pakistan as a saint. In Sehwan Sharif, in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, there are Hindu Sufi masters who initiate Muslims to Sufism. This study is the first to involve both Muslim and Hindu communities in a comparative perspective, and to underscore that the process of constructing communities in South Asia follow the same social pattern, the patrilineal lineage (baradari or khandan). The study is based on an array of sources collected in three continents, such as manuscripts, printed and oral sources, as well as artefacts from material cultures, most of which was never published before"-- In a context of rigidification of religious boundaries, especially between Hinduism and Islam, the main argument of the book is that many sites of religious encountering are still at work, both in Pakistan and in India. Drawing on both historical anthropology and sociology of religions, the book also underscores that the process of constructing communities in South Asia, both Hindu and Muslim, is rooted in the same social pattern, the patrilineal lineage (baradari or khandan) |
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| Item Description: | Includes bibliographical references and index |
| ISBN: | 9004539921 |