Religion and patronage

Presented by: nimra mumtaz hina baseer saighal

Religion and patronage • Islam of the masses in south Asia is syncretic

blend of Arabian Islam and Hinduism and its offshoot

• There can be no question that ritual and belief among south Asian Muslims is influenced by Hinduism

• Within south Asia however there are different Islamic traditions and different practices in different region and among different groups

• One could look at the activities of the state ministry the auqaf responsible for managing religious shrines or role of maulvi in the mosque

• One could study the different sects ,Shi'a shunni ismaeli and other to look at the ways that middle eastern islam has been appropriated and syncrectised with different beliefs

• Best example of patronage and hierarchy in south asian islam is the relationship individuals and groups have with sufi sanits ,pirs

• The relationship between a person and his, her pirs is arguably far more symbolically and materially powerfull than that between people and their maulvi

• In this chapter Lyon examine the role of pirs maulvis in rural areas

• The represent different aspects of islam and illustrate the importance of human resource network in different ways

• The pir is the master of establishing and maintaining human resource networks

• He became easily integrated part of the Punjab

• The maulvi on the other hand stand out these human resource network at least in so far as his office is concerned

• This result in the marginalization of the maulvi within the communities in which they work ,and the elevation of pirs in those same communities

• pirs manipulation situations and people in ways that reflect landlords but it is not direct parallel

• Land lords and pirs establish their credentials through group connections both claim some degree of approval from GOD

• Both are seen to be responsible for well being of their supporters

• Landlords do not require the love of their supporters

• While pirs atleast base their relationship on love

• The followers of pirs speaks lovingly of their holy man and he in turn will talk about his love for all of them

• Land lord in general have few presences about being love by the villagers is not required nor necessarily desired

• What is required is respect ,a little fear and obedience

• So my surrounding pirs and landlord differs

• Each category is said to have different sources for their power and authority

• In truth there is a great deal of overlap in their observable behavior and the mechanism for manipulation available to each

• Pirs are perceived as a potential thread to the authority of the secular authorities

• Ayub khan government in the 1960 went to great lengths to disempower pirs with large following [Ewing 1990]

• Z.A bhutto government continued also attempted to capture the symbolic power of the pirs for himself [Ewing 1988: 11]

• The political parties lead by the ulema havre historically done poorly at elections

[ Talbot 1999:407-408;Nasr 1995;272]Rather than challenging secular authority the role of parties as jamaat-i-islami has been to legitimate state power structure

• Few outsider are able to live in punjabi village and became integral part of village but he or she not real role in village life

• Maulvi differ from this pattern in very significant way • The office of maulvi although a traditional one

contains some of the elements of weberain modernity which potentially might undermine the hierarchical patron/client relationship which are fundamentals to others aspects of punjabi culture

Sufis pirs and Gurus

Sufis pirs and Gurus • Westerners are taught that

Islam was spread by the sword • Muslim hordes invaded quiet

peace loving populations and gave them the choice of accepting Islam or losing their heads

• Pakistani muslim deny this • From the beginning of

muslims contact in south asia sufi orders were instrumentals in attracting converts

Sufis pirs and Gurus

There are histories of Sufi leaders like this across the Punjab and northern south Asia

These are stories of men who brought Islam to the people not by force but persuasion and

miracles

Baba farid shakr Ganj: A punjabi sufi pirs

• The man who is given credit for bringing islam to lahore was not a oldier but Data Ganj baksh his shrine is one of the largest in punjab

• Data is not reported to have been man of the sword but rather very skilful story teller ,talker man who could perfoms miracles

Chishti sufi

• Chishti sufi order are one of the oldest in south asia

• Long before mughals and even before mahmud ghazna dominated he politics of the indus plains the chishti sufis were spreading the influence of islam and gaining converts ……………

• In effect the sufis of south asia developed a syncretic version of islam

• Much has been written of the importance of charisma among sufi orders it is necessary to rely on these arguments to explain the success of many sufi pirs

• Cultivating human resources networks is an important for pirs as it is for heads of house hold, employers landlords or politicians

• Pirs bring togethers a range of individuals who are from different qaum ,caste,biraderi economic status and social status

• Successful pirs are successful favours brokers• Landlords and politician claim their status

from very material sources while pirs claim amore metaphysical sources

• But both must engage in the same strategies of patronage to consolidate their claim and to enhance their position

Visiting the urs of chishti pir

Visiting the urs of chishti pir

• Urs celebrations commenorate either the birth of death pirs

• Biffernt urs are associatedwith different themes

• This urs associatedd with camel it take place in a rawalpindidivision village mulpur sharif

GURU NANEK

Guru Nanek

• Punjabi understand and repects the power of sacred sites of saints regardless of the saint’s theological affiliation

• while there are movements to destory hindu and sikh shrines in punjab

• There are also indications that these sites are respected by local muslims

• Lyon believe that this hierarchically based patron/client style relationship is the key to understanding all significant relationship of the punjab

THE ECONOMY OF PIR WORSHIP Pirs sit at the centre of human resource networks.

For some this represents a vast assortment(collection of

people) men and women from different socio economic groups, qaum and caste groups, families and so on.

The role which they attempt to project is based on that of ‘perpetual giver’ and not receive [Werbner 1998: 107].

The massive langar( a communal free kitchen and food suppliers), is a action of the pir’s role as a provider.

While this can be justified in symbolic terms since the things supplied to the shrine and the langar are not gifts to the pir directly, this is an exchange of goods, in a good faith economy’ [Werbner 1998: 111].

• The pir is to capitalize on relationship to resolve problems within his group.

Like the men in Qaumism organizations who negotiate relationships from among the members of their qaum, the pir can bring different people together who are able to solve each other’s problems.

Some of the acts of a pir are meant to bring individuals the benefit of God’s

power.

The spiritual healing in the form of talismans or prayers, is a direct intervention on the part of the pir, on behalf of an individual.

• I have been told that one task pirs or their closest devotees perform, is helping people find work. (Lyon).

• The explanation of the solution may be metaphysical, but that does not deny the role of a telephone call to an appropriate devotee who may be in need of an employee.

Maulvis: Case for rational-legal and religious authority

Mosques in Bhalot

• Four mosques in bhalot.• Mosque inhabited by members of qazi qaum.

• Community run.

• Mosque constructed in the honour of deceased son of landlord.

• Jumma Masjid

Maulvi’s job

• To say the azan

• call to prayers, pray

• Be moral and rest unobtrusive.

Maulvis and religious authority:• Maulvis hold religious authority.

• They also hold a kind of ambiguous authority of the independent person.

• They are not tied to particular qaum or families.

• Barth [1959] and Gellner [1963] have described the ways in which saints stand outside of the normal expectations imposed on men.

• Maulvis similarly stand outside some of the ‘rules’ partly because of their religious position, but also, notably because of their lack of connection to local kin and qaum networks.

• Maulvis are one of the very few groups in rural Punjab who would not lose everything if the system of human resource networks built upon hierarchical patron/client relationships were to disappear.

• In the 1970’s, Tapper describes maulvis as being viewed as little more than literate (sometimes) beggars.

• They were not respected as men, they had no connections in the villages and they remained vulnerable to the capriciousness of the communities in which they worked.

Ullama dependent on landlords

• Dependent on villagers and landlords for livelihood.

• ONE MECHANISM OF CONTROL:-The mechanism of exclusion from other

villagers.

CONCLUSION

• Islam, as practiced in both rural and urban areas, is an instantiation(evidence) of the more basic social roles evidenced throughout the society.

• Pirs and shrines constitute one of the points of reference for most Muslims. While the Islam of the Quran may invoke equality between men and a direct relation to Allah, the reality of South Asia, and Pakistan in particular, revolves around inequality and patronage.

• The ullama of Pakistan stand in a unique position to challenge this basic relationship but they are limited for various reasons.

• They are not able to stand completely outside the State or the culture, so they cannot achieve the kind of independence which might allow them to truly establish a kind of rational-legal authority in which their office holds the power rather than themselves.

• They cannot effectively compete with the sufi orders who are able to manipulate categories

and networks in ways which are already familiar to Pakistanis, perhaps especially

Punjabis.

Thank you