In this essay I will investigate the role of healing, music and dance in South Asian Sufism. This is a very relevant subject matter throughout the World as religious groups and tribes utilise the above activities in number of ways. Many religious groups partake in dance and musical activities for enjoyment and improved social life only where as other groups like Sufism do this to affect the human psyche and body. They see this as a way to soothe, incite, excite, distract and even heal one’s self. It will also be interesting to evaluate how Sufism followers seek healing through storytelling and Amma and Abba’s practices.
Healing
Sufism followers believe in story telling as a way of dealing with personal difficulties. These followers seek the …show more content…
Many Sufi people utilize the sense of music and dance in order to forget all their problems and to come closer to the truth and harmony of life. The role of music and dance in the ritual practise has caused a number of debates in the South Asian region. The main dance performed by the Sufi people goes by the name of “Sama”. It was aided by the great Abu Saeed Abu-1-Kheyr. He believed that in order to clap and stamp along to the song that it may help young people to untie from their worldly passions and desires. The main aim of this dance is to attain the ecstasy. He once said “The Nature of young people is such that they are not free from desires. Desires have power and control over them. If they clap their hands and stamp their feet the intensity of their desires will decrease and they should be able to control their outward actions better. It is better to partially relieve oneself of the excessive intensity of emotions in sama’ than to let them go out among people where these emotions can harm both a young man and people around him”. Abu Saeed has played a major role in the development of Sufism for example he uses poetry as means of teaching where he introduced his poetry into the sama practice for spiritualization.This dance is mostly recognised in the West and is the stylized dance of the Mevlevi Sufi’s of Turkey which involves circling and whirling movements which is otherwise known as “turning”. This traditional dance has become very popular especially in the Western side of the world due to the Sabri Brothers and Nusrat Fateh Ai Khan. The Sabri brothers became very popular when they introduced the first example of the qawwali music to the American audiences in the year of 1975 where they performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall. They were popularized quickly after a legendary review was published in the New York Times about them. This review reads “Near the end,
Healing
Sufism followers believe in story telling as a way of dealing with personal difficulties. These followers seek the …show more content…
Many Sufi people utilize the sense of music and dance in order to forget all their problems and to come closer to the truth and harmony of life. The role of music and dance in the ritual practise has caused a number of debates in the South Asian region. The main dance performed by the Sufi people goes by the name of “Sama”. It was aided by the great Abu Saeed Abu-1-Kheyr. He believed that in order to clap and stamp along to the song that it may help young people to untie from their worldly passions and desires. The main aim of this dance is to attain the ecstasy. He once said “The Nature of young people is such that they are not free from desires. Desires have power and control over them. If they clap their hands and stamp their feet the intensity of their desires will decrease and they should be able to control their outward actions better. It is better to partially relieve oneself of the excessive intensity of emotions in sama’ than to let them go out among people where these emotions can harm both a young man and people around him”. Abu Saeed has played a major role in the development of Sufism for example he uses poetry as means of teaching where he introduced his poetry into the sama practice for spiritualization.This dance is mostly recognised in the West and is the stylized dance of the Mevlevi Sufi’s of Turkey which involves circling and whirling movements which is otherwise known as “turning”. This traditional dance has become very popular especially in the Western side of the world due to the Sabri Brothers and Nusrat Fateh Ai Khan. The Sabri brothers became very popular when they introduced the first example of the qawwali music to the American audiences in the year of 1975 where they performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall. They were popularized quickly after a legendary review was published in the New York Times about them. This review reads “Near the end,