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The Ismaili Ginan Tradition from the Indian Subcontinent

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2016

Karim Gillani
Karim Gillani*
Affiliation:
University of Alberta
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Extract

      Ginan bolore nit nure bharea;
      Evo haide tamare harakh na maeji.
      Recite continually the ginans which are filled with light;
      Boundless will be the joy in your heart.

Ginans are devotional songs rooted in the musical and poetic matrix of Indian culture. The term “ginan” carries a double significance: on the one hand, it means “religious knowledge” or “wisdom,” analogous to the Sanskrit word jnana (knowledge). On the other hand, it means “song” or “recitation,” suggesting a link to the Arabic ghanna and the Urdu/Hindi ghana, both verbs meaning “to sing.” For the past seven hundred years, Ismailis from the Indian subcontinent (Satpanth Khoja Ismailis) have been reciting ginans as a part of their daily religious devotions at the congregational hall (Jamat Khana).

Type
Essays
Information
Review of Middle East Studies , Volume 38 , Issue 2 , December 2004 , pp. 175 - 185
Copyright
Copyright © Middle East Studies Association of North America 2004

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References

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