MIFS Newsletter n°6
Résumé
The third collective fieldwork session conducted by the MIFS team took place in November-December 2010. Four members of our team went to Sehwan Sharif during the month of Muharram and recorded the event through various research angles such as the reading of processional itineraries and the performance of rituals, the study of competition between local elites and the integrative nature of Muharram processions. A detailed report is available in this issue. Field research for the death anniversary of La'l Shahbâz Qalandar ('urs) in July 2011 (19th, 20th and 21st of Shâ'ban) complements the latter since these are the two major events that punctuate the ritual calendar of Sehwan. Besides this fieldwork activity, the team is currently working on a research notebook called "Sindhi Studies Group" (http://sindh.hypotheses.org/). The MIFS will use the blog to provide free access to a number of data collections created by the team members, such as a wide range of documents about Sindh and Pakistan. We thank especially the CEIAS (CNRS-EHESS, Paris) for its financial support for the digitization of a large number of maps. This scholarly blog will also allow us to develop further exchanges between students and scholars working in and about the Sindhi world, beyond the specific research project focusing on Sehwan Sharif (MIFS). The present issue opens up with an interview of Ali Asani, Professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion and Cultures, Faculty of Arts & Sciences at Harvard University. Professor Asani is a leading scholar in the field of Sindhi Sufi poetry, as well as in other literary traditions of South Asia such as the rich corpus of Ismaili ginâns. During the interview, he provided us with clues to better understand this neglected field of research that is Sindhi literature and poetry. Then follows the report of our latest field trip in Sehwan which was completed in December 2010, during the month of Muharram. In the third part of the present issue, we continue to introduce Sindhi poetry through excerpts by Miyun Shah Inat (c. 1623-1712). In a special book review, Delphine Ortis presents a book recently published by Alexandre Papas on three qalandars who originated from Central Asia. The author provides important historical data that helps drawing a comparative approach between the Qalandariyya of Central Asia and of South Asia.
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