Ecstasy and Enlightenment: The Ismaili Devotional Literature of South Asia

by Ali S. Asani, Annemarie Schimmel

Overview

The devotional literature of the Ismailis in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent is a rich seam of creativity in the cultural heritage of Islam. This book looks at the "ginans", a large corpus of hymns and poems composed in a variety of Indic languages and attributed to a series of preacher-saints who propagated Ismaili Islam in the subcontinent over several centuries. The work explores the origins of this literature in the larger historical, cultural and religious contexts of the Sufi, Bhakti and Sant movements in medieval India. The characteristics of the "ginans" are explored and the Khojki script in which they were written. There is also a look at the continuing enthusiasm for this poetic tradition in the religious life of contemporary Nizari Ismaili communities of South Asian origin.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781860647581
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	03/29/2002
Series:	Ismaili Heritage
Pages:	212
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 9.22(h) x 1.04(d)

About the Author

Ali S. Asani is Professor of the Practice of Indo-Muslim Languages and Cultures at Harvard University.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Cultural and Religious Context
• The Ginan Literature of the Ismailis of Indo-Pakistan
• Bridal Symbolism
• A Testimony of Love
• The Ismaili Ginans
• The Khojki Script of Sind
• Selected Taanslations