The primary languages of literary expression by Muslims in the Subcontinent have generally been assumed to be Arabic, Persian, and then Urdu. Though recognition has been afforded to writings in Bengali, Punjabi, and Sindhi, among others, most major studies on the subject ignore and neglect the other vernacular languages. In part, this neglect has been based on the assumption of a "classical" heritage which is generally thought to be best preserved in the established languages, and a sense that vernacular expressions tend to be of the "popular" variety, which in any case cannot be considered to be a reflection of "high" culture.

With the growing realization that oral and so-called popular expressions of Muslim devotion and spirituality constitute a vital component of the totality of Islamic life and practice, scholars have turned their attention to texts that preserve, in local languages, the devotional spirit that characterizes much of Muslim mysticism in the Subcontinent. Such texts represent part of the process of conversion, negotiation and transmission of established Sufi traditions and ideas to local settings.

This study of the BujhNiranjan, an Indo-Ismaili mystical poem, illustrates a specific appropriation of mystical themes in a vernacular form, providing a window to the diverse world of Muslim spirituality in the Subcontinent. It also enriches our understanding of the ginan heritage of the Nizari Ismailis.

The first part of the study traces the transition that led to indigenization both of established form and content, as vernacular writings complemented existing Sufi texts in Arabic and Persian. In the case of Bujh Niranjan, this shift is represented by the use of a regional Sindhi script, called Khojki. This change was also accompanied by the use of Indian verse forms such as the caupai and the dohrah, and a greater use of terms and themes specific to the Indian religious context. In subsequent times, versions of the work came to be preserved also in Gujarati script. The author provides a lucid introduction to the history of the text, and its language, illustrating problems arising in the study and discussing its origin and background in a comparative context.

In discussing the "authorship" of the Bujh Niranjan, Professor Asani traces the process by which an originally Sufi composition is appropriated within the Indian Ismaili ginan tradition, and in the process, integrated into that corpus, and as with other ginans, attributed to the inspiration of the various Pirs, the teachers and preachers of Nizari Ismailism in medieval north India. In this case, the work is attributed to Pir Sadr al-din, one of the founding figures associated with the movement in Sind. Religious traditions memorialize histories and creative impulses in ways that do not accord with the scholarly modes of tracing texts to their origins or authors. Much of the recent scholarship that addresses the composite nature of textual traditions that become significant, and even "sacred," has concentrated on the genealogy of memorization and the way in which such memory empowers texts as part of a composite tradition that is then "authorized." The ginans of the Nizari Ismailis of the Subcontinent are an excellent example of how a community negotiates the various strands of tradition that constitute an inheritance and how various components of that heritage are, over time, telescoped, to constitute a perceived, coherent tradition. It is that interplay of factors that makes the study of the Bujh Niranjan such a fascinating one.

Professor Asani traces with meticulous care the many versions of the text and its appropriation by the Ismailis. He gives a detailed account of the scripts used in the various manuscript collections and shows how words went through distortions and changes in the various stages. There is a very useful table (pp. 68-72) illustrating the correspondence between the initial and non-initial vowels and consonants in the various scripts, that precedes a careful analysis of the existing versions and manuscript and printed texts.

The ginans, like other comparable traditions, emerged in a milieu where both an oral and written tradition were well established. Because of their primary role in ritual and religious life, the performative and recitative elements of such devotional expression were much more pronounced. The use of melody to accentuate this role is linked to the metrical patterns of the verse forms employed in the Bujh Niranjan. Professor Asani locates the particular juxtaposition of the caupai meter and the stanza forms of dohrah and soratha, as an influence from Hindi poetry, particularly in the form developed by the poet Kabir, and followed by the Hindi poets of Avadh. He also notes that metrical parallelism in Hindi poetry needs further research.

The second part of the book presents the critical edition of the text which the author originally presented as part of his doctoral dissertation at Harvard University, accompanied by a prose translation. This is extremely helpful in conveying the content of the verses and the mystical terminology used in the text. It is to be hoped that as part of his very valuable contribution to the understanding of the ginans in the context of Indo-Muslim literature, Professor Asani can be prevailed upon to attempt a poetic rendering of Bujh Niranjan to capture the devotional and melodic qualities of this ginan, which has been an important source of inspiration in the spiritual life of the community.

AZIM A. NANJI UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

COPYRIGHT 1997 American Oriental Society

COPYRIGHT 1997 Information Access Company