Ambient Sufism: Ritual Niches and the Social Work of Musical Form

265 Pages·2021·2.528 MB·English

by  Richard C. Jankowsky

Ambient SufiSm
ChiCAgo StudieS in ethnomuSiCology
A series edited by Philip V. Bohlman and Timothy Rommen
Editorial Board
Margaret J. Kartomi
Anthony Seeger
Kay Kaufman Shelemay
Martin H. Stokes
Bonnie C. Wade
A M B I E N T
S U F I S M
Ritual Niches and the Social
Work of Musical Form
Richard C. Jankowsky
the univerSity of ChiCAgo PreSS
ChiCAgo And london
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2021 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or
reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written
permission, except in the case of brief quotations in critical
articles and reviews. For more information, contact the
University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th St., Chicago, IL
60637.
Published 2021
Printed in the United States of America
29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20  1 2 3 4 5
iSbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 72333- 4 (cloth)
iSbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 72347- 1 (paper)
iSbn- 13: 978- 0- 226- 72350- 1 (e- book)
doi: https:// doi. org/ 10 .7208 /chicago /9780226723501 .001
.0001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Jankowsky, Richard C., author.
Title: Ambient Sufism : ritual niches and the social
work of musical form / Richard C. Jankowsky.
Other titles: Chicago studies in ethnomusicology.
Description: Chicago ; Illinois : The University of Chicago
Press, 2021. | Series: Chicago studies in ethnomusicology |
Audio, video, and musical examples may be accessed on
the accompanying website, https:///sites.tufts.edu
/ambientsufism. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: lCCn 2020028198 | iSbn 9780226723334 (cloth) |
iSbn 9780226723471 (paperback) |
iSbn 9780226723501 (e-book)
Subjects: lCSh: Sufi music—Tunisia—History and criticism. |
Sufi music—Social aspects—Tunisia. | Music—Tunisia—
Religious aspects. | Sufism—Tunisia—Rituals. | Islamic
music—Tunisia—History and criticism. | Islamic
music—Social aspects—Tunisia.
Classification: lCC ml3197.  J363 2020 |
ddC 781.7/7009611—dc23
lC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020028198
♾ This paper meets the requirements of AnSi/niSo
Z39.48- 1992 (Permanence of Paper).
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
List of Website Figures and Audio, Video, and Musical Examples ix
Notes on Transliteration, Musical Notation, and Accompanying Website xiii
Acknowledgments xvii
1 Introduction: Ambient Sufism 1
2 Ritual Reflexivity: Musicality, Sufi Pedigrees, and the Masters
of “Intoxication” 27
3 Ritual Hospitality: Women Sufis and the Musical Ethics of
Accommodation 69
4 Ritual Alterity: The Musical Management of Sub- Saharan
Otherness 105
5 Ritual Remnants: Legacies of Jewish- Muslim Ritual Musical
Convergences 135
6 Ritual as Resource: Set- List Modularity and the Cultural Politics
of Staging Sufi Music 173
7 Conclusion: Ritual Niches and the Social Work of Musical Form 201
Glossary 219
Bibliography 223
Index 235

Illustrations
figureS
2.1 An ‘Īsāwiyya ḥaḍra 30
2.2 Tempo graph of the ḥizb 43
2.3 Tempo graph of the mjarred section 58
2.4 Schematic of layers of intensification 62
3.1 A Mannūbiyya performance 70
4.1 A sṭambēlī ritual 109
4.2 Graph of rhythmic transformation in sṭambēlī 120
4.3 Alternative representation of rhythmic transformation 122
4.4 A café sṭambēlī performance 127
tAbleS
2.1 Songs of the mjarred section 57
3.1 Mannūbiyya silsila 79
4.1 Sṭambēlī silsila (white section) 109
4.2 Sṭambēlī silsila (black section) 110
4.3 Café sṭambēlī silsila 128
5.1 Rebaybiyya silsila 1 146
5.2 Rebaybiyya silsila 2 146
5.3 Comparison of rebaybiyya and sṭambēlī lyrics 155
6.1 Set list of el- Hadhra spectacle 185
7.1 Ritual musical potencies: A summary 213
muSiCAl exAmPleS
2.1 The fātiḥa of the ḥizb 39
2.2 Call and response 1 of the ḥizb 41
2.3 Call and response 2 of the ḥizb 41
2.4 Discrete intensification (rise in tempo and pitch of the dhikr) 42
2.5 Opening line of “Qaṣdī Anẓur Ilīk” (My Goal is to See You) 50
2.6 Rhythmic sequence of the shishtrī section 52
2.7 Opening line of “Yā ‘Āshiqīn” (O Lovers) 52
2.8 “Al- Kās Ydūr” (The Cup Goes Round) 57
2.9 Sequential intensification (rhythmic sequence of the brāwil
section) 61
3.1 Sequential intensification through rhythmic pairing 81
3.2 Nested temporalities in “‘Arī al- Mannūbiyya” (Shame on
Mannūbiyya) 86
3.3 Short- long pattern of Shādhuliyya dhikr at its slowest 100
3.4 Short- long pattern of Shādhuliyya dhikr at its fastest 100
3.5 Slow beginning of Shādhuliyya dhikr 101
3.6 Fast ending of Shādhuliyya dhikr compared with fazzānī rhythm 101
4.1 Melody of “Jerma” 121
4.2 Three representations of the sūdānī rhythm 121
5.1 Sequential intensification in the rebaybiyya silsila 147
5.2 Main melody of “Jītak Shākī” / “Mā Sabā ‘Aqlī” (I Came to You
Complaining / Nothing Enchants My Mind) 151
5.3 Rebaybiyya version of “Ra’is al- Abḥār” (Captain of the Seas) 153
Website Figures and Audio,
Video, and Musical Examples
All examples may be accessed on the accompanying website, https:// sites
.tufts .edu /ambientsufism.
ChAPter 1
figure 1.1w · Soccer team of saints (internet meme from the 2018
World Cup)
ChAPter 2
Audio example 2.1 · Fātiḥa and isti‘ādha sections of the ‘Īsāwiyya ḥizb
Audio example 2.2 · Call- and- response accelerando at 12: 50–14: 02 of the
‘Īsāwiyya ḥizb
Audio example 2.3 · Call- and- response further accelerando, highest pitch,
and widest ambitus at 16: 02–19: 13 of the ‘Īsāwiyya ḥizb
Audio example 2.4 · Deceleration and pitch drop preceding maximum
tempo at 21: 33–22: 28 of the ‘Īsāwiyya ḥizb
Audio example 2.5 · Call and response at maximum tempo at 26: 22–28: 32
of the ‘Īsāwiyya ḥizb
Audio example 2.6 · Accelerando, pitch elevation, and temporal
contraction in the dhikr of the ‘Īsāwiyya ḥizb
Audio example 2.7 · “Qaṣdī Anẓur Ilīk,” excerpt of solo performance by
Walid Mennai of the ‘Īsāwiyya
Musical example 2.1w · Deceleration and pitch drop preceding
intensification
Musical example 2.2w · Call and response at highest speed
ix