The etiquette of interaction between audience and performers is almost ritualized in this highly interactive art form. The result is the listener dies in ecstasy, unable to return to normal consciousness.
The performers repeat the phrase for three days waiting for the ecstatic to leave his state, at which point they tire and stop. A story is told in which a participant in a sama’ is overtaken by the passion of the verses being recited. If the audience responds well to a particular section of the piece, it will be repeated until the audience grows tired of it. In traditional settings, the concert will start with slower songs, with the tempo getting increasingly more rapid as the concert goes on, and then slowing down again. The material is not static and is focused on bringing the listeners into communion with the Divine. Because the differences in gendered performance are so subtle, the word qawwali is generally used to describe any performance of this type.Ī typical qawwali concert will last several hours, with each piece lasting an indeterminate time as the qawwals will respond to audience reception. The most notable difference between the two is that a female tends to sing solo, although her troupe maybe equally as large as a male’s troupe. Technically, only men can perform qawwali songs, with female performers singing sufiana kalam, Sufi words. In the modern period, the harmonium is used instead of the sitar. In addition to the formal instrumentation, hand-clapping serves to emphasize the rhythmic structure and engage the audience. Both the creation of the tabla and the sitar are connected to Khusraw. These singers are supported by musicians playing percussion instruments, the dholak or tabla, and a sitar, a long-necked stringed instrument. It is usually performed with a lead singer and chorus, playing in a call-and-response style. Structurally, qawwali is intimately linked to Khusraw, who not only birthed the style, but also created the elements to make it possible. As a devotee of the the great Chishti master Nizam ad-Din Awliya, his copious output is attributed to his intense spiritual love for his master. The art is usually credited to Amir Khusraw (1244-1325), called the “Nightingale of India” for his contribution to South Asian music and literature. In its religious context it functions as a way to bring members of the order into a trance-like state that makes them more aware of their relationship with God. Qawwali is a musical form associated with the sama’, spiritual concert, of the Chishti Sufi Order.