12th Rabi Ul Awal and the creation of a Religious Utopia
9/12/2020
HafsaKhan505
12th Rabi Ul Awal and the creation of a religious Utopia
Abstract
This paper attempts to highlight the importance of models which are used in processions on Eid Milad un Nabi in the Androon Shehar1of Lahore. On the 12th of Rabi-Ul-Awal, the city celebrates the anniversary Holy Prophet Muhammad‟s (PBUH) birth by staging models, or miniature cities, which are similar to the nativity scenes depicted by the Christian community at Christmas. The paper will focus on the theory of Foucault's religious utopias, drawing a comparison between the concepts of miniature cities and these religious models. Ultimately the paper aims to unpack the diversity of this city and the subcultures that exist within it.
Keywords: Religious utopias, hegemony, miniature cities, models, nativity scenes.
Introduction
In the heart of Lahore, the Androon Shehar or the Walled City, green lights illuminate the tight galleys on? . As sermons play on the mosque speakers, honouring him by telling stories about him and the night he was born. It certainly unites every resident of that area because in every religious sect he is placed the highest thus his birthday certainly is a major event to celebrate. Every year the decor gets grander regardless of the rising inflation, here, on this day, they do not care as the decor and the displays are directly proportional to the love they have for him. It's all about spiritual and cultural legacy on this day.
1 The Walled City of Lahore, also known as Old City, forms the historic core of Lahore, Pakistan. The city was established around 1000 CE in the western half of the Walled City, which was fortified by a mud wall during the medieval era
Over the years I have managed to get acquainted with some families, who every year graciously become informal guides to this part of the city. I become the designated photographer and we begin our journey. Walking, laughing all the while consuming some freshly made Zarda 2and some cold milk with dry fruits to make it fancier and thus celebratory. Children have prepared skits, narrating the story of his birth. How he was named, how the same night flocks of birds carried stones to pelt the vicious ruler trying to overthrow the Kaaba. All is narrated in the most dramatic way possible with children in costumes and tiny structures and figurines to depict all historical events. Somehow street theatre is still prevalent.
In the words of Bapsi Sidhwa, Lahore is the “City of Sin and Splendour is a marriage of the sacred and profane” I believe that on the 12th of Rabi Ul Awal, it is the sacred aspect that comes to life, as the inner city decks up to celebrate the arrival of the Last Prophet (SAW). Due to societal and religious norms, this day is observed as the 3rd Eid- Eid Milad Un Nabi is commemorated in Rabi' al-awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar. This paper attempts to grasp the various traditions in the streets of Lahore.
For the past four years I have been going to the androon shehar, Lohaar Market, Naulakha Bazaar which is opposite the Railway station of Lahore to soak in this culture. Firstly, the streets are decorated in a way that they become unrecognisable as the decorations manage to create an entirely new canopy. Everything is decked in lights to perfection. The main colors of the storm the streets are green and gold, as gold signifies grandeur and green is associated with paradise and peace - thus it has been adopted as the „Islamic‟ color especially in the subcontinent, this could also come from the fact that the dome of the Masjid-e-Nabawi in Madinah is also green. Street vendors display decorative flags or buntings on their stalls, and
2 Zarda is a traditional boiled sweet rice dish, native to the Indian subcontinent, with food coloring, milk and sugar, and flavoured with cardamoms, raisins, saffron, pistachios or almonds
people hang ribbons and other celebratory props outside their homes. Shiny crepe paper swirls are the main decor item, and in the recent years tiny disco balls have also been procured to add more glitter and grandeur.
After the day/event finishes, these decorations are not taken down, not for any religious significance but solely due to laziness, which is why even months after eid one can see some of them dangling from the light poles. Small models depicting the cities of; Makkah and Medina and narrating the daily life of the Prophet, just like the ones made outside churches before Christmas, are created mostly by the children and then paraded through the streets while residents sit outside to watch and later on listen to the stories narrated by them. Every year competitions are also held amongst the neighbourhood to determine who has the best models that year. This win could be one of the reasons why the budget invested in these models and decorations increases every year for these lower middle class families.
In this paper I wish to explain the history and importance of the above talked about miniature cities particularly focusing on the theory of Fouocault‟s Religious Utopias.
Chapter 1
The idea of procession through the streets is called Taaziah, and according to oral history it was first practiced in the1800s, by the nawab of Lucknow, Majid Ali Shah, as the story goes there was someone in his court that had gone for the Shia pilgrimage of Ziyarat3 to Karbala. On
3 ziyarat is a form of pilgrimage to sites associated with Muhammad, his family members and descendants, his companions and other venerated figures in Islam such as the prophets, Sufi auliya, and Islamic scholars. Sites of pilgrimage include mosques, maqams, battlefields, mountains, and caves.
his return the Nawab asked him how everything looked, and to better explain the areas he decided to get small models of them constructed so that everyone could get a visual representation of the architecture and space. The models were so well constructed that the Nawab ordered that they be paraded through the streets, so all those who have not gone could see them in real life. This aspect can also be applied here, all those that have not been given a chance of Hajj or Umrah can look at the smaller versions of the places to get an essence of that space.
Food stalls are highly decorated too, as most of them are hosting “Langar”- free food which is to be distributed amongst the people (mostly the poor) as a form of monetary sacrifice in the name of religion. The most common of items being distributed is milk, mostly with almonds and other dry fruits added in it to make it more special for the occasion. Milk is easier to distribute, it's easy to consume, all it takes is a plastic or steel glasses and one big pot containing the item itself. There is an element of it being healthy and healthier for children. One thing to remember is that most of this event is hosted for entertainment and education for children.
Now on to the most important thing about this event, the tiny models of Masjid- Nabawi ( The Prophet‟s Mosque) in Medinah and the Kaaba in Makkah, they are built mostly by the residents of the area, as it is taken as a sacred practice hence the more effort one puts into it, the better will be the reward in the court of God. which is why every year the models keep getting bigger and grander. The models contain toys especially electronic toys which showcase some sort of actions that would have taken place in the Prophet‟s city such as taking water out of the wells, so essentially the models are meant to tell a story and also to act as an icon for the event and the city itself. They are meant to grand as they also showcase the monetary worth of the patron himself, viewed in society as a matter of showing off your closeness to Allah by telling everyone exactly how much they are willing to spend for him and his Prophet. More so, the
majority of the weddings take place during Rabi Ul Awal as the entire month is considered to be holy, thus those houses which have a wedding coming up, make grander models as a mode of “Sadqa'' -voluntary charity and a form of entertainment for their guests, hence making the event bigger than it already is.
These models can be related to the patron art practiced in the Renaissance age. Round about the 15th century. The very act of commissioning an artist to design a building, sculpture, or painting signified the patron‟s taste, erudition, financial status, and ambition. Even at that point they were commissioned to uphold a city state control which is similar to the competitions they have today, and on a smaller scale they too are exerting power by trying to show who's closer to god. Five main motives emerge when considering the nature of patronage. Firstly, there is the pleasure of possession – which implies an aesthetic sense beyond mere ownership of a commodity. Secondly, commissioning was an active expression of piety4 – especially when one considers such artists as Fra Angelico and Masaccio. Thirdly, the patron commissioned in the spirit of civic consciousness and duty. Fourthly, he commissioned an insurance of his own commemoration. Fifthly, there is the aspect of self-advertisement – for some patrons, whether public or corporate, it was even seen as self-aggrandisement5 It can also date back to the Bazintine Era, where tiny religious sculptures were made out of ivory
The most important thing to remember in this is that there is a difference between a miniature city and a model. I take these as models, not cities. More importantly these are not sanctioned by the state and neither was it ever, so the patron has complete liberty and authority to
4 "Alina Cohen, In the Italian Renaissance, Wealthy Patrons Used Art for Power, August 2018.
5 "Eric Edwards collective works,Renaissance Patronage of the Arts, July 2013.
6 "Lumen Early Byzantine Art,2016.
6
build whatever they like. Which is why it is up to him to narrate any type of story of the Prophet, thus most of them contain him and his grandchildren- Hassan and Hussain, so the event becomes inclusive of both islamic sects, Shias and Sunni‟s. State sanctioned models showcase the national narrative or better yet the ones our country wishes us to have, these will showcase the norms and culture of the society and especially that specific area. These are made by the people, to show homage to the Prophet.
Chapter 2
Competitions are also hosted between streets, where a committee mostly consisting of the elders of the neighbourhood judge each model and the house decorations, compare them with each other and the winner is given a small reward mostly Mithai- local sweets. In this case the reward doesn't matter because a) it is being done for the sake of religion and b) the winner is viewed to be the most pious one out of them to create the best of the models. Hence there is an increase in the ascribed status of the person and so ultimately power. This also highlights the concept of hegemony, where the winner will end up having more power and dominance on the people and so a better say in the decisions of the neighbourhood.Religion then gets linked with commercial activity. This event is a different culture and one that is considered to be practiced only in the subcontinent, especially in Punjab, but now the competitions hosted on this day gives a new color to the aspect of religion on this day. Here, religion and showcasing of certain models is determining a piousness of a person whereas that is meant to be a personal matter,especially in the post modern society. Yet, in this area, the „Church‟ hosts the most power. It is the determinant of authority in the neighbourhood.
Antonio Gramsci states in his theory of hegemony7 that there is one group that exerts power over the other. Social class also comes into question when one realises that most of these celebrations in the walled city are executed by the middle class. Which shows that when it comes to religion money becomes the least of people‟s concerns. And if that same amount of money grants the person power and showcases his wealth then it's the best of combinations. Each model is built to perfection, lavish and grand, to showcase wealth and power8. They are laden with intricate details to give visuals to all the stories that are to be narrated on the day. Just like Kingelez, the Congolese sculptor, also uses the same materials such as Cardboard, his structures of the miniature cities are meticulously planned and highly detailed9, enough to depict the exact area and location especially for that class that will probably never be able to travel abroad to actually see these places in real life. The models do convey with them an idea of a utopia. In this case, I would take the liberty of saying, a religious utopia. In the most basic definition of a utopia10, it is a highly desirable or an imagined place which possesses nearly perfect qualities.
The patron (the person or the organization that has funded the models at hand) or the maker views these models to portray a perfect land, a land where nothing can go wrong, as the Prophet spent his life there thus it becomes the holy land. The icon of a sacred place. Foucault - a french 20th century philosopher, describes a utopia as a place which is not real. Moreover they are sites that have a direct analogical relation with the larger society. It's a placeless place.11 When faith and belief comes into question there are very few places that will actually depict the harsh
7 " Antonio Gramsci, (1971) Selections from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci, New York, International Publishers.
8 Andrew,Heywood (1994) Political Ideas and Concepts: An Introduction, London, Macmillan
9 Peter Schjeldahl,The Utopian Vision of Body Isek Kingelez,The Art World, June 2018
10 "Merriam Webster, Definition of Utopia
11 "MICHEL FOUCAULT, Of Other Spaces: Utopias and Heterotopias,Architecture /Mouvement/ Continuité October, 1984
realities of the actual society. Islam of all religions, bases more on supersitisions and mystery, that mystery is part of the belief system. Thus the models are meant to be utopias, the idea that in this land nothing has and nothing can go wrong. The end goal on this earth, afterall, it is part of the islamic faith that once you've travelled there all your sins are washed and your past life is left behind. Hence relating back to the topic of this paper, these models are the perfect example of a religious utopia. I would even say that the entire event and celebration is a utopia, the essence that you are cleansing your soul by celebrating, decorating and making/investing in the models.
Chapter 3
Tradition has it that Saint Francis of Assisi created the first nativity scene in 1223, the practice soon spread all over Italy, and almost every church had taken it up. Over time, statues, rather than living people and animals, were used, which eventually led to the in-home nativity scenes that are so much a part of Christmas today. With most of them depicting the scene of the birth of Jesus, they were not all correct as sometimes the cast of live actors would include the entire village as characters present at the birth of Jesus. However believers find inspiration in seeing these beloved figures from the Christmas story gathered together in one place thus it continues till today. The nativity scenes which use figurines instead of real actors are called Creches.
All of this sounds a bit familiar- the celebrations of 12th of Rabi Ul Awal and how children in Lahore put up similar „Nativity Scenes‟ not necessarily depicting the birth of Muhammad but generally depicting certain aspects of his life such as the first time he saw Gabreil in the cave of Hira thus a similar hill would be made from mud and set with lights to showcase how there was „Nur‟ that night when he met him. The only difference is that there were never any real actors, and there never will be. Playing Muhammad falls closely as
blasphemy as no one can ever be good enough to impersonate him. In Christian nativity scenes children have the ability to depict Jesus, but in Muslim that is not allowed. Furthermore, there are no human statues in place of any religious figures in these models because the entire concept of such statues is considered to be a sin in Islam. Thus only monuments can be made and the rest of the story is told verbally.
The way I see it is that over time various religions exchanged certain practices as the main reason for that practice was the same which in this case is to educate the people about the birth as well as other stories about their religious heads. Indeed when researched the idea of these processions on 12th of Rabi Ul Awal dates back to the Nawab, however it is possible that it was fueled with the fact that Christianity was already practicing something similar. Other cultures may use different names, or stories, but in the end each is used to tell us that the holiday isn‟t just a time for gift giving or materialistic objects, but it is in fact a time to celebrate the birth of their saviour, god or Prophet.
Chapter 4
This entire event can also be called a subculture12 which is a is a distinctive way of life within the wider culture in the society. The subculture is different from the parent culture but will share some things in common, otherwise it would just be a separate culture. They must focus around certain activities, values, certain uses of material artifacts, territory etc.
13 Hence this tradition can be viewed as a subculture as it is not part of the wider society, it is only practiced in a certain part of lahore, the walled city, by a certain class, middle and upper middle class.Yet it depicts most of the cultures and norms of the whole society.
12 "Grinnell College, Subcultural Theory.
13Paul Willis, Subculture Theory,1977.
The models are then displayed outside each house, after which, towards the end of the day, they are paraded throughout the streets and then taken and the winning models are taken all the way to the river Ravi where they are dipped in the river and then later drowned, this process is called “Thanda karna” - “Cooling them” This tradition is very similar to the hindu tradition on the birth day of their Lord Ganesh and on the festival known as Vinayaka Chaturthi,14 The idol is dipped and drowned in the holy river Ganga, signifying a re-birth and then brought back to the houses where it is said to bring luck and prosperity. The ironic thing is that the exact same tradition is repeated on this side of the subcontinent, and the thought process is somewhat the same. Upon interviewing some of the residents I was told that the reason why they are taken to the river is because they are too holy to be placed in the house as that would instigate worship of a model which is not allowed in islam, and so they cannot be burned also as that is considered to be bad omen in the religion. It cannot be buried as that too is considered unholy, because they cannot touch the ground on the basis of respect and water is thought to be the purest of the 4 elements, hence they are drowned.
Benedict Anderson‟s theory of the imagined community,also states that people create a common belief and culture which later on acts as a lense of identification and affiliation, up to the point that they start seeing themselves in this culture thus creating one culture. This theory is applied to the larger scheme of things, such as the entire society but on a subcultural level, it can be applied to the mohalla and street systems of the walled city. The area has been designed architecturally through time in a way to develop this sense of family and togetherness. People don't necessarily buy houses in those areas, they inherit. This creates the essence of togetherness and the geographical location of it
14 " Times of India,Ganesh Date of Birth, Lord Ganesha birthday -." 4 Apr. 2019,
being further away for the high society cultural hubs, it reinforces the aspect of a subculture as to an extent it is also secluded from the main society. Therefore it has an imagined community of its own particularly on the day of 12 Rabi Ul Awal. The competitions, the decorations, and the free food reinstills different traditions than the bigger society. In a way this area can be called a hetrotopia. Foucault15 calls these places a contrast to hetropias. Because these places are absolutely different from all the sites that they reflect and speak about. On the surface of it the androon shehar sounds very inclusive, i mean there are no barricades stopping anyone from entering but it does have its own traditions and culture which are unwritten, the rules to the competitions are unwritten, the contestants don't have to formally register. So when and if anyone is familiar with these traditions only then will they truly be accepted by the local residents. I have been going for the past 4 years, and I am still treated as an outsider.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would like to highlight that there is a sense of affiliation and mixture of various cultures in this one culture of 12 Rabi Ul Awal, firstly the models are exactly like the ones created before christmas, depicting the birth story of Jesus. The difference here is that these models tell the birth story of the Muhammad. Secondly, Medinah and Makkah still act as an icon for the general population. More than a religious goal, they are part of our cultural aspects as well. So what pakistan has to day is mixture of subcontinent‟s culture mixed with arab culture which is locally know as islamic culture is taken after as many believe that it is part of islam. Where in reality it is merely a cultural practice. The above paper manages to highlight the subcontinent‟s influence on this practice and islamic influence on it with reference to arab
15 "MICHEL FOUCAULT, Of Other Spaces: Utopias and Heterotopias,Architecture /Mouvement/ Continuité October, 1984.
culture. One can call it globalisation or even a vacuum of Pakistani culture, which was perhaps lost somewhere during partition. Our identities are shaped by two aspects, Islam and then our country-Pakistan so pakistani. Hence nationalism and religion come at par. The fact that our identities are shaped by the arab culture, every step which is taken we look back to that culture to somehow justify our actions. Hence the models are icons, they are cultural icons for the religious utopia we all wish to achieve.
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