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.
- ISBN10 1860647588
- ISBN13 9781860647581
- Publish Date 29 March 2002
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 4 March 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Imprint I.B. Tauris
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 192
- Language English