Document Type : .
Authors
1 Associate professor of history, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran
2 Independent lecturer of history in Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz.Iran
Abstract
Black slaves were one of the important trade items that have been popular since ancient times and continued more or less after the Islamic conquests. The coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea were among the important destinations for moving and transferring or settling these slaves, as there are reports of settling black slaves in Basra and Turian village in Qeshm Island. The important issue related to these slaves is the cultural impact they had in their places of residence. In addition to being culturally effective, these slaves also gave their culture to the host communities; Mythology and rituals and music related to it are among the things that have influenced the Persian Gulf region through them. Focusing on this ritual as a historical example, this article has tried to explain the question of what effect did the slave trade have on the cultural interaction of East Africa and the Persian Gulf? The hypothesis indicates that Baba-Zārs and Mama-Zārs, in general, black people changed the culture and rituals of Zār during several stages during the Islamic period. The findings of the research indicate that the mentioned stages were: efforts to adapt the Swahili traditions of Zār with Torah traditions. and the stories of the prophets, giving an Islamic and therapeutic color to the pilgrimage, and finally being influenced by Sufi literature and walls, especially from the Qaderi Sufi order.
Keywords
Extended Abstract
The role of commercial and cultural links of East Africa and the Persian Gulf in the Zār ritual
Problematique
The important issue related to these slaves is the cultural impact they had in their places of residence. In addition to being culturally effective, these slaves also gave their culture to the host communities; Mythology and rituals and music related to it are among the things that have influenced the Persian Gulf region through them focusing on this ritual as a historical example.
Question: This article has tried to explain the question of what effect did the slave trade have on the cultural interaction of East Africa and the Persian Gulf?
Hypothesis: The hypothesis indicates that Baba-Zārs and Mama-Zārs, in general, black people changed the culture and rituals of Zār during several stages during the Mediveal Centuries.
Findings: The findings of the research indicate that the mentioned stages were: efforts to adapt the Swahili traditions of Zār with Torah tradition, the stories of the prophets, giving an Islamic and therapeutic color to the pilgrimage, and finally being influenced by Sufi literature and walls, especially from the Qaderi Sufi order.
Conclusion: Considering the inheritance of this disease as well as the manifestations of ancestor worship included in the ceremonies and rituals related to it, Ayinzar was a kind of link that connected the network of black slave settlements (diaspora) throughout the Indian Ocean and the therapeutic manifestations of those obstacles. Religious such as Islamic sanctions that prevented pagan and demonic rites were removed. Therefore, they approached their pagan culture with Torah mythology and Quranic traditions. For example, Nimrod, who was considered the mythical father of many Swahili people and was praised as an ancestor in their eyes, by attributing him to Noah, they made a prophetic relation to him, rather than a shrine that was built in his honor and according to the popular traditions of ancestor worship in Make Africa appear justified. In general, with the conversion of blacks to Islam, the bazaars introduced Arabic poems, Islamic traditions and Torah into the legends and rituals of the Zar, which were completely Swahili and pure before that. But after Islam, it was changed to a multi-cultural and mixed ceremony. Another factor that entered into the legends and rituals of Zar was under the influence of Iranian Sufism, especially the Qadiri method (6th century A.H. onwards), as Baba Zars still mention Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani in their poems or educational genealogies. At the beginning of the ceremony, in addition to Swahili songs, the bazaars sang Arabic poems in the praise of the Prophet (PBUH) and even recited Persian Sufi poems, and in general, in this ceremony and related legends, a picture of the atmosphere of trade. Slaves were sold in the Indian Ocean.
Keywords: Zar myths and ceremonies, Persian Gulf, cultural interaction, East Africa, African slave trade.
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