Anthropology of religion studies different religions in relation to other social institutions, religious beliefs and practices across different cultures. The focus of this paper is on the Dawoodi Bohra community and the religious beliefs and practices that set them apart and makes them a sub culture, in Karachi.
The Bohra community is a very important community in Karachi. The Dawoodi Bohras date back to Yemen during the Fatimid caliphate. Bohris are a sub-sect of the Shia community. The differences between the Shia and Sunnis arose after Imam Jafar as Sadiq. However, the title Dawoodi Bohra was given after the 27thdai Syedna Dawoob Bin Qutubshah. According to Bohri belief, there are twenty-one Imams, Imam Tayyab being is the most recent one. They also have fifty-three dais. Dai is the name given to the spiritual leader of the community. The last dai was his Holiness, Dr. Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin. The position taking of the position dai works such that during his lifetime the dai usually announces the person next in line for the authority. After Dr. Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin, the next person that will be given his place is Mufaddal. The dais have amils under them. There are four amils in Karachi, one for each area in which a huge chunck of the Bohra community resides. These areas include Hyderi, Clifton, Shabbirabad and Saddar.
According to Bohras belief, the touch of a dai is extremely holy and can cure people of diseases. This is known as barkat, the opium of the masses, as it gives them hope in miracles; that their poor conditions will be rewarded or their condition might even change. Thus, all the momineens and elitist of the community make sure that they can get as many benefits from the barakat as possible. The whole in...
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...ance to the religion of Islam, whereas, some of their practices and certain points in their everyday life are quite unique, be it the wearing of Rida, gathering in the Jamaat Khana for every occasion or eating together in thalis and having a tiffin service for their own community.
Works Cited
• V., Gennep (1960). The Rites of Passage. Trans. Manika B. Vizedom and Gabrielle L. Caffee. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• ISLAM AND MODERNITY AMONG THE DAUDI BOHRAS by Jonah Blank
• Parmar, V., (2012, February 15).‘Community kitchen’ gives Bohra women freedom from cooking. The Times of India Magazine. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/Community-kitchen-gives-Bohra-women-freedom-from-cooking/articleshow/11893123.cms
• (2012, May 14). Good News: Bohra Women get respite from cooking. News X Live India .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYC4YIX3KKI
...o de-essentialize and de-Orientalize religious system of Islam, and instead locate it as part of a historical discursive tradition where practices were contested and in flux. This challenges notions of what authentic religious practices are in Theravada Buddhism, and in doing so expands an understanding of what forms can take. For this reason, the work is useful, and highly recommended for an aspiring religious or anthropological scholar.
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Alexie, Sherman. The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. New York: Hachette Book Group, 2007. Print.
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Islam also differ in their definition of what it means to be Muslim. The belief in Islam is
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Heaphy, Linda. "Life in India: the Practice of Sati or Widow Burning." Life for the modern nomad. Kashgar, 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. .
Qazi, Abdullah. "Plight of the Afghan Women". Afghanistan Online. 30 May 2005. 13 Mar 2006. .
...[R]ites of passage are not confined to culturally defined life-crises, but may accompany any change from one state to another, as when a whole tribe goes to war, or when it attests the passage from scarcity to plenty by performing a first-fruits or a harvest festival. Rites de passage, too, are not restricted, sociologically speaking, to movements between ascribes statuses. They also concern entry into a new achieved status, whether this be a political office or membership to a exclusive club or secret society...On the whole, initiation rites, whether into maturity or cult membership, best exemplify transition...(Tumer 235).
Siva, Manu. Difference in Cultural Values. India Today (20) 3. 45-48 Retrieved April 03, 2006
...i, Indians boil water with a mix of spices known as chai masala. (Sheen 37)