Qawwali

Qawwali (قوٌالی), also spelt qawaali or quwalli, is the devotional music of the Sufis. Originally performed mainly in Sufi shrines throughout what is now India and Pakistan, it has also gained popularity in the mainstream, especially through the work of artists like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Qawwali is a vibrant musical tradition that stretches back more than 700 years.

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The roots of Qawwali can be traced back to 8th century Persia. However, Qawwali in the form we know it today was essentially created by Amir Khusrau in the late 13th century in India.

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During the first major migration from Persia, in the 11th century, the musical tradition of Sama migrated to the Indian Sub-continent, Turkey and Uzbekistan. Rumi and his Mevlana order of Sufism have been the propagators of Sama in Central Asia. Amir Khusrau of the Chisti order of Sufis is credited with fusing the Persian and South Asian musical traditions, to create Qawwali as well as the Hindustani classical music tradition. The word "Sama" is used (or is the preferred name) in Central Asia and Turkey, for forms very similar to Qawwali. And even in India and Pakistan, the formal name used for a session of Qawwali is "Mehfil-e-Sama".

Sufi: REDIRECT Sufism...

India: The Republic of India is a country in South Asia which comprises most of the Indian subcontinent. India has a coastline which stretches over seven thousand kilometres, and shares its borders with Pakistan to the west, the People's Republic of China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, and Bangladesh...

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan نصرت فتح علی خان, (October 13, 1948 - August 16, 1997) was primarily a singer of qawwali, the devotional music of the Sufis, a mystical offshoot of Islam....