Celebrating Sufi saint and mystic poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai

(6 Nov 2017) LEADIN:
Pakistan has been celebrating the great Sufi saint and mystic poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai.
This year's Urs festivities mark 274 years since his death and thousands have travelled to Latif's shrine for religious blessings.
STORYLINE:
25-year old Beebul Bibi has come to thank her patron saint for blessing her with a child.
She was childless for five years after her marriage, considered an ill omen in religiously conservative Pakistan.
As a tribute, Bibi has brought her one-year old daughter for the celebrations at the shrine of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, a popular mystic considered the greatest Sufi poet of the Sindhi language.
The shrine is located in the Bhit Shah town of district Matiari in Pakistan's Sindh province.
"I have come to do Parh (placing religious cloth on the grave) as he blessed me with a daughter," says Bibi, as she rubs 'blessed' oil on her one-year old.
She has come from the neighbouring district Sanghar to offer parh – placing of the symbolic piece of cloth on Latif's grave – as a token of gratitude.
Muhammad Ali, her father-in-law, is a strong believer in the saint's powers to heal and grant desires.
"We were facing financial difficulties at home. My daughter-in-law wasn't getting impregnated. We called for intervention from our saint," Ali says.
This is was the 274th Urs (death anniversary) of Shah Abdul Latif, who lived from 1689-1752. The celebrations also include a three-day Melo (or festival) that attracts people of all faiths, beliefs and sects.
It is held from the 14th to 16th of Safar, the second month of the Islamic lunar calendar.
Followers of the Shia sect of Islam also attend in large numbers. Their self-flagellation to the tunes of the Noha, music lamenting incidents of the Karbala tragedy of Islam, is a key part of the festivities.
They come in large numbers despite the recent threats, which has seen two shrines – the popular Lal Shahbaz shrine nearby and the Shah Noorani shrine on the border of Sindh and Baluchistan – being targeted by suicide bombers over the last twelve months.
Syed Sardar Ali Shah, the provincial minister for culture, has been at the forefront of fighting extremism through organizing culture and literary activities across Sindh.
He says the message in Shah Abdul Latif's poetry takes paramount importance in times when we are beset with extremism, intolerance and terrorism.
"People across the world are affected by them and also afraid – whether they are in New York or here in Bhit Shah. In such times, the message of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai with its emphasis on love, humanity and interfaith harmony is very helpful in fighting such mindsets and attitudes."
Sardar Shah, the culture minister, says there are plans to disseminate the message of Latif in multiple languages and forms.
As the sun sets on the shrine, the festivities take on a new rhythm. The Qawals (traditional musicians) take centre stage, carrying on the tradition that has continued unbroken since the day Shah Abdul Latif died over two centuries ago.
Every day, between sunset and sunrise, a troupe performs the Qawalli. It includes a rendition of the poetry of Latif and his preferred spiritual incantations.
The instrument used in these Qawallis is the Dambooro, a five-stringed traditional musical instrument similar to the harmonium that Latif is credited with inventing.
Akbal Faqeer has sung the Wai (recitations about the divine) and played the dambooro at the shrine every day for the last three decades.
Entire families come and camp at the shrine for the entire three-days.
The majority of those who visit shrines tend to be the poor.

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