qawwali
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What is qawwali? Qawwali is a style of devotional music associated with Sufism. It involves repeating a short phrase, meant to put the participants in a mystical, ecastic frame of mind. Qawwali is traditionally part of a religious gathering called a mehfil-e samā. These gatherings often take place at shrines to saints on the saints’ death anniversaries, though smaller ones can take place at other times. The singers, called qawwals, sit on the ground, singing poetry to the accompaniment of clapping, drums, and a harmonium. Qawwals also sing the name of Allah and improvise using traditional syllables assigned to particular pitches. During this improvisational section, the lead singer calls and responds to the audience, which helps build the ecstasy that qawwali is intended to invoke. Qawwali isn’t just a musical experience—it’s also a spiritual one. However, qawwali now has a growing commercial presence in pop music. Some people believe that popular qawwali is not quite the same as the more traditional spiritual experience of qawwali in religious ceremonies.
Etymology
Origin of qawwali
From Arabic, literally, utterance
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Growing up, Stan found an unusual template in qawwali - a form of devotional singing in Sufiism which has parallels with gospel jazz - which he says helped him understand music better.
From BBC • Feb. 16, 2023
The music ranges from quirky pop and soul-stirring qawwali to rap - all of which draw heavily from folk traditions and classical poetry.
From BBC • May 28, 2022
Sabri was famous as a master of the qawwali, an exquisite, 800-year-old form of Sufi devotional music, whose complex, lyrical beauty brings listeners closer to God.
From The Guardian • Jun. 27, 2016
All this, plus live blues, indie rock, honky-tonk and qawwali, in one weekend.
From New York Times • Jan. 31, 2012
For 600 years, Khan's family had been singers in the qawwali tradition, a style that built layer upon layer of increasingly intense music that demanded ferocious vocal control and culminated in whirling peaks of ecstasy.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
