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Chanting in
the Bahai Tradition (10 minutes)
Choir
Mr. Ganesh Shenoy, Mr. Subrato Sharma,Mrs. Vasanthi Shenoy, Ms.
Sujatha Rath, Ms. Archana Shenoy
The Bahá'í Faith is the youngest of
the world's independent religions. Its founder,
Bahá'u'lláh
(1817-1892), from
Persia
is regarded by Bahá'ís as the most recent in the line of
Messengers of
God that includes Abraham, Moses,
Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad.
The central theme of Bahá'u'lláh's message is that humanity
is one single race and that the day has come for its unification in
one global society. God, Bahá'u'lláh said, has set in motion
historical forces that are breaking down traditional barriers of
race, class, creed, and nation and that will, in time, give birth to
a universal civilization.
A worldwide community of some five million Bahá'ís,
representative of most of the nations, races and cultures on earth,
is working to give Bahá'u'lláh's teachings practical effect.
Sengey Tsewa (The
Revelry with the Lion)
Buddhist Chants from the High
Himalaya
recited by the nuns of
Druk Gawa Khilwa Abbey, Ladakh
Jigmet Rangjung, Jigmet Sherab Tsogal, Jigmet Ishey Spaldon, Jigmet
Chozin Wangmo, Jigmet Tsewang Choskit, Jigmet Kunga Palmo, Jigmet
Choski Tara, Jigmet Ringchen Zangmo, Jigmet Thupstan Chosdon, Jigmet
Nawang Choskit, Jigmet Chosying, Jigmet Thinlay Choskit, Jigmet
Thinlay Wangmo, Jigmet Rinchen Karuna, Jigmet Paldan Wangmo
 Druk
Gawa Khilwa Abbey
is a spiritual community for female
practitioners founded by
His Holiness the Twelfth Gyalwang
Drukpa, the
spiritual head of the Drukpa Lineage. It is the Drukpa Lineage that
holds the authentic blessings of Naropa and his consort Niguma. At
present, there are approximately 300 nuns at the Abbey, who
alternate between the two centres at Kortsa (Ladakh) and Kathmandu
(Nepal) learning the teachings and practicing the methods of their
lineage so that they may attain salvation.
Female Buddhist practitioners have seldom had the same opportunities
as their male counterparts. The Abbey was established to counter
this because His Holiness felt that “Women should be provided with
equal opportunities as men to learn and progress on the spiritual
path”. Because of cultural and social expectations, women were not
allowed to touch the kangling (the traditional trumpets),
wear the ritual hats and perform the Vajra dances. But Buddha
Shakyamuni had never said in his teachings (sutra) that women
cannot do these things. Emulating the Buddha’s teachings, for the
first time, in July 2004, His Holiness gave charge of the rituals to
200 of his nuns. For ten days they led and performed all the
rituals connected with both the Naropa Ceremony as well as the
Drubchen (Great Accomplishment) ceremony, before an audience of over
135,000 people. Again when His Holiness celebrated 800 years of the
Drukpa lineage the nuns were out in front performing the rituals and
chanting the prayers associated with the celebration.
Ultimately, it is His Holiness’s hope to create an awareness that
female practitioners can also inspire and benefit, not just
themselves, but all beings on the spiritual path to enlightenment.
The 15 nuns performing at the Sacred Arts Festival are from Ladakh.
This is the first time they are performing in public. Pure,
meditative, inspiring the nuns chanting will demonstrate the rich
spiritual music of Tibetan Buddhism, evoking the ethereal beauty of
the Himalayas, the remoteness of their austere nunnery and the
omnipresence of the wisdom of Buddha.
saturday 21st february at
8.00 pm
Sufi
Trance from Aleppo
Classical Arabic Music from Syria
Sheikh Habboush
: lead singer
Hasan Altnji :munshid
Ali Akil Sabah :munshid
Julien
Jâlal Eddine Weiss :
qânun, artistic direction
Ziad Kadi Amin : Ney
Adel Shams
el-Din : riqq
(percussion)
Mohamed Yahya Hamami : whirling dervish
 Aleppo
has been an important center for Sufism since the thirteenth
century, when the rulers of the Ayubid dynasty started building Sufi
convents (khanaqa) and lodges (zawiya) as part of their policy of
fostering Sunni Islam against the threat of Ismaili Shi‘ism and the
Crusaders. Aleppo was a cultural crossroad and trading center for
caravans from Anatolia, Iran, Mesopotamia and southern Syria. This
cosmopolitan environment was reflected in the doctrinal and ritual
traits of the Sufism practiced in Aleppo, which fused mystical
trends developed in the Arab, Turkish and Persian religious and
cultural contexts. Under the Ottoman Empire some Sufi tariqas where
organized into centralized and hierarchical structures, putting the
local zawiyas under the leadership of a Sheikh.
Even today Sufism retains its vitality where its rituals are part of
the public expression of Islam. This is illustrated with the
Wednesday night gatherings at the lodge (Zawiya) of Shaykh Habbush
located in the old city of Aleppo where hundreds of people
participate in the dhikr ceremony. Sheikh Habboush starts with a
sama during which he sings mystical poems and the devotees and
musicians participate with drums, cymbals and cries of ‘Allah’.
Arab classical music is known for its famed virtuoso singers, who
sing long, elaborately ornamented, melismatic tunes, and are known
for driving audiences into ecstasy. Its traditions come from pre-
Islamic times, when female singing entertained the wealthy, and
inspired warriors on the battlefield with their rajaz poetry.
The main difference between the Western and the Arabic musical
scales is the existence of many in-between quarter notes, which
along with the distinctive instruments gives this music its unique
haunting quality.
Julien Weiss, with his deep knowledge and research of Middle
Easteren music and Sufi traditions interprets the classical Arab
repertoire setting the instruments into sharp relief, thus
re-establishing a balance which very often exclusively favoured the
sung melody.
The traditional oriental ensemble is the Takht Sharqi , composed of
a qânun (a table zither with pinched strings), an Ud (oriental
lute), a Nay (reed flute) and a riqq (small tambourine with little
cymbals).
A concert presented by
Zamzama Productions - Paris -
www.zamzama.net
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