1

RUNNING HEAD: Shrine Culture

Umer Sufyan

Topic: Shrine Culture is promoting different discourses within one society.

English 103 (C)

Instructor: Alvina Wasim

 2
Shrine Culture

Contents

1. Abstract.

2. Introduction.

3. Literature Review.

4. Data Analysis.

5. Discussion.

6. Conclusion.

7. References.
 3
Shrine Culture

Abstract

The research explores the shrine culture, its discourses and various problems related to it. The

paper covers the atmosphere and environment at shrines. It covers how various shrines are a source

of various discomforts for people. Although people visit shrines for the purification of their soul,

there are certain shrines where some fake people who call themselves scholars are sitting just to

earn money and run their business. Not only this, beggars and pickpockets are a worth discussing

area because they cause an increase in problems and nothing else. The purpose is to make people

aware of such problems and make them take to the path of Allah and not to the path of these

problems, to make them aware that not every problem has its solution in shrines but they can be

solved by direct interaction and belief in Allah.

Keywords: Shrine Culture, Discourses, Environment at Shrines, Soul Purification, Wise

Beliefs.
 4
Shrine Culture

Chapter: 1

Introduction

In today’s materialistic world, people have been trying to use religion as a source of exploitation.

In our Pakistani society, there is a traditional and old way of showing one’s submissiveness to God

that is visiting the shrines, this provides peace and internal satisfaction and happiness to the

believers. Some of which are really spiritual and a source of peace for a lot of people but at the

same time, there are a lot of hidden faces which blackmail people on their own belief systems,

emotions, and financial issues. Pakistan is a culturally rich country with deep-rooted traditions

which are associated in every field of life and they have made it just a source of earning money.

They provide a strong belief system to the people; guide them the proper way of worship.

Moreover, every sect in society has developed its own norms and values which they feel best for

their own beliefs. So, people feel it necessary to visit shrines because they are provided by a mental

satisfaction and peace.

Hypothesis:

Shrine culture is promoting different discourses within one society.

Research Questions:

1. What is shrine culture?

2. How shrine culture produces discourses?

 5
Shrine Culture

Theoretical Framework:

My theory is Catherine Bell’s Ritual theory/ Ritual Practice and it is related to my topic in many

ways. The ritual theory explains that shrine culture includes various traditions, gestures, and

symbolic performances.

Methodology:

Our sample for research will be from different shrines in Lahore (Shrine of Hazrat Data Ali

Hajveri, Shrine of Madhu Lal Hussain, Shrine of Mian Mir and Shrine of Baba Fareed). We will

go there and ask different people about their views on this through a questionnaire. These will be

analyzed through the data analysis system.

Objectives:

The main objectives of the research include the following:

1. To create awareness about the reality of shrine culture.

2. To explore what is shrine culture.

 6
Shrine Culture

Chapter 2

Literature Review

The following paper talks about the shrine culture in Pakistan and also debate about the diverse

cultures which shrine is endorsing in Pakistan. So, this paper has two parts. The first part of

research talks about the shrine culture and the second part tells about different discourses produce

by shrine culture like drugs, sacred food, charity (Chanda) etc.

Q1. What is Shrine Culture?

According to Farida M. Pirani et.al (2008), a shrine is a sacred place in which a saint or a person

having great sacred importance is buried. A lot of people visit the shrine and they worship there

and they also have a strong belief in that particular Sufi’s shrine. Shrines have a great reputation

all over the Islamic world. A lot of people in Pakistan also have sturdy belief in shrines. It is part

of our South Asian culture to visit shrines and believe in all those mythological concepts related

to it.

Catherine Bell (1992) narrates that people perform different rituals at sacred places because they

have a very strong belief in it. People frequently visit shrines and perform different rituals which

they think are religious but in reality, these are not acceptable to the religion but akin to culture.

Douglas A Marshall (2002) agrees with the rituals theory of Catherine Bill and says that the

practices at the certain places inculcate a strong sense of belief and protection in humans and

practice are more firmly related to religion.

Emile Durkheim (1995) describes how rituals are a source of emotional outcomes that come with

effervescence. The effervescence can be individual or can be group emotions. V.P.J. Arponen and
 7
Shrine Culture

Artur Ribeiro (2014) explains the ritual theory as a concept of belief system and as a theory of

individualism as well. They say that believing in the various rituals being presented at shrines is

nothing but a belief system that is present in various geographical areas that is affected by the

surroundings.

Iftikhar Ahmad Charan (2018) argues that shrine clutches boundless status in Pakistani society and

people recurrently visit them. Shrines are not only religiously important, but they also play a great

part in the cultural and social life of believers and followers of the shrine. People have very sturdy

believe in it and according to the believer of the shrines, shrine helped them in various ways like

they think that the Sufi of the shrine resolved their social, spiritual, economic, physical and mental

problems.

According to Safdar Abbas et.al (2013), shrines are a noteworthy part of Pakistani culture. There

is a large majority of people in Pakistan who frequently visit shrines and have a strong belief in it.

They came to the shrine, pray there and ate sacred foodstuff like Langar. According to these

people, sacred foodstuff like Langar, salt, and sugar helped them to cure their disease. Several

people visit shrines because of their family problems, they go there and pray there for their various

problems such as daughter’s marriage, the betterment of their future and other family conflicts

because they believe that the Sufi of the shrine will help them to solve their problems. According

to this research journal, among the visitors of shrine majority of the visitors are the female. They

also came here to resolve their family problems like husband wife tussles, intrafamily conflicts

etc. and they use different ways to show their devoutness to the Sufi of the shrine, like putting oil

on the earthen lamp, placing Chadar on the grave (Chadar Charhana) etc. It is also believed that

shrines provide a place for homeless people to live and also provide them with food. Azam

Chaudhary (2010) explains that Sufiism plays a very key role in society and most specifically in
 8
Shrine Culture

Punjabi culture. Sufi of the shrine provides a connection to the creator with God. Generally people

from upper and lower class visit shrine the most and the reason is that the people from upper or

elite class think that their status is just because of their devoutness with the Sufi of the shrine while

the lower class is unable to perform Hajj or go the other religious places which are out of Pakistan

so they come to shrine and worship there because they think that the Sufi of the shrine is the best

source for their connection with the God. Also, the rich came here to give money to the needy

people and they came here to put Chadar on the grave of the saint. On the other hand, most of the

poor came here to beg and for food. According to the author of this article, people perform a lot of

religious rituals here like touching the grave of saint, eating sacred food, knotting the thread on the

tomb, taking Taweez etc. and the majority of the visitor of shrine include transgenders (Khusraay),

Malangs, psychic, singers (Qawal) etc.

Mohamed Elaskary and Eun Kyeong Yun (2016) are of views that most of the shrines are linked

to Shia sect of Islam. Mostly needed and people from lower-class visit shrines in the hours of their

need. They believed that the Sufi of the Shrine will help them in solving their problems and the

Sufi has a direct link with God.

Q2: How shrine culture produces discourses?

Tahmina Iqbal and Mazhar Farid (2017) are of the view that shrine Culture is very old and basically

it is the key part of Punjabi society and culture. There are millions and billions of followers of

shrines in Pakistan. Each visitor has its own interests and visits the shrine with its own perspective.

The shrine is producing different discourses like drugs, eating of sacred foodstuffs, charity

(Chanda).
 9
Shrine Culture

Catherine Bell (1992) talked about different dichotomies and also talked about different rituals

performed at shrines. People have different myths and beliefs which are religiously not acceptable

but they do have faith in those myths and beliefs like touching the grave of the saint, taking tawaiz,

eating sacred foodstuff etc. Azam Chaudhary (2010) argue that people perform a lot of religious

rituals and discourses at shrines like bowing in front of graves, knotting the threads etc. but a lot

of religious scholars think that by doing these activities, they become sinful because they are doing

Shirk and Bidat. Visitors of shrine include transgenders (Khusree), Malangs, Psychic etc.

Everyone comes for its own purpose. A lot of drug addicts also visit shrines because they think

that the shrine is the safe place for taking drugs. Also, shrine provides space to the homeless people.

They permanently live there and the majority of them beg at the shrines and take drugs. At the

death anniversary of the saint, there is an event arranged every year which is called Urs. Numerous

people come at the Urs of the Saint and they do a lot of activities there but apart from all the

religious activities, the shrine is also producing a lot of discourses. Numerous people come at the

Urs of Sufis of the shrine and do a lot of things which are against religion and considered as Shirk

in Islam.

According to Safdar Abbas et.al. (2013), a lot of people visit shrines and they believe that eating

sacred foodstuff like Lungar, and other specialties at shrines will help them to cure their diseases.

People collect money in the name of God at the shrine which is called Chanda. But in reality, the

shrine is producing a lot of discourses which are not acceptable in religion. According to the

authors of this articles, shrine provides a place for homeless people to live and they beg at the

shrine in the name of God also they blackmail the visitors which is a very odd thing. Majority of

the visitor of the shrine are females which come at the shrine to get their family disputes resolved

like husband-wife tussles, intrafamily tussles etc. but at some shrines, females are even not allowed
 10
Shrine Culture

to go inside the tomb of the saint where the saint is buried means that the admiration of some

shrines are very gender biased. A shrine is also a safe place for the drug addicts. It is also believed

that many people just came at the shrines to enjoy the events of the shrine and do a lot of unethical

activities which are sinful and against religion. In short, this all shows the negative face of the

shrines. Iftikhar Ahmad Charan (2018) claims that shrines have very great importance in the

society especially in Punjabi culture and shrines are not only religiously important but they also

play a great role in cultural and social life. But we cannot ignore this fact that shrine is producing

a lot of discourses in society. It is also promoting a lot of rituals and superstitions within society.

Mohamed Elaskary and Eun Kyeong Yun (2016) states that shrines are more dominant in Shia sect

of Islam. Mostly needy and illiterate people visit the shrine to get resolved their family quarrels

and other problems of their life.

 11
Shrine Culture

Chapter 3

Data Analysis

Gender

Male
50% 50%
Female

Out of the 40 people who answered, 50% were men and 50% were women.

Q1: How often do you visit shrines?

24%
31%

45%
Annually Monthly Weekly

Most of the people visit shrines annually. About 31% visit monthly and few (24%) visit weekly.
 12
Shrine Culture

Q2: Do you spend money or give cauldron at the shrine?

29%

71%

Yes No

71% of people said that they spend money or give caldron at shrines whereas 29% of the people

stated that they do not spend a lot of money at shrines.

Q3: Do you think visiting shrines is a good trend?

10%

90%

Yes No

90% of the people think that visiting shrines is a good trend whereas 10% of the people think that

visiting shrines is not a good trend.

 13
Shrine Culture

Q4: Do you think visiting shrines is beneficial for one’s soul?

2%

97%

Yes No

Most of the people (97%) think that visiting shrines is beneficial for their souls.

Q5: While at the shrine, do you say your prayer in the name of the Saint?

48%
52%

Yes No

About 52% of the people stated that while at shrines they offered prayers in the name of Saint

while 48% of the people don’t do.

 14
Shrine Culture

Q6: Is the shrine open for every gender?

45%
55%

Yes No

According to 55% of the people, the shrine is opened for every gender but remaining 45% don’t

think so.

Q7: Have you ever taken part in any of the rituals performed at the shrine?

42%

58%

Yes No

52% of the people took part in rituals performed in the shrines and 42% of the people don’t.
 15
Shrine Culture

Q8: Do you visit the shrine:

29%

45%

26%

When you are sad When you are facing a problem Other

About 29% of the people visit shrines when they are sad. 26% of people visit shrines when they

are facing any problem but most of the people visit shrines for unknown purposes.

Q9: Do you feel peaceful when you pray to the Sufi?

5%

95%
Yes No

95% of the people said that they feel peaceful when they pray to the Sufi.
 16
Shrine Culture

Q10: Do you see a lot of unrelated people (beggars, addicts) at shrines?

25%

75%

Yes No

75% of the people said that there are a lot of unrelated people at shrines.

Q11: Do you visit the shrines of other saints too?

19%

81%

Yes No

81% of the people visit many other saints too and 19% said they don’t visit any other saint.
 17
Shrine Culture

Q12: Do you practice the same rituals at other shrines too?

34%

66%

Yes No

66% of the people said that they practice the same rituals at other shrines as well but 34% of the

people said that they do not practice the same.

Q13: Have you seen your parents follow the same rituals?

32%

68%

Yes No

Most of the people (68%) at shrines said that their parents also follow the same rituals but

remaining 32% said that their parents do not follow the same rituals.
 18
Shrine Culture

Q14: Do you believe that the more money you spend at a shrine, the better the chances of your

prayer being heard?

46%
54%

Yes No

46% of the people believe that by spending a lot of money at shrines they will get better chance to

get their prayers heard.

Q15: Do you find shrines a great shelter for the homeless?

25%

75%

Yes No

75% of the people think that shrines are the better place for homeless people but 25% do not

believe in it.
 19
Shrine Culture

Q16: Have your prayers ever been heard?

10%

90%

Yes No

90% of the people believe that their prayers have ever been heard and 10% of the people do not

agree.

Q17: Do you think you have been spiritually cleansed after visiting the shrine?

17%

83%

Yes No

83% of the people think that they have been spiritually cleansed after visiting the shrine but 17%

of the people do not think so.

 20
Shrine Culture

Q18: Have you ever been robbed at the shrine?

37%

63%

Yes No

37% of the people said that they have been robbed but most of the people said that it is a safe

shelter for them.

Q19: Do you think that the beggars are involved in stealing?

13%

65%

Yes No

65% of the people think that beggars are involved in stealing. 13% do not think so.
 21
Shrine Culture

Q20: Are you satisfied with the cleanliness of the shrine?

24%

76%

Yes No

76% of the people are satisfied with the cleanliness of the shrines. 24% of the people are not

satisfied with the cleanliness.

 22
Shrine Culture

Chapter 4

Discussion

The topic that I have selected for my research and that suited my interest was shrine culture in

Pakistan. As we all have heard about the different concepts, theories, conflicts, reasons and a lot

of other things behind the culture of visiting shrines. Every person visiting the Shrine have his own

mindset and aim for visiting there. One of such things I want to prove in my argument is that this

culture promotes various discourses, conflicts, misconceptions, and disharmony due to the

extremist concepts and views. The theory that I am following in my research is rituals theory which

explains that Shrine culture has its own ways and methods, its own gestures it's on tradition and

its own values. For the purpose of clarifying and proving my argument, I visited various shrines

of Lahore and also a shrine of Pakpattan Sharif to collect the data about various questions of my

hypothesis which included that what is shrine culture in actual, why people visit shrines, and how

shrine culture promotes different types of discourses. I collected a lot of data with the help of

questionnaires and asking different people about their views while my visit at shrines. I collected

data from 40 respondents out of which 20 were men and 20 were females. The data that I collected

and analyzed clearly explain that majority of people visit shrines once in a month and a very low

percentage of people who visits shrines weekly. I personally think that this depends on their

dedication and mindset that how much they believe in the Shrine culture and how much they feel

comfortable and their problems to be solved by visiting shrines. By seeing different people there,

I also followed some of the rituals, for example, a lot of people there what distributing money and

eatables among the poor I also did the same and give some money to the poor people sitting within

the shrines. I asked a number of people about their views of visiting shrines and about 90% of

people said that visiting shrines is a very useful and good trend. The further explain that visiting
 23
Shrine Culture

shrines is very beneficial for one's soul as it is a source of peace and satisfaction for mind and soul.

It adds up to one's belief in the religion. There was another very controversial question that whether

shrines should be open for both the genders or not and most of the people recommended that

shrines should not be limited to any gender. Although it was clearly mentioned outside that females

are not allowed to go inside the Tomb of that particular personality or saint. More than half of the

people there whom I questioned told me that they have taken part in different rituals that are being

performed in the shrines. And almost all the people answered in common that they feel satisfaction

and peace when they pray to the Sufi or at Shrine. Another culture that's very annoying is the

beggars sitting outside and inside the shrines, that very nearly almost blackmail the people to give

the money and it has become a type of Mafia. Another very interesting thing that I noticed there

was that most of the people did not visit only a single Shrine rather they used to go two different

signs as most of them told me that it was their family background and their parents used to do the

same. Shrines have also become a place for homeless people and a lot of people live there and get

food from shrines which are considered a very good deed. About 90% of people answered me a

common thing that whatever they have prayed at shrines is always heard by Almighty Allah. And

they often feel very spiritual after being regularly visited at shrines. But one very important thing

that was a sort of complaint by most of the people were the cleanliness that was the major issue of

shrines. I also asked a question about robbery and stealing at shrines and most of the people

claimed that the beggars are involved in stealing and robbery at shrine which is a very big

drawback and this shows that all the beggars which lived at shrine and beg there in the name of

saint are involved in crimes so, this shows the negative face of shrines. Beggars and Malangs are

taking money in the name of the saint of the shrine and they all are taking drugs at shines and also

shrine is considered a very safe place for the drug addicts. In short, shrines have become a safe
 24
Shrine Culture

place for the criminals. While doing this research and taking answers at shrines, I faced a lot of

difficulties and problems there. Most of the people fought with me saying that my questions are

very controversial and they refused to answer and said that I am hurting their feelings and faith in

that particular Sufi’s shrine. And when I tried to ask from some of the people about the history and

background of that particular saint of that shrine, they were unable to tell me anything. Almost all

of them were speechless and the only reason that they gave was that their ancestors have been

visiting this shrine from generations and no other reason. This just reflected them far behind

mentality. Also, these all shrines which I visited with my group fellows (including two female

members) are very gender biased because at all the shrines there was clearly mentioned outside

the tomb of the shrine that the females are not allowed to go inside the tomb of the shrine. But

most of the females were insisting to go inside although, in reality, we know that in our religion

Islam does not force women to go to even mosques but prefers them to stay and offering prayer at

home. There was also the very big problem of shoes at all the shrines, the Mafia which is sitting

outside the shrines taking more money than the mentioned that means that a lot of people are doing

business in the name of religion or in the name of Sufi of the shrine. We also faced this problem

when we visit the shrines like they mentioned Rs.10 for shoes but they took Rs.30 from us which

also shows the negative face of shrines and a very big discourse as well. In actual shrine is a public

place and no one has the right to earn money through it but no one is there to question them.

Cleanliness is also a very big issue at shines like most of the shrines are not clean and outside the

shrines, they are mostly huge slums that are a source of various diseases. The government should

take strict steps towards the cleanliness of such religious places.

Another worse thing that I saw in shrines and that directly pinched my heart and hurt me from soul

was that the people the so-called managers were taking money from people who seemed to be rich
 25
Shrine Culture

and allowed them to go inside the sacred gates and graves of that particular shrines and the poor

were ignored and forced to stay out. The people have forgotten the lesson of honesty and equality

taught by the Sufis and call themselves the so-called servants of saints. It's like the same words

that using the religion but not following the religion and this is the most dreadful thing.
 26
Shrine Culture

Chapter 4

Conclusion

So, it is evident from the conducted research that shrine culture is producing a lot of discourses. If

on the one side it gives satisfaction to one's soul and increases its beliefs but on the bitter side if

has also caused a lot of harms to our society. Various people are running their businesses on the

name of religion and shrines. If food is provided to the people on shrines on the other side it is also

wasted in a lot of ways. If someone gets pacification and meditation, on the other hand, a lot of

people become a victim of various problems. Not all the saints at different shrines have a real

spiritual nature, a lot of them are just there to earn money and deceive people and to get benefit

from their weakness. The better way to tackle and get out of these problems is to behave in a wise

way rather than to have blind faith in any such person who does not deserve it. Because Allah

Almighty does not lie in any particular building but in the heart of people. So, it's better to find

religion, peace, and solutions of our problems by Quran and Sunnah rather than being victimized.
 27
Shrine Culture

References

1. Charan, I. A., Wang, B., & Yao, D. (2018). Cultural and Religious Perspective on Sufi

Shrines. Journal of Religion and Health, 1074-1094.

Retrieved January 27, 2018, from https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10943-

018-0558-6.pdf.

2. Elaskary, M., & Yun, E. K. (2017). Death, Resurrection, and Shrine Visitations: An

Islamic Perspective. Religions, 8(3), 34.

Retrieved February 25, 2017, from http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel8030034

3. Choudhary, M. A. (2010). Religious Practices at Sufi Shrines in Punjab. Pakistan Journal

of History and Culture, XXXI (1), 2-10.

4. Abbas, S., Qureshi, S., Safdar, R., & Zakir, R. (2013). Peoples’ Perceptions about

Visiting Sufi Shrine in Pakistan. A Research Journal of South Asian Studies, 28(2), 369-

387.

5. Marshall, D. A. (2002). Behavior, Belonging, and Belief: A Theory of Ritual

Practice. Sociological Theory, 20(3), 360-380.

Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9558.00168.

 28
Shrine Culture

6. Iqbal, T., & Farid, M. (2017). Sufi practices as the cause of spiritual, mental and physical

healing at Chishti shrines in Pakistan. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 20(10), 943-

953.

Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13674676.2017.1372736.

7. Pirani, F. M., Papadopoulos, (., Foster, J., & Leavey, G. (2008). “I will accept whatever is

meant for us. I wait for that—day and night”: The search for healing at a Muslim shrine

in Pakistan. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 11(4), 375-386.

Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13674670701482695.

8. Bell, C. M. (2010). Ritual theory, ritual practice. New York: Oxford University Press.

9. Khan, S., & Sajid, R. (2011). The Essence of Shrines in Rural Punjab: A Case Study of

Shrines at Barilla Sharif, Gujrat-Pakistan. Humanity and Social Sciences Journal, 6(1),

66-77.

10. Summers-Effler, E. (2006). Ritual Theory. In Handbook of the Sociology of

Emotions (pp. 135-154). Boston, MA: Springer.

11. Arponen, V. P., & Ribeiro, A. (2014). Understanding Rituals: A Critique of

Representationalism. Norwegian Archaeological Review, 47(2), 161-179.

--------------------------
 29
Shrine Culture

Different moments captured at different Shrines

 30
Shrine Culture