Jürgen W. Frembgen Boeken

This book is about Pakistan’s most popular Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar whose shrine in Sehwan Sharif is one of the most fascinating sanctuaries in the Muslim world. At the time of pilgrimage, this flourishing cult centre becomes a vibrant place of ecstatic religiosity marked by intense forms of devotion. The present ethnographic study is organized around three themes: piety, pilgrimage, and ritual. Thus, its focus is first on visual culture and ‘material religion’ as well as various aspects of religious aesthetics which highlight how sacred spaces are constructed and shaped. Secondly, it deals with the year-round pilgrimage, mainly investigating pilgrims from Punjab (including a unique life history of a female ‘Sufi lineage’ from Lahore), but also discussing remarkable ritual agents in the cult. The third theme is the spectacular trance dance known as dhamāl.

Distilling nearly forty years of experience drinking the second most consumed beverage in the world, Jürgen Wasim Frembgen's travelogue, A Thousand Cups of Tea , is a journey through the production, preparation, and consumption of tea from North Africa to South Asia. With deep insights into diverse habits, customs, preferences, and traditions surrounding this practise, the author delves into painting a cross-cultural panorama of a simple activity through detailed vignettes and historical anecdotes based on personal observations and thorough ethnographic research. Woven amongst a combination of both culinary and cultural literature, this simple, accessible knowledge allows the reader to explore the brewing herbs not only as a mixture of hot refreshment, but also as a social custom. This book is of interest to a diverse readership-ranging from anthropology students, casual readers, and tea connoisseurs. It is concurrently an important reference material and valuable addition to theliterature on the anthropology of food.

The annual festival celebrated in honour of Pakistan's most popular Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar is full of spiritual rapture, ecstasy, trance, magic and devotion. In his vividly written narrative the renowned anthropologist and Islamologist, Jürgen Wasim Frembgen, takes the reader along with him to experience this unique ritual event and spectacle with all the senses. Stefan Weidner, a renowned writer and expert on Islam, has judged this book [German language version] as "one of the most exciting reports we owe to German cultural anthropology in recent decades".

In Nocturnal Music in the Land of the Sufis Jürgen Wasim Frembgen takes the reader along on his fascinating mystical journeys into the musical worlds of Pakistan. In dense description he tells about his personal experiences and emotions while participating in ecstatic nights of music at Sufi shrines, attending trance rituals and listening enraptured to sublime and refined classical music in private music rooms in Lahore. In his ethnographic narrative he unfolds authentic cultural contexts and life worlds in which music is deeply embedded, tracing how music is perceived and 'tasted' by listeners.

This ethnographic study appreciates the cultural traditions of African-descended communities in the south of Pakistan and is a first endeavour to show that their history, society, religion and everyday practices can be a source of pride for them. Known as Shidis, 'black' Baloch and Khaskhelis, Afro-Pakistanis constitute a sizeable minority of around 300,000 souls living on the fringes of one of the world's most populous multi-ethnic countries - mostly impoverished, socially deprived, and politically disempowered. Their distinct traditions and practices, 'til now understudied, are shaped by the historical circumstances of trans-oceanic migration. Uprooted from their original homelands in East-, Northeast- and Central Africa, the descendants of former slaves, soldiers and seafarers, but also of free men and women, still preserve their African heritage which significantly contributes to the cultural kaleidoscope and spiritual wealth of Pakistan. Their 'voices', understood as reminiscence

Till 1972, Nager was one of the last sacral kingdoms of the world. Its inhabitants proudly call their native area 'the land of gold and apricots'. The present ethno-historic study seeks to reconstruct the past with special emphasis on oral traditions about processes of settlement. It also examines facets of local culture, such as agrarian feasts, aspects of indigenous pre-modern religion, Twelver-Shi?a Islam, lifecycle rites and local cuisine. Grounded in long-term fieldwork, Jurgen Wasim Frembgen, a renowned anthropologist, Islamic scholar and writer, investigates the myths, traditions and folklife of the Nagerkuts living at the foot of the 'fairy mountain' Rakaposhi in the Karakoram (Northern Pakistan). According to the indigenous world-view, fairies are thought to reside on this majestic mountain.

In dieser ungewöhnlchen Kulturgeschichte erfährt der Leser alles Wissenswerte über das Teetrinken im Orient. Der Autor erzählt unterhaltsam und klug von den verschiedenen Teekulturen des Orients zwischen Marokko und Indien - von persönlichen Erfahrungen mit allen Sinnen bei Tausend Tassen Tee - sowohl in den Teehäusern der Metropolen als auch bei den Menschen auf dem Lande und den Nomaden in Steppe und Wüste. Das Buch gibt einen sympathischen, ungewöhnlichen und kurzweilig zu lesenden Einblick in die Lebenskunst der Menschen im Orient. Es ist der ideale Begleiter für jeden Reisenden, der schon Minztee in Marokko, schwarzen süßen Tee in der Türkei, grünen Tee in Afghanistan oder starken Tee mit Milch in Indien getrunken hat. Und für jeden, der das Alltagsleben und Facetten der Kulinarik im Orient näher kennenlernen oder selbst am Genuss der Langsamkeit teilhaben möchte.