RITUAL ACTIVITIES OF TARIQAS IN ZANZIBAR

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to describe the activities of tariqas (Islamic ritual orders that perform zikri, the practice of reciting the name of God repeatedly) in Zanzibar, and to show the importance of their practices in local culture. Since the latter half of the 19th century, the spread of tariqas, such as Tariqa Qadiriyya fromsouthern Somalia by Uways b. Muḥammad al-Barawī and Tariqa Shadhiliyya from the Comoros by Muḥammad Ma[c]rūf b. Aḥmad b. Abū Bakr, contributed to the Islamization of the Swahili Coast. Zanzibar emerged as one of the early centers of Islamic scholarship in East Africa where tariqas disseminated Islamic doctrine and related Islamic rituals. Today tariqas found all over Zanzibar are active on the anniversary of the Prophet Muḥammad's birthday (maulidi), the festival after the end of Ramaḍān (idi el fitr), the festival of sacrifi ce (idi el haji), during visitations to saints' tombs (ziara), wedding celebrations (harusi), the fortieth day of mourning (arobaini), and other occasions. This paper demonstrates how tariqas also play an important role in the daily life of Zanzibari people, even if local Muslims are not always aware of the tariqa origins of some activities.