PROCESSUAL FORM IN SUFI DHIKR RITUAL

Recent Articles on Emdr

Bilateral stimulation (BLS) is of significant importance to eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. Eye movements seem to be the most effective form of BLS in EMDR. A brief summary of the cultural applicability of EMDR is provided, and research which showed the value of incorporating religion and/ or spirituality into psychotherapy is highlighted. Islamic Sufism, in common...

The cultural morphospace of ritual form

Ethnographic, historical, archaeological and experimental work suggests the existence of two basic clusters of ritual dynamics or ‘modes of religiosity’ — a low-frequency, high-arousal cluster linked to the formation of small cohesive communities (imagistic mode) and highfrequency, low-arousal cluster associated with larger, more centralized social morphology (doctrinal mode). Currently, howeve...

Bilateral subtrochanteric stress fractures in a Dambali mystic dancer--a unique complication of a Sufi ritual. Case study.

Stress fractures are commonly seen among soldiers and athletes with the usual sites being the tibia, fibula or the metatarsals. Clinical examination may not be very helpful in such cases unless a high degree of suspicion is directed towards the pathology. We present a case of bilateral synchronous subtrochanteric stress fractures in a Sufi mystic dancer who presented with mild leg pain. The pat...

Strategic Thinking - Processual Context

A matrilineal Sufi shaykh in Sri Lanka

This article explores the influence of local concepts of matrilineal kinship and descent through women in the construction of a modern Sufi silsila (an authorized ‘chain’ of spiritual and genealogical ancestry) in Sri Lanka. Makkattar Vappa, a popular Sufi shaykh in the Tamil-speaking eastern region of the island, asserts hereditary maulana (sayyid) status as a member of the Prophet’s household...