حيدر البياتي

Qawwali is a Sufi devotional vocal music from the Indian subcontinent that aims to evoke spiritual ecstasy and communal devotion. It is typically performed by a lead singer (qawwal) with a small ensemble of accompanying vocalists, harmoniums, handclaps, and percussion such as dholak and tabla. Musically, Qawwali blends raga-based melodic frameworks and flexible, improvisatory singing with driving rhythms and responsorial choruses. Texts are drawn from Urdu, Persian, Punjabi, and other North Indian languages, and include ghazals, kafis, hamds (praise of God), naats (praise of the Prophet), and manqabats (praise of Sufi saints). Performances traditionally take place at Sufi shrines (dargahs), where repetition, call-and-response, and gradual intensification lead listeners toward wajd (states of spiritual ecstasy). In the modern era, Qawwali is also heard on concert stages, recordings, and film.

Latmiya (Arabic: لطميات) is a Shia Islamic lamentation genre centered on rhythmic chest-beating (latm) and collective mourning chants that commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Husayn ibn Ali and the events of Karbala. Typically led by a reciter (rādūd) with call-and-response refrains, latmiyāt are performed in mourning gatherings, processions, and during Muharram and Arbaʿeen. The melodic language draws on Arabic maqām traditions (often Ḥijāz, Nahāwand, Kurd, or Bayāt), while the rhythm is set by the beat of hands on the chest, producing a powerful, communal pulse. Many performances are fully a cappella; in some contemporary, recorded contexts, minimal percussion (e.g., daf/frame drum) or light keyboards and strings are added. Texts are devotional and elegiac—lamenting the tragedy of Karbala, praising the Ahl al-Bayt, invoking moral lessons of sacrifice, justice, and steadfastness, and often culminating in collective acclamations (e.g., labbayka yā Ḥusayn). Although closely related to Persian nohe/maddahi and South Asian nauha traditions, “latmiya” refers most specifically to the Arabic-chant, chest-beating form prevalent in Iraq and the Gulf.