Extreme Ritual Actions: Pain and Religious Emotions in Rifaʿi Zikr Rituals (Remembrance of God) in Ottoman Turkey

Description

In this paper, I intend to look at the cultivation of ritualised pain and emotion in the ecstatic group performances of certain physically demanding and potentially dangerous religious forms that take place in the context of Rifaʿi rituals (zikr) in Ottoman Turkey (Glucklich 2001; Moscoso 2012; Fox et al 2018; Trigg 1970). Drawing on textual and visual representations, both Ottoman and European, I chart the charismatic feats with self-mortification of one of the most prominent
Sufi religious orders in the Islamic world performed at moments of emotional arousal and intoxication (hal). The use of self-induced pain, suffering, and miraculous healing involves actions that exhibit both a ritualistic process and theatrical features, both of which have the potential to lead to cathartic effects and to intensify emotional concepts such as devotional love and joy (Scheff 1979).

Period	1 Mar 2021 → 3 Mar 2021
Event title	Religion & Emotion: : Materielle Praktiken im christlichen, jüdischen und muslimischen Europa der Frühen Neuzeit
Event type	Conference
Location	Wolfenbüttel, GermanyShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International