Title
Rose Blossoms, Ashura Pudding, and a “Golden Trophy:” Embodied Material Traces of Islamic Mysticism in Ottoman Hungary
Abstract
This study examines three of the most iconic sites associated with Islamic mysticism, or Sufism, in Ottoman Hungary. These are three mausoleums located in Buda, Pécs, and Turbék, near Zigetvár. The first two are the final resting places of the Sufi mystics known as Gül Baba and Idris Baba. The third is Sultan Süleyman’s mausoleum next to a Sufi dervish lodge, the foundations of which were uncovered during recent excavations. The research sheds light on the (embodied) material practices associated with these sites, as well as their sensory engagement and synaesthetic experiences. The bodies of the spiritual leaders, presented in the first two cases, serve as living sites of mystical experiences, both through self-destructive acts graphically represented on their bodies, and through bodily miracles such as hypercorporeality, multilocality, and dream visions. The third case concerns the body of a secular and a spiritual leader, the temporary burial of his disemboweled and embalmed body in the mausoleum at Turbék, and the tradition that his heart and entrails were kept in a reliquary-like vessel at the site, which interestingly paralleled contemporary Habsburg customs. Building on Thomas Csordas (Citation1990) and Manuel Vásquez (Citation2011), I explore the role of human and non-human “supernatural” actors interacting in these mystical networks, focusing on the role of their embodiment and materiality, their movement and their physically fragmented bodies.
Keywords
sufismmaterialitybody-markingbrandingscarificationmortification of the fleshdream visionsmultilocationhypercorporalityeviscerationheart burialrelics
Object type
Language
English [eng]
Persistent identifier
https://phaidra.univie.ac.at/o:2044994
Appeared in
Title
Material Religion
Volume
19
Issue
5
ISSN
1743-2200
Issued
2023
From page
439
To page
456
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Date issued
2023
Access rights
Rights statement
© 2024 The Author(s)

Download

University of Vienna | Universitätsring 1 | 1010 Vienna | T +43-1-4277-0