Smells and Bells

The week after spring break, the class entered a new unit: sound. We did this by reading the first chapters of Women, the Recited Qur’an, and Islamic Music in Indonesia by Anne Rasmussen. Qur’an recitation is a widespread practice in Indonesia when women recite passages from the central holy text of Islam. This ritual takes place in secular and religious settings. Rasmussen cites five contexts where Qur’an recitation is practiced. The first is  khatam al Qur’an , where the entire Qur’an is recited by thirty women at the same time. Pondok pesantren is when girls in boarding school learn recitation as part of their education. Qur’an recitation is also a staple of the college curriculum, where it is taught at a more advanced level. Women can then prepare to competitions in small groups, which is the fourth context. The fifth is the hafla-al Qur’an , a competition where recitations are judged by a series of experts, and prestigious prizes are awarded to the most talented Qur’an reci...

This week we've been talking about whether or not Qur'an recitation is actually 'music.' We seemed to come to the conclusion on Tuesday that it's not necessarily music, but uses musical components, strategies and performative elements in order to effectively communicate a reverent and thought-provoking recitation of Islam's sacred text. Do we have anything similar in other religions? JBK mentioned that he chants Torah, and mentioned that there are specific melodies associated with reciting certain aspects of scripture. I come from a Roman Catholic background. While I don't always agree with some of the practices or some of the archaic rulings in the Bible, the aesthetic component of Catholicism, specifically Catholic Mass, is something I definitely appreciate. And singing is something done very often within Catholic tradition, in a very reverent way which makes me immediately draw similarities with Qur'an recitation. I grew up, from a very young age,...