Abstract
Abstract In this article, I argue that by creating the dhamāl seven centuries ago, Lāl Shahbāz Qalandar (13th century), a saint of the Qalandarī Sufi order, demonstrated auctoritas. In this way, he shaped the singularity of his saintly figure and gave himself a perennial existence. By reiterating his aesthetic gesture, the practitioners of the dhamāl recognize his authority, making it endure in Sehwan (and beyond). This article shows how this town works daily to perpetuate the dhamāl as a “rite of institution” that lawfully transgress the limits imposed by the social order and orthopraxis Islam. Through the description and analysis of dhamāls, I will show that its practitioners work to legitimize their authority and that the recognition of this by Sehwani society is linked to how they dance, respecting or not of the implicit rules of the Qalandarī.
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