Paper short abstract:

Drawing on ethnographic research carried out in North-eastern Turkey, this paper examines practices of vocal recitation employed by Shi'i Muslims in the cultivation of relations of intimacy with the holy figures of the Family of the Prophet.

Paper long abstract:

Devotion to the family of the Prophet Muhammad is central to Shi'i Islam. Genres of vocalised lament and praise play an important part in the veneration of these figures. This paper focuses on such practices of devotional recitation amongst Shi'i Muslims living in Turkey. I argue that the sonic and discursive qualities of recitation aim towards the cultivation of relationships with these holy figures. Reciting and listening offer ways for Muslims to come to know, love and live life alongside the Family of the Prophet. The cultivation of relations of intimacy with these figures challenges earlier approaches which have highlighted 'relations of simulation'. By prioritizing exemplification, emulation and simulation these approaches relegate such figures to historical abstract models for social and political action, ignoring the ways their presence is experienced in everyday life. Engaging ethnographically with the ways Muslims cultivate relations with these "more-than-human' beings through sound, challenges the occularcentric and materialist secular assumptions which continue to underlie contemporary anthropology.