Abstract
In South Asia, many mosques and shrines carefully preserve Islamic holy relics. A large proportion of them are articles which are believed to have belonged to the Prophet Muhammad and the rest are deemed to have belonged to his family, his companions or later renowned Muslim saints. Here I consider the cult of Islamic holy relics from an anthropological perspective, based on the theme of the “succession of holiness.” Most of the holy relics open to the public are accompanied with a storied history in which dynastic rulers and renowned saints make an appearance. In this sense, the succession of holy relics is intimately connected with politics. However, the holy relics are also tangible objects that strongly arouse feelings of respect and affection for the Prophet, as well as act as a reminder of his life and times. It is likely that those who view the relics perceive umma or all Muslims, rather than a specific individual or group, as the successor to the relics. Herein lies an imaginative world, or poetics, concerning the succession of holy relics. Meanwhile, relatively inexpensive charms and amulets based on the motifs of certain holy relics are being circulated as souvenirs from holy places. This phenomenon, whereby holy relics in the form of charms and amulets are brought into an individual's private domain and venerated, means that they are also being passed down among the general populace. I would like to call this the pop aspect of the succession of holy relics. This paper considers from the above perspectives the aspects of politics, poetics and pop in thesuccession of holy relics based on my fieldwork in South Asia, in particular in North India and Pakistan.
