About the DARGAH PROJECT: ideas and progress

DARGAH - Database of the Sufism Heritage.

An attempt to map and archive Sufi Pakistan, Spatially and Spiritually, through the ‘dargahs’ or Shrine landmarks and their cultural heritage that dot the country. The religious, literary, music, dance and building traditions of shrines form a tapestry of culture that has the mystical theology of Sufism at its core and historical links with the rest of South Asia and the Muslim world. The project hopes to link through a range of media, classic historical and modern texts in many languages, folk music and dance recordings, local geographic information and interactive opportunities for dialogue.

Just as rural devotees might not have been able to refer to scholarly works of their saint, foreign audiences might not have been able to watch festival practices of the same historic author they only know from published documents. The diverse ‘Stakeholders’ of the Sufi heritage, whether local or international, can easily make links and easily access material previously unavailable to them through this resource.

Database Areas: POETRY, PROSE, MUSIC, DANCE, ARCHITECTURE, RITUALS, THEOLOGY, SOCIOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY, HEALING and more.

PHASE I: Digital Database: creating an online multimedia library

• VARIOUS MEDIA AND FORMATS CROSS-REFERENCED
• PROMOTING DOCUMENTATION & ARCHIVING
• LOCATIONS AND RESOURCES MAPPED
• EXPERTS AND PRACTITIONERS CONNECTED
• EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL USES
• DYNAMIC MAPPING ON GOOGLE EARTH

PHASE II: Interactive Accessibilities Design

This component is geared to making the database more accessible, interactive, and educational for users and stakeholders of the heritage through appropriate design and technology. Spatial, architectural as well as IT formats that provide a range of interfaces for the multimedia will be designed to reach audiences that are multicultural, multilingual, and have varying degrees of literacy in language and technology.

PHASE III: Spatial Mapping & Documentation of Shrines with GIS

In the third phase, material would be transferred to a GIS database as a serious mapping of shrines would be carried out with this application. Documentation of the shrines would also be carried out with architectural and intangible heritage in mind. This mapping can also be combined with other cultural mapping data later.

Progress - Aug'09: Currently working on technical production proposal of the online portal (starting Phase I), and networking with institutions and experts who will be able to contribute to material on the subject. Already a group of voluntary Resource-persons are on board to advise on diverse theme areas related to Sufism. A design team has recently started working on Phase II as well.

Contact: Sameeta Ahmed. sameetaahmed@gmail.com