Shah Hussain Marwandi or Shah Usman Marwandi[1](1143-44 to1333-34), popularly known as Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (Sindhi: لعل شھباز قلندر‎), was a Sufiphilosopher-poet of present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was called Lal ("ruby-colored") after his usual red attire and Shahbaz to denote a noble and divine spirit and Qalandar as he was a wandering holy man.

Jhulelal is believed by Sindhi Hindus to be an incarnation of Varuna.[29] They celebrate the festival of Cheti Chand in his honor. The festival marks the arrival of spring and harvest, but in Sindhi community it also marks the mythical birth of Uderolal in year 1007, after they prayed to Hindu god Varuna to save them from the persecution by tyrannical Muslim ruler named Mirkhshah.[30][31][32]Uderolal morphed into a warrior and old man who preached and reprimanded Mirkhshah that Muslims and Hindus deserve the same religious freedoms. He, as Jhulelal,[32] became the champion of the people in Sindh, from both religions. Among his SufiMuslim followers, Jhulelal is known as "Khwaja Khizir" or "Sheikh Tahit". The Hindu Sindhi, according to this legend, celebrate the new year as Uderolal's birthday.

Dama Dam Mast Qalandar | Translation of Sufi Qawwali

 16  12:45 PM

O laal meri pat rakhio bala jhoole laalan, Sindri da Sehvan da, sakhi Shabaaz kalandar, Dama dam mast Qalandar, Ali dam dam de andar.

O the red robed, may I always have your benign protection, Jhulelal (as he was affectionately called). O master, friend and Sire of Sindh and Sehwan (or Serwan), The red robed God-intoxicated Qalandar, The Lord in every breath of mine, glory be to you.

Chaar charaag tere baran hamesha, Panjwa mein baaran aayi bala jhoole laalan O panjwa mein baaran, O panjwa mein baaran aayi bala jhoole laalan, Sindri da Sehvan da, sakhi Shabaaz Qalandar, Dama dam mast Qalandar, Ali dam dam de andar.

Your shrine is always lighted with four lamps, And here I come to light a fifth lamp in your honor. Here I come with fifth O master, friend and Sire of Sindh and Sehwan (or Serwan), The red robed God-intoxicated Qalandar, The Lord in every breath of mine, glory be to you.

Hind Sind (some also sing Ghanan ghanan) peera teri naubat vaaje, Naal vaje ghadiyaal bala jhoole laalan, O naal vaje, O naal vaje ghadiyaal bala jhoole laalan.

Let your heroic name ring out in Hind & Sindh (or lets the gongs bell loud), Let the gong ring loud for your glory day and night by the people (ghadiyaal - watchman, symbolism of night).

Har dam peera teri khair hove, Naam-e-ali beda paar laga jhoole laalan, O naam-e-ali, O naam-e-ali beda paar laga jhoole laalan, Sindri da sehvan da sakhi Shabaaz Qalandar, Dama dam mast Qalandar, Ali dam dam de andar.

O Lord, may you prevail everytime, everywhere, I pray of your well being, In the name of Ali, I pray to you to help my boat cross in safety (in the river of life).

This song, one of the most famous qawwali, is written and sung in the honor of Sufi mystic saint 'Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar' (Usman Marvandhi) - may God sanctify his station. Every word of his name used in the qawwali has a meaning - he was known as Hazrat (holiness), Lal (he wore red robes, also mothers fondly call their kids as Lal in Punjab and nearby region), Shahbaz (Shah - King and Baz - Falcon, king of falcons and in Iranian mythology represent godly figure who led them to victory, divine spirit), and finally Qalandar (a qalandari - a sufi saint, poet, mystic, noble man). He settled in Serwan (Sindh, now in Pakistan) and tried bringing peace between Hindus and Muslims. Hindus regard him as divine reincarnate, avatar as well. Still today many Punjabi singers, singing in his praise. He is also fondly called as Jhulelal.

+ Some picture of his holy shrine located in Sindh, Pakistan can be viewed via flickr.

Sura eighteen of the Koran (The Cave’, 18:61-83) tells the story, among others, of the encounter between the prophet Moses (Musa) and an unnamed teacher-guide. This account is influential in elaborations of the notion of the master-disciple relationship in Sufism and in elaborations of the concept of prophecy in Islam.

The Koran explicitly names only twenty-five prophets, but it does attest that there have been others (Koran 40: 78). Indeed, tradition records the figure 124,000. The Prophet Muhammad himself mentions several of these others in the hadithliterature (authenticated reports), and identifies the companion of Moses as Khidr in one such report (Abu Dawud 1984, vol. Ill, p. 1319)¹.

There is no agreement about Khidr’s full name, but Balya, son of Malikan, is widely accepted by Koran commentators and narrators of Prophet Stories (qisas al-anbiya’) (See Tha’labi n.d., pp. 192-94, 199-203; Tabari 1989, vol. Ill, pp. 2-18). Malikan was reputed to be a great king, and may be the Malkam of I Chronicles viii, 9. But other genealogies are also proposed: that he is a son of Adam; a grandson of Cain; the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; the son of a Greek father and a Persian mother; the son of a Persian father and a Greek mother. Some say he was raised by wild beasts.

The Arabic word al-khadir means ‘green’; the honorific name al-Khidr consequently means ‘The Green One’. According to the Alexander Romance, after Khidr dove into the Water of Life — which he had found by using a shining jewel brought from Paradise by the prophet Adam — “all the flesh of his body became bluish-green and his garments likewise”. In the Ethiopian version of the Romance,, he is told: “You are Khidr: wherever your feet touch, the earth will become green”. His greenness suggests links to St. Gregory and St. George and echoes, if distantly, Zachariah, vi, 12: “Behold the man whose name is The Branch”.

* * *

The Koranic story (18: 61-83) of the meeting of Moses and Khidr begins with a quest undertaken by Moses and his servant (possibly Joshua) for the place where the two seas meet. At one point, once they have passed the confluence, Moses tells his servant, “Prepare our food, this journey has tired us.” The servant explains that he has left the fish that they had brought along on a rock, blaming Satan for having forgotten to mention this earlier, then adds, “The wonder is, the fish revived and leapt back into the sea!” “That loss is a sign of what we are seeking!” exclaims Moses, so they retrace their steps, going back to the confluence, where they find one of “Our servants, to whom We had shown Our special favor [i.e., prophecy] and endowed with knowledge from Us” (min ladunna ‘ilm).

Moses said to him, “May I follow you that you may guide me true with the knowledge you have been taught?”

He said, “You will not be able to bear with me. How can you endure what is beyond your comprehension?”

“If God wills, you will find me patient,” said Moses, “and I will obey you in all things.”

“If you must follow me,” he said, “do not question me about anything until I myself mention it to you.”

Moses and Khidr set out. Eventually they come upon a quay where there is a boat docked. Khidr proceeds to stove a hole in the boat, sinking it. Moses is unable to keep his peace, exclaiming, “Is it to drown its passengers that you have scuttled it? You have done a terrible thing!” Khidr replies, “Did I not tell you that you would not be able to bear with me?” Moses apologizes for having forgotten his pledge and entreats Khidr, “Do not reproach me for what I have done, do not make my journey with you difficult.”

Next they encounter a young boy, whom Khidr proceeds to slay with a sword. Moses is incredulous and reproves Khidr, “Have you killed an innocent person who has himself killed no one? You have done an abominable thing!” Again Khidr says, “Did I not tell you that you would not be able to bear with me?” Once again Moses craves indulgence: “If I question you about anything again, then part company with me, our parting will then be justified.”

They next arrive at a small village where no one will receive them. In spite of this, when they come upon a ruined wall, Khidr sets about building it up. Although Moses is not accusatory, he does make the guarded remark, “If you had wanted, you could have demanded wages for it.”

Khidr promptly responds: “This is where you and I part ways, but I will now give you the explanation of the things to which you could not forbear objecting:

“The boat belonged to poor people who work at sea. I wanted to render it unusable because a king was approaching and commandeering every boat around.

“As for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared that he would torment them with defiance and unbelief. We therefore wanted their Lord to give them a more virtuous and affectionate child in place of him² .

“As for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys of the city: their treasure was buried under it. Their father was a righteous man. Your Lord therefore Willed that with their Lord’s compassion they should themselves dig out the treasure when they come of age.

“I certainly did not do this of my own accord. This is the explanation of the things to which you could not forbear objecting.”

The Fountain of Youth, 1546 painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder.

The Fountain of Youth is a spring that supposedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted across the world for thousands of years, appearing in writings by Herodotus (5th century BCE), the Alexander romance (3rd century CE), and the stories of Prester John (early Crusades, 11th/12th centuries CE). Stories of similar waters were also evidently prominent among the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean during the Age of Exploration (early 16th century), who spoke of the restorative powers of the water in the mythical land ofBimini.

The legend became particularly prominent in the 16th century, when it became attached to the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León, first Governor of Puerto Rico. According to an apocryphal combination of New World and Eurasian elements, Ponce de León was searching for the Fountain of Youth when he traveled to what is now Florida in 1513.

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1 Early accounts
• 2 Bimini
• 3 Ponce De Leon
• 4 Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park
• 5 Literature and popular culture
• 6 References
• 7 External links

Early accounts[edit]

Herodotus mentions a fountain containing a special kind of water in the land of the Macrobians, which gives the Macrobians their exceptional longevity.

The Ichthyophagi then in their turn questioned the king concerning the term of life, and diet of his people, and were told that most of them lived to be a hundred and twenty years old, while some even went beyond that age- they ate boiled flesh, and had for their drink nothing but milk. When the Ichthyophagi showed wonder at the number of the years, he led them to a fountain, wherein when they had washed, they found their flesh all glossy and sleek, as if they had bathed in oil- and a scent came from the spring like that of violets. The water was so weak, they said, that nothing would float in it, neither wood, nor any lighter substance, but all went to the bottom. If the account of this fountain be true, it would be their constant use of the water from it which makes them so long-lived.^[1]

Ichthyophagi (Gr. Ἰχθυοφάγοι and Latin Ichthyophagi, for "Fish-Eaters"), the name given by ancient geographers to several coast-dwelling peoples in different parts of the world and ethnically unrelated.

• Herodotus (book i. c. 200) mentions three tribes of the Babylonians who were solely fish-eaters, and in book iii. c. 19 refers to Ichthyophagi in Aethiopia. Diodorus Siculus and Strabo also referred to them all along the African coast of the Red Sea in their descriptions of Aethiopia.
• Ptolemy speaks of fish-eaters in the Persian Gulf coasts, coast of the Red Sea, on the west coast of Africa and on the coast of the Far East near the harbour of Cattigara
• Pliny relates the existence of such people on the islands in the Persian Gulf
• Nearchus mentions such a race as inhabiting the barren shores of the Gwadar and Pasni districts in Makrān, Balochistan, Pakistan. During the homeward march of Alexander the Great, his admiral, Nearchus led a fleet inArabian Sea along the Makrān coast and recorded that the area was dry and mountainous, inhabited by the Ichthyophagoi or Fish-Eaters ^[1].
• Pausanias locates them on the western (African) coast of the Red Sea

The existence of such tribes was confirmed by Sir Richard F Burton (El-Medinah, p. 144)

Persian miniature depicting Khidrand Alexander watching the Water of Life revive a salted fish

A story of the "Water of Life" appears in the Eastern versions of the Alexander romance, which describes Alexander the Great and his servant crossing the Land of Darkness to find the restorative spring. The servant in that story is in turn derived from Middle Eastern legends of Al-Khidr, a sage who appears also in the Qur'an. Arabic and Aljamiado versions of theAlexander Romance were very popular in Spain during and after the period of Moorish rule, and would have been known to the explorers who journeyed to America. These earlier accounts inspired the popular medieval fantasy The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, which also mentions the Fountain of Youth as located at the foot of a mountain outside Polombe (modernKollam^[2]) in India.^[3] Due to the influence of these tales, the Fountain of Youth legend was popular in courtly Gothic art, appearing for example on the ivory Casket with Scenes of Romances (Walters 71264) and several ivory mirror-cases, and remained popular through the European Age of Exploration.^[4]

French 14th-century ivory mirror case with a Fountain of Youth

European iconography is fairly consistent, as the Cranach painting and mirror-case from 200 years earlier demonstrate: old people, often carried, enter at left, strip, and enter a pool that is as large as space allows. The people in the pool are youthful and naked, and after a while they leave it, and are shown fashionably dressed enjoying a courtly party, sometimes including a meal.

There are countless indirect sources for the tale as well. Eternal youth is a gift frequently sought in myth and legend, and stories of things such as the philosopher's stone, universal panaceas, and the elixir of life are common throughout Eurasia and elsewhere. An additional hint may have been taken from the account of the Pool of Bethesda in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus heals a man at the pool in Jerusalem.

Bimini[edit]

Main article: Bimini § The Fountain of Youth

Hıdırellez
Observed by	Turkey
Type	International
Significance	Prophets Hızır and Ilyas
Date	May 5 night and May 6
Frequency	annual

Hıdırellez or Hıdrellez (Turkish: Hıdırellez or Hıdrellez, Azerbaijani: Xıdır İlyas or Xıdır Nəbi, Crimean Tatar: Hıdırlez, Romani language: Ederlezi) is celebrated as the day on which Prophets Hızır (Al-Khidr) and Ilyas (Elijah) met on the earth.^[1] Hıdırellez starts on May 5 night and falls on May 6 in theGregorian calendar and April 23 in the Julian calendar. It is celebrated in Turkey ^[2] and throughout the Turkic world. It celebrates the arrival of spring and is a religious holiday for the Alevi as well. Đurđevdan is the Christian variety of this spring festival throughout the Balkans, notably areas which had become under the control of the Ottoman Empire by the end of the 16th century.

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1 Brief summary
• 2 Etymology
• 3 Other names
• 4 Communities concerned
• 5 Ceremonies and rituals
• 6 See also
• 7 References

Brief summary[edit]

Hıdırellez is regarded as one of the most important seasonal bayrams (festival) in both Turkey and countries above mentioned. Named as Day of Hızır (Ruz-ı Hızır) in Turkey, Hıdırellez is celebrated as the day on which the prophets Hızır (Al-Khdir) and İlyas (Elijah) met on the earth. The words Hızır and İlyas have since fused together pronounced as Hıdırellez. Hıdırellez Day falls on May 6 in the Gregorian calendar and April 23 in the Julian calendar. In other countries such day is mostly related to pagan and Saint George cults. 'Ayd Al-Khidr is one of the most important social celebrations in Syria and takes place on May 6 in the Gregorian calendar and April 23 in the Julian calendar.

Etymology[edit]

The word Hıdırellez, born out as a compound form of Hızır and İlyas, they are regarded as two different persons. In respect to religious sources, there are several references on İlyas; However, there is no slight mention about Hızır. The perception of seeing Hızır and İlyas as identical arises from the fact that İlyas stands as an obscure figure within the context of Tasavvuf (Sufism) and popular piety when compared to Hızır and there are numerous legends on Hızır, whereas little is known about İlyas and furthermore, there are many great maqams of Hızır, yet there are only few maqams for İlyas. Ali the Fourth Caliph is associated with Hızır within Alevi-Bektaşi belief system.

St. George is the figure corresponding to Hızır in Christianity. Besides being associated with St. George, Hızır is also identified with İlyas Horasani, St. Theodore and St. Sergios. St. George believed to be identical with Hızır, is believed to be similar to some Muslim saints; St. George is identified with Torbalı Sultan and Cafer Baba in Thessaly, Karaca Ahmet Sultan in Skopje, which is a mounting evidence how St. George and Hızır have influenced St. George’s Day and Hıdrellez Day ceremonies.

Other names[edit]

The other names of the element used in different regions of Turkey are “Hıdrellez, Hızır-ilyas, Ederlez, Tepreş, Haftamal, Eğrice”. The element is also known as “Tepreş” among Crimean Tatars who live in Dobrogea (Romania). Dita e Shëngjergjit (Albania), Gergyovden (Bulgaria), Shëngjergji, Gjurgjovden, Erdelezi, Agiu Giorgi, Hıderles (Macedonia), Khider-Elyas (Iraq), khidr-Elyas, Mar Elyas, Mar Georgeos (Syria).

Communities concerned[edit]

It is widely seen that various rituals celebrating the arrival of spring or summer are practiced among many Turkic tribes in Central Asia. To a certain degree, we have information about spring rituals practiced by Yakuts since ancient times. They were performing those rituals in the honor of Tengri (Zeus, Baal, Indra etc, God of the blue sky controlling the heavenly universe). When the earth was dressed in green, they gathered under trees and sacrificed horses or oxen to honor God and then they assembled in the shape of a circle and drank kumiss (beverage of western and central Asia which is made from the fermented milk of a mare or camel -also koumiss-) together. Those celebrations took place in April. Tungusic people practiced those rituals in May and meanwhile they offered sacrifices as white mares to the earth and the sky. Mongols, Kalmyks and Buryats are known to have practiced rituals in spring and summer. Those traditions have been conserved for centuries long. It can be said that Turkish people have been quite familiar with rituals practiced in spring and summer seasons according to their belief system, cultural pattern and social life in Central Asia before immigrating to the West (Turkey and Balkans). After converting to Islam, Turks have culturally blended the aforementioned spring and summer celebrations with Hızır cult, who is widely accepted as a supernatural personality closely associated with air, plants and water. The immigrant Turkish peoples were introduced by seasonal celebrations which are, particularly rooted in ancient Anatolian culture, held in spring or early summer and formed under the influence of Christianity. One of those elements is the St. George’s Cult, which was widely known during the era of Christianity in Turkey. While Christianity was predominant religion in Turkey, several pagan cults of those times are attributed to the saints, yet some others are attributed to imaginary ones. Within this context, St. George cult has become influential over the formation of Hızır cult in Turkey and the Balkans. St. George ceremonies, which were celebrated on May 6–8 among Christians in Turkey, Middle East and the Balkan countries, ever since.

Hıdırellez or St. George Day is also celebrated under the name Dita Verës (Summer Day) in Albania which was originated by the pagan cult in the city of Elbasan - the so-called Zana e Çermenikës- the goddess of forest and hunting. It is celebrated on March 14 and symbolizes the end of winter and the beginning of spring and summer. At the same time, in different regions of Albania, it is celebrated among some other communities known as Dita e Shëngjergjit, St. George Day on May 6.

Hıdırellez is widely spread celebration in most Syrian territories, but mainly practiced in the rural areas. We have information about spring rituals practiced since ancient times. Those rituals are the manifestations of the celebration for the arrival of spring and summer. Further of the symbol of spring and resurrection of life that is, so called ever-green, ever-return Alkhidr prophet. Rituals take place annually on May 6. People, Muslims and Christians, regardless of their religious affiliation, celebrate the living Alkhidr prophet that is St. George or Mar Georgeos. The cult of celebration of St. George has become influential over the formation of Eid Alkhidr in Syria as well. The two names are identical. People go to picnic to the natural places, practicing the rituals of celebration, including performing folk music, singing and dancing. In the area of Zabadani for example, people used to gather around a tree aged of about 800 years as a symbol of the ever-return Alkhidr.

Ceremonies and rituals[edit]

There are various theories about the origin of Hızır and Hıdırellez. Various ceremonies and rituals were performed for various gods with the arrival of spring or summer in Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Iranand other Mediterranean countries from ancient times.

One widespread belief suggests that Hızır has attained immortality by drinking the water of life. He often wanders on the earth, especially in the spring, and helps people in difficulty. People see him as a source of bounty and health, as the festival takes place in spring, the time of new life. To date, the arrival of spring or summer, figuratively meaning the rebirth of nature or the end of winter, has been celebrated with ceremonies or various rituals at every place in which mankind lives. Within the seasonal cycle, winter symbolizes death; spring symbolizes revival or regeneration of life. Thus, time for the days full of hope, health, happiness and success comes. Therefore, Hıdırellez Day is highly significant since it is believed to be the day on which Hızır and İlyas met on the earth, which is accepted as the arrival of spring/ summer.

In Turkey, it is widely believed that Hızır is the prophet who while bringing fertility to man wanders on the earth and as for the prophet İlyas, he is accepted as the water deity. In order to fulfill some of their missions, these two prophets wander around the land and the sea throughout the year and meet on May 6. This meeting stands for the fusion of the land and water.

Today, the ceremonial activities for Hıdırellez are prevalently and elaborately prepared especially in villages or towns rather than metropolises. The preparations for the celebrations are associated with the issues as cleaning the house and the garments, dress, finery and food-drink and doing shopping for the feast. The indoor of the houses and the outdoor places as gardens are supposed to be clean, because Hızır is expected to visit the houses on that day. Almost everywhere, garments and other apparels and food-beverages are common components of Hıdırellez ceremonies. All the preparations related to the ceremonies are of particular concern to the young men or women, since Hıdırellez is regarded as the most proper occasion for the youth-willing to marry in the future-to find a suitable match.

Hıdrellez ceremonies are held in the countryside near the cities, towns or villages where generally streams, lakes or other water springs exist. By great majority, there are tombs or shrines open to visits in those locations which are placed on hills. Bearing the specific features, Hıdırlıks are particularly chosen for Hıdırellez ceremonies.

As Hızır is believed to be a healer, some ritual practices as regards to health issues can be seen on Hıdırellez Day. On that day, meals cooked by lamb meat are traditionally feasted. It is believed that on Hıdırellez Day all kinds or species of the living, plants and trees revive in a new cycle of life, therefore the meat of the lambs grazing on the land which Hızır walks through is assumed as the source of health and happiness. In addition to these, some special meals besides lamb meat are cooked on that day.

The other ritual practice for seeking health and cure is the ritual of jumping over the fire which is built by old belongings or bushes. While uttering prayers and riddles, people jump over the fire at least three times. That fire is called Hıdırellez fire; hence, it is believed that all illnesses or diseases are warded off all the year long. Another ritual practice for having good health on Hıdırellez Day is to be awash or bath by water brought from some holy places.

It is believed that all the wishes and prayers come true on the eve and the very day of Hıdırellez. If one wishes to have more properties, s/he makes a small rough model of it onto the ground in the garden and Hıdırlık. Occasionally, the wishes or prayers are written on a piece of paper and thrown at a river or sea nearby.

Furthermore, within the scope of Hıdırellez ceremonies in Turkey and the countries mentioned, some practices related to seeking for good fortune and luck can be seen. One of those practices is the tradition called “mantufar, martifal etc.”, which is played to have good fortune. On 5th of May, the girls or women seeking for good fortune, luck or a suitable match to marry put their rings, earrings etc. into a pot. Then, the pot is closed after pouring some water into it. Afterwards, the pot is left under a rose tree for one night and the following day, women put the pot in the middle of the crowd and take their belongings out while reciting mâni (rhyming Turkish poems).

See also[edit]

• Kakava
• Đurđevdan
• Muslims in Romania
• The Muslim Gypsies in Romania