qawwali

English

Etymology

From Urdu قوالی (qawwālī), from Classical Persian قوالی (qawwālī).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /kəˈwɑːli/

Noun

qawwali (countable and uncountable, plural qawwalis)

1. (music, uncountable) A style of Muslim devotional music, especially among the South Asian Sufis, accompanied by drums and harmonium.
   • 1994, Simon Broughton, World Music: The Rough Guide:

     Jameela Siddiqi listens to qawwali and talks to its performers […].

2. (music, countable) A song in this style.
   • 1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 223:

     They are singing not a religious qawwali but its secular and lay cousin.

   • 2016, Sunil Khilnani, Incarnations, Penguin, published 2017, page 86:

     Every Thursday, in the dargah's enclosure, musicians in shimmering turquoise kurtas, their fingers bejewelled with bling, perform qawwalis attributed to Khusrau […].

Derived terms

• qawwali-like

Related terms

• qawwal