Rose Blossoms, Ashura Pudding, and a “Golden Trophy:” Embodied Material Traces of Islamic Mysticism in Ottoman Hungary
Sara Kuehn
Material Religion October 20, 2023 DOI: 10.1080/17432200.2023.2285584 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that the bodies of Sufi spiritual leaders at three Ottoman-era mausoleums in Hungary functioned as living sites of mystical experience, through self-destructive acts represented on their bodies and through bodily miracles such as hypercorporeality, multilocality, and dream visions. The temporary burial of Sultan Süleyman's disemboweled and embalmed body at Turbék, with a tradition that his heart and entrails were kept in a reliquary-like vessel, paralleled contemporary Habsburg customs. |
Abstract
This study examines three of the most iconic sites associated with Islamic mysticism, or Sufism, in Ottoman Hungary.These are three mausoleums located in Buda, Pécs, and Turbék, near Zigetvár.The first two are the final resting places of the Sufi mystics known as Gül Baba and Idris Baba.The third is Sultan Süleyman's mausoleum next to a Sufi dervish lodge, the foundations of which were uncovered during recent excavations.The research sheds light on the (embodied) material practices associated with these sites, as well as their sensory engagement and synaesthetic experiences.The bodies of the spiritual leaders, presented in the first two cases, serve as living sites of mystical experiences, both through selfdestructive acts graphically represented on their bodies, and through bodily miracles such as hypercorporeality, multilocality, and dream visions.The third case concerns the body of a secular and a spiritual leader, the temporary burial of his disemboweled and embalmed body in the mausoleum at Turbék, and the tradition that his heart and entrails were kept in a reliquary-like vessel at the site, which interestingly paralleled contemporary Habsburg customs.Building on Thomas Csordas (1990) and Manuel Vásquez (2011), I explore the role of human and non-human "supernatural" actors interacting in these mystical networks, focusing on the role of their embodiment and materiality, their movement and their physically fragmented bodies.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |