TheQalandariyya (Arabic:قلندرية),Qalandaris orKalandaris are wanderingSufidervishes. The writings ofQalandaris are not merely celebrations oflibertinism, but affirmations ofantinomian beliefs.
The first references are found in the 11th-century prose textQalandarname (The Tale of the Qalandaris) attributed to Ansari Harawi. The termQalandariyya appears to be first applied by Sanai Ghaznavi inseminal poetic works where diverse practices are described. Particular to the Qalandari genre of poetry are items that refer to their practices of gambling, games, consumingintoxicants,syncreticism, libertinism, antinomianism,violating societal norms andNazar ila'l-murd, things commonly referred to asKufr orKhurafat byorthodox Muslims.
The order was often viewed with scrutiny byIslamic authorities.
The Qalandariyya are an unorthodoxTariqa of Sufi dervishes that originated in medievalal-Andalus as an answer to the state sponsoredZahirism of theAlmohad Caliphate.[1][2]
From al-Andalus the Qalandariyya quickly spread intoNorth Africa, theLevant,Arabia, theIranosphere,Anatolia,Central Asia andPakistan.[1][2]In the early 12th century the movement gained popularity inGreater Khorasan and neighbouring regions, includingSouth Asia.[3]
The Qalandariyya may have arisen from the earlierMalamatiyya and exhibited someBuddhist andHindu influences inSouth Asia.[4] The Malamatiyya condemned the use of drugs and dressed only in blankets or in hip-length hairshirts.[4] Qalandariyya spread toHazrat Pandua inBengal and places in Pakistan through the efforts of multiple Qalandari figures.[1][5]
Qalandari songs in Pakistan typically incorporateQawwali styles as well as different localfolk styles, such asBhangra and intenseNaqareh orDhol drumming.[6]
The movement is first mentioned in Khorasan in the 11th century; from there it spread to India, Syria, and western Iran.
The Qalandariyya seem to have arisen from the earlier Malamatiyya in Central Asia and exhibited Buddhist and perhaps Hindu influences.
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