Pānj Pīr

views updated

Pānj Pīr (Pañjābī, ‘five guides’). Popular Hindu cult of Five Saints, who may be any five the devotee may remember or worship. The cult includes Muslim figures, such as the Prophet Muḥammad, ʿAlī, Fāṭima, al-Ḥasan, and al-Ḥusain. Another popular ‘quintet’ is Ghazi Miyan, Baba Barahna, Palihar, Amina Sati, and Bibi Fāṭima (the last two being most obviously Hindu-Muslim hybrids). The Panj Pir cult is followed by some fifty-three Hindu castes.