Folk Tales, Sufism and Spiritualism in Balochistan: A Case Study of Mast Tawakali

Abstract

Folklore and its literature are the representatives of a nation’s culture and civilization. This research article is an effort to understand Sufism and its development in Balochistan with special reference to the great Sufi poet Mast Tawkali, focusing on the folk tales of Mast Tawkali and Sammo. The land of Balochistan is full of unknown Sufis who have never gotten the attention of academia and researchers. Mast Tawakali had special attributes and character that transformed him into a Sufi, and the poems of Mast are still part of the Balochi literature, which was learned by the people of his time and transformed from generation to generation. Now these poems are also available in written form, from which the folk tale of Mast Tawakali and Sammo is shaped and presented. This article provides a new insight into the Sufi poet Mast Tawakali by presenting the folk tale in its original form with reference to the poems of Mast Tawakli. The methodological approach in this research study involves qualitative research techniques and the formal analysis of historical approaches. This article concludes that the folk tale of Mast Tawakali is a presentation of the Baloch society, which was based on traditional society, but love was also one of the factors in the society that cannot be ignored.