A Descriptive Study of the Ismaili Tradition of the Gināns of India

Gināns is a collection of literary and religious compositions of the Ismailis of South Asia, and deals with a wide range of topics, including divine love, cosmology, meditation, religion, resurrection, and moral conduct. The word “ginān” is derived from the Sanskrit root "jiñāna", which is originally derived from the Greek word gnosis (gnosis or γνω̄σις) and its derivatives exist in many languages. Although a number of scholars have considered the dual concept of ginān among the Ismailis and concluded that ginān refers to the sacred Ismaili literature and knowledge, in this study, using the method of phenomenological research, the tradition of ginān has been examined more closely from the perspective of gināns themselves. Given that most of the gināns are composed based on specific melodies, this study of the ginān’s tradition is inspired by the traditional symphonic structure.