Note per una lettura politica dei poemi sufi in avadhi

The first part of the paper debates themes and theories regarding the nature of historiography at large, such as its claim for truth, on the one hand, and its being inherently marked by a character of ‘impropriety’ and/or ‘fraudulence’, on the other. Other peculiar issues are then analyzed with specific reference to Indian historiography: the role of myth in compositions that are conventionally termed as ‘history’ (itihāsa) is broadly sketched and, on this basis, the tendency to attribute a mythological (or un-historical) character to Indian historiography as such – a bias that was firstly formulated by Muslim historians during the middle age and that has continued through the whole colonial period – is critically examined. The second part of the paper, opposing the above preconceptions and hypothesizing that both historiography and literary production might share a common ‘narrative’ dimension, describes trends and traits of Sūfī medieval poems in Avadhī, arguing that significant data of historical and political value can be drawn from these texts – which are usually considered as poetical masterpieces of pure fictional import. Three categories of such data are presented as case studies: details of daily life; political relations at court; and the choice of a world-oriented spirituality.