Prayer

Examples of joint speech from the domain of prayer and ritual.

Praying the Roman Catholic Rosary

Sisters of the Poor Clare Colettine In County Cork, Ireland leading a recitation of the rosary.

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Information on the structure of the rosary.

Salat as part of Friday payer (Sunni Islam)

One repeating unit (rakat) from the obligatory salat prayer, performed five times a day. This example is from the ICCI mosque in Chicago, IL.

Information on the rakat and on the salat (or salah).

Qadiriyya dhikr: Sufi ritual from South Africa

Weekly Dhikr of the Qadiriyya Tariqa lead by Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi at his Zawiyya in Cape Town, on the 21st of April 2012. This video is 40 minutes long, but it illustrates many remarkable kinds of joint speech. Note in paticular the sustained drone-like chant of “Allah” at 15′ 42″, and the whole-body involvement from 21’21” which rises intensity to be come synchronised breathing by 34’00”.

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Vedic chanting

The oldest extant texts in the rich and various Hindu tradion are the Vedas. They have been passed down through a sophisticated method of chanting that includes built in error correction methods. This example shows the living tradition as school children perform some Vedic chanting in Tamil Nadu.

Vedic chanting has been recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Read more about Vedic chanting here.