Fortune-telling Beggars: The Case Study of Samis’ Divination Practices of dharo (dice) in Pakistan

Abstract

This paper asks how, in Pakistan, a lesser-known community of Hindu untouchables and fortune-tellers continues their divination among Muslims. And how their particular type of divination is at the junction of two religions of Hinduism and Islam. Divinatory practices are a ubiquitous part of Pakistani society. In major cities like Karachi, various cartomancers and snake-charming Jogis tell fortune with cards and parrots and by reading the hand palms of their clients, respectively. Similarly, many Muslim individuals, including Sufis, practice divination of fa’l (omen) and istikhara (consulting God) for their clients. Among them, there is the case of a peripatetic Hindu untouchable community called Samis. They are known as fortune-telling beggars for their expertise in fortune-telling with the dice, called dharo, and healing practices.

            Samis consider their dharo to be knowledge transferred to them by their forefathers, skilled in divination. Being peripatetic, they travel to Iran and claim to practice it there as well. However, on the other hand, the majority of the population, whether Hindus, scheduled castes, or Muslims, call them tricksters and consider their practices an act of deception or scam. Considering it, this paper focuses on Samis’ divination practices and argues that dharo’s universality in Muslim and Hindu worlds has allowed them some space in the Muslim-majority country of Pakistan and protects them from everyday hostility.