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A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org. There is a vast body of imaginal literature in Bengali that introduces fictional Sufi saints into the complex mythological world of Hindu gods and goddesses. Dating to the sixteenth century, the stories-pir katha-are still widely read and performed today. The events that play out rival the fabulations of the Arabian Nights, which has led them to be dismissed as simplistic folktales, yet the work of these stories is profound: they provide fascinating insight into how Islam habituated itself into the cultural life of the Bangla-speaking world. In Witness to Marvels, Tony K. Stewart unearths the dazzling tales of Sufi saints to signal a bold new perspective on the subtle ways Islam assumed its distinctive form in Bengal.

Asian history --- Religion: general --- Romance fiction, Bengali. --- Islam and literature --- Sufism --- Hinduism --- Religions --- Brahmanism --- Sofism --- Mysticism --- Literature and Islam --- Literature --- Bengali romance fiction --- Love stories, Bengali --- Bengali fiction --- Islam --- 16th century. --- animal. --- divine. --- fictional sufi saints. --- hindu gods and goddesses. --- human. --- imaginal literature in bengali. --- islams distinctive form in bengal. --- mythological world. --- parodic work of pir katha. --- pir katha. --- pragmatics of pir katha. --- precolonial south asia. --- structures of narrative romance. --- studies of south asia. --- superhuman. --- tales of sufi saints. --- Romance-language fiction, Bengali.

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These enchanting stories from early modern Bengal reveal how Hindu and Muslim traditions converged on timeless themes of human morality, social culture, and survival.   The Bengali stories in this collection are first and foremost tales of survival. Each story in Needle at the Bottom of the Sea underscores the need for people to work together--not just to overcome the challenges of living in the Sundarban swamps of Bengal, but also to ease hostilities born of social differences in religion, caste, and economic class.   Translated by award-winning scholar of early modern Bengali literature Tony K. Stewart, Needle at the Bottom of the Sea brims with fantasy and excitement. Sufi protagonists travel through a world of wonder where tigers talk and men magically grow into giants, a Hindu princess falls in love with a Muslim holy man, and goddesses rub shoulders with kings and merchants. Across religion, class, and gender, what binds these fabulous stories together is the characters' pursuit of living honorably and morally in a difficult, corrupt world.

Bengali (South Asian people) --- Tales --- Folklore. --- Hindu heroes. --- adventure. --- caste system. --- economic class. --- love. --- mythological. --- myths. --- ordinary people. --- premodern. --- redemption. --- social differences. --- south asian stories. --- struggle. --- survival. --- tales from Bengal. --- translated works. --- world literature.

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