In the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...

, ''mannat'' ( hi, मन्नत, ur, منّت) is a

wish A wish is a hope or desire for something. In fiction, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used. In fiction In ficti ...

that one desires to come to fruition, and it may also refer to the vow one makes and fulfils to one or more

gods A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers great ...

, or a saint after the wish comes true. The word comes from the

Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian languages, Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian subdivision of th ...

in which ''mannat'' (منّت), means "grace, favour, or praise". The word was first used at ''

dargah A dargah ( fa, درگاه ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargah'' दरगाह درگاہ, bn, দরগাহ ''dorgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a ...

s'', Sufi Islamic shrines of deceased ''

fakir Fakir ( ar, فقیر, translit=faḳīr or ''faqīr'') is an Islamic term traditionally used for Sufi Muslim ascetics who renounce their worldly possessions and dedicate their lives to the worship of God. They do not necessarily renounce ...

s''.

South Asians South Asian ethnic groups are an ethnolinguistic grouping of the diverse populations of South Asia, including the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka. While Afghanistan is variously considered to ...

often make religious tours to

places of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is somet ...

that are associated with the fulfillment of one's ''mannat''; while these tomb sites have a certain religious affiliation, often people of other faiths also visit them, reflecting a composite culture in

south Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

. Devotees make a promise to do

good works In Christian theology, good works, or simply works, are a person's (exterior) actions or deeds, in contrast to inner qualities such as grace or faith. Views by denomination Anglican Churches The Anglican theological tradition, including Th ...

when their mannat is fulfilled, such as donating food at the place of worship, giving alms to the poor, resolving to

pray Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deifie ...

every day etc. Examples of mannat asked for at various religious sites include childless couples praying for a baby, women praying for their husbands to find a good job, etc.

Sites frequented for ''Mannat''

Ajmer Sharif Dargah Ajmer Sharif Dargah (also Ajmer Dargah, Ajmer Sharif or Dargah Sharif) is a Sufi tomb ('' dargah'') of the revered Sufi saint, Moinuddin Chishti, located at Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. The shrine has Chishti's grave (Maqbara). Location Ajmer ...

in India * Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount, Bandra in Bombay (Mumbai), India. * Imambaras of Lucknow, India * Pakka Pul Pir in India *

Shrine of Baba Farid The Shrine of Baba Farid (Punjabi and ur, بابا فرید درگاہ) is a 13th-century Sufi shrine located in Pakpattan, Pakistan, that is dedicated to the Sufi mystic Fariduddin Ganjshakar, popularly known as Baba Farid. The shrine is one o ...

in Pakistan. *

Siddhivinayak Temple, Mumbai The Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Mandir is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shri Ganesh. It is located in Prabhadevi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was originally built by Laxman Vithu and Deubai Patil on 19 November 1801. It is one of the r ...

, India.

References

{{reflist Indian culture Pakistani culture Hindi words and phrases Urdu-language words and phrases

Sites frequented for ''Mannat''

See also

References