Abstract
<jats:p>The article presents the findings of a field study of Druze shrines in the al-Suwayda Governorate. On the basis of the collected materials, the author attempts to classify the surveyed Druze sanctuaries, to clarify their role in the folk religion of the region, and to reconstruct the mythological foundations of these documented cults. The main body of the work is preceded by a brief overview of the history of the Druze community, the arrival of the first Druze in the Levant in the 12th century, and the fate of the Tanukhid and Maʽanid states. The second section provides data on thirty-two sanctuaries in southern Syria, their distribution into cells (ḥuǧrāt), shrines — maqāmāt and mazārāt, each analyzed separately in terms of the reasons for their construction, their chronology, and the structure of typical Druze sacred spaces. The third part of the article describes the Druze ritual practices associated in one way or another with the existence of these shrines: pilgrimage, prayers, vows, offerings, and vigil rites. The article also discusses evidence concerning the judicial role of Druze shrines, as noted in informants’ accounts. Referring to the community’s key doctrinal text, the “Epistles of Wisdom,” the author concludes that the folk religion of the Druze of Syria largely develops in parallel with the doctrinal “monotheism” of the initiated, thus preserving archaic, pan-Arabian features such as the erection of cenotaphs or the veneration of local saints, who are believed to be capable of answering the pilgrims’ prayers. At the same time, the visual symbols found in the shrines, as well as the shrines themselves, to this day serve as identity markers for Druze communities, which for the most part consist of the uninitiated.</jats:p>