The Seven Queens of Sindh

Seven Queens, (basically, Seven Heroic Women) (Sindhi: ست سورميون ‎) [pronunciation ( sat-a soor-myoon); meaning (ست means 'Seven'; while سورميون means 'Heroic Women')] is a name commonly referred to the seven female characters that appear in the poetry of great Sindhi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai in his book Shah Jo Risalo. They are: Marui (مارئي), Moomal (مومل), Sasui (سسئي), Noori (نوري), Sohni (سهڻي), Lilan (ليلان) and Sorath (سورٺ). These seven female characters, which the poet picked from history to convey his poetic message, have remained cultural icons in the history of Sindh for their bravery, passion, loyalty, commitment and character strength.

Marui's character portrays love for the land, its people, her commitment with her traditions, her stance before a tyrant king, Umar (عمر) or as some say (Amar—امر). Moomal's character portrays an image of a passionate soul, brimming with love for her beloved, Rano (راڻو) and suffers at the altar of separation and rejection but does not surrender. Sasui is a daunting lady, who takes a debilitating journey of mountainous tracks to find her beloved, Punhoon (پنهون). Noori is a fisher-woman who enchants the king Tamachi (تماچي) and turns out to be one of the most romantic characters in Sindhi literature like Moomal and Suhni. Sohni is a daring soul, who, in order to meet her beloved Mehar (ميهار) overlooks the hyper waves of the Indus River and keeps meeting her beloved on the far bank of the river and one night falls victim to the river waves and dies. Lilan loses her king (husband) Chanesar for an obscenely expensive necklace and undergoes travails of an unbearable separation to regain her status and character; while Sorath is a loving soul, full of passion and care about her beloved.

Shah Abdul Latif had structured his poetry book, Ganj, commonly known as Shah Jo Risalo, in a form that suggested he intended to convey his message to the world through his verse. Among many of intentions behind his poetry, one of his major inclinations was towards highlighting the marginalized populace of the country, especially women. Accordingly, he chose these seven women or (Sindhi: ست سورميون ‎) or Seven Queens (basically, Seven Heroic Women) of the Sindhi folktales as protagonists in his stories. These tragic romantic tales are Umar Marvi, Momal Rano, Sohni Mehar, Lilan Chanesar, Noori Jam Tamachi, Sassui Punhun and Sorath Rai Diyach.

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