Except for the texts transcribed in Bishnoi (1989), we have drawn the Rajasthani messianic songs directly from the oral traditions. Our informants have been the untouchable Kamadiyas (in this case the priest of Ramdev Pir at Pushkar) and the Bisnois living in the area of Bikaner. As far as the Ismaili hymns are concerned, the texts used come from the printed editions the details of which are given in the references. All these religious songs, whether the Nizarpanthi bhajans or the ginans of the Khojas, pose a problem of authorship, as is the case with the medieval Sant literature (Hawley, 1988). It is probable that the ginans (and also the Nizarpanthi bhajans) have been composed by later disciples, the signature (chap, banita) of the Pir or the saint being meant to give authority to the text (Asani, 1991). On the other hand, as exemplified in the Daylami Aradh, even if the actual text was composed by a disciple, one can imagine that the initial inspiration has indeed been the Pir or the saint whose message the devotee has expressed in his poem (see note 9).

In Agam Praman 1 by Ramdev Pir, refrain and verse 15, Nikalank, who is identified with Kalki, is seen riding a white horse, as in Sadruddin's Ginan, The Bridegroom, verse 6. This horse is none other than Duldul, as in the Bisnoi Joro Kalang Sathi, verse 8, to be compared with Sadruddin's Ginan n° 16, verse 2. As Dr Chlodwig H. Werba has remarked (personal communication), the name kalkin- is derived from the Vedic karka- (and its dialectical l- variant) meaning 'characterized by (the possession of) a white horse'. Here we have an interesting encounter between the Islamic tradition in which Ali is shown riding a white mount named Duldul, and the Hindu myth of Kalki with his white horse. The Lord is said to come from the "western quarter" (Ramdev's Agam 2, v. 1), exactly as in Sadruddin's Ginan 39, v. 7. This is an allusion to the fact that at that time, the living Imam of the Nizaris resided in Iran which is, of course, located to the West of the Subcontinent.

In the same Agam 1, verse 8, and in Daylami Aradh, v. 3, the wedding is said to take place on Saturday, the second day of the bright half of the month (bij), as in Ginan The Bridegroom, verse 12. The Lord will marry the Virgin Earth (Vasundha Kunvarī) in the Bisnoi Agam v. 24, as in Sadruddin's Ginan 39, v. 16 (Visva Kunvarī) and in the Ginan 54 by Pir Shams where it is said "The Lord will marry the Virgin Earth". In one unique Ginan of Pir Satgur Nur, the actual preparations for the Lord's wedding ta the Virgin Earth are described. The five Pandavas (Ramdev's Agam 1, v. 8) are mentioned among those who will escort the bridegroom, as well as Harchand/Harishchandra), in v. 9: this is to be compared to the above mentioned Ginan (the Bridegroom), verses 8 and 5. Finally, he will slay the demon Kalingo personifying the Kali yuga (see D.S. Khan, 1997b: 414, 416, 419-420), as in the Bisnoi text, v. 23, and in Sadruddin's Ginan 39, v. II.

In verse 16 of Ramdev's Agam 1, it is predicted that "Hindus and Turks will drink from the same cup", while in the Gujarati text .Malpavado belonging to the same tradition (Sinclair Stevenson, 1930: .85), it is written "Hindus and Muhammadans will sit down and take food together", very much as in Pir Shams' Ginan n° 50, v. 13. "Drinking a cup together" generally means taking initiation into a Sufi order (but here into the Nizari sect), while the idea of partaking of the same meal may have hath a positive and negative interpretation: in the Gujarati untouchable tradition the mixing of castes is represented as a result of the triumphal advent of the saviour Nikalank, while in Pir Shams it is, curiously enough, described as a consequence of the evils of Kali yuga. Needless to say, the abolition of caste barriers is one of the ideal values of the egalitarian Satpanth and Nizarpanth.

The various calamities and climatic disasters of the Kali yuga are described in Ramdev's Agam 2, v. 4-5, in the Bisnoi text v. 4-5, in the Gujarati Malpavado (Sinclair Stevenson: 85), exactly in the same terms as in Sadruddin's Ginan 39, v. 21 and 25: the storm, the burning sun, the earth which will have the colour of copper. The rarity or quasi absence of crops and water are indicated in Ramdev's Agam 2, v. 2, which can be compared with the prediction of Shams's Ginan 1, v. 6. Other "abnormalities" of that Era are also alluded to, such as the necessity of using elephant's milk (Daylami Aradh, v. 9 and Sadruddin's Ginan 16, v. 4). ln the same way the punishments of the day of Judgment where every sin will be taken into account and weighed are indicated in the above-mentioned Agam, v. 7-8, and are similar to what is found in Sadruddin's Ginan 39, v. 39 and 42.

By juxtaposing the messianic songs of both the Nizarpanthi and the Khoja traditions, one can clearly see that, despite some differences, they share the same themes and convey the same atmosphere. Considering the fact that the Nizari Ismaili tradition of the Subcontinent has always been rather secretive, this similarity is probably not due to mere exchanges and mutual influences: it is more logical to conclude that the Nizarpanthis, very much like the Imamshahis or Satpanthis (Ivanow, 1936), are one of the offshoots of the Ismaili tradition.