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The Holy Drama: Persian Passion Play in Modern Iran

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The Holy Drama: Persian Passion Play in Modern Iran The Holy Drama holydrama-vijfde-def.indd 1 1-8-2013 6:05:02 iranian studies series The Iranian Studies Series publishes high-quality scholarship on various aspects of Iranian civilisation, covering both contemporary and classical cultures of the Persian cultural area. The contemporary Persian-speaking area includes Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Central Asia, while classi- cal societies using Persian as a literary and cultural language were located in Anatolia, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent. The objective of the series is to foster studies of the literary, historical, reli- gious and linguistic products in Iranian languages. In addition to research monographs and reference works, the series publishes English-Persian crit- ical text-editions of important texts. The series intends to publish resources and original research and make them accessible to a wide audience. chief editor A.A. Seyed-Gohrab (Leiden University) advisory board of iss F. Abdullaeva (University of Cambridge) G.R. van den Berg (Leiden University) J.T.P. de Bruijn (Leiden University) D.P. Brookshaw (University of Oxford) N. Chalisova (Russian State University of Moscow) D. Davis (Ohio State University) F.D. Lewis (University of Chicago) L. Lewisohn (University of Exeter) S. McGlinn (unaffiliated) Ch. Melville (University of Cambridge) D. Meneghini (University of Venice) N. Pourjavady (University of Tehran) Ch. van Ruymbeke (University of Cambridge) S. Sharma (Boston University) K. Talattof (University of Arizona) Z. Vesel (cnrs, Paris) R. Zipoli (University of Venice) holydrama-vijfde-def.indd 2 1-8-2013 6:05:02 the holy drama persian passion play in modern iran Mahnia A. Nematollahi Mahani Leiden University Press holydrama-vijfde-def.indd 3 1-8-2013 6:05:02 Cover design: Tarek Atrissi Design Lay out: Hanneke Kossen, Amsterdam and De Typesetter, Haren isbn 978 90 8728 115 1 e-isbn 978 94 0060 034 8 nur 630 © Mahnia A. Nematollahi Mahani / Leiden University Press, 2013 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or trans- mitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the author of the book. holydrama-vijfde-def.indd 4 1-8-2013 6:05:03 In loving memory of my parents, who inspired me to move forward in my life holydrama-vijfde-def.indd 5 1-8-2013 6:05:03 holydrama-vijfde-def.indd 6 1-8-2013 6:05:03 Contents Preface 9 Acknowledgements 10 Studies on Persian Passion Play 11 Translations in European languages 19 Introduction 23 A Short History of Ta‘ziya 23 The Movements after ‘Āšūrā and the Development of Ta‘ziya 24 Late Medieval and Modern Ta‘ziya 26 The Devotional Contents of Ta‘ziya 28 Oral Tradition in Ta‘ziya Texts 28 Ta‘ziya Players and Devices 34 Audience Participation in the Ta‘ziya 35 Zeynab in Ta‘ziya 37 ‘Āšūrā, the Martyrdom of Imām Ḥuseyn 43 A Crisis of Succession 43 The Martyrdom of Imām Ḥuseyn 44 The Concept of Imāma in Shiite Tradition 45 Martyrdom (Šahādat) 47 Eschatology 53 Islamic Eschatology 53 Eschatology in the Ta‘ziya Texts 55 The Ta‘ziya Texts 57 Time and Setting as the Background of the Events 59 The Theme of Day 60 The Theme of Night 61 Settings in Ta‘ziya 63 holydrama-vijfde-def.indd 7 1-8-2013 6:05:03 Doctrines and Philosophy in Ta‘ziya 67 The Legitimacy of Ta‘ziya 70 Zeynab in the Passion Play 73 Veiling and its Supporters in the Ta‘ziya Texts 73 Zeynab as a Role Model for Iranian Women 75 Zeynab’s Sermons 76 Zeynab, Justice and Destiny 77 Zeynab Inspired 79 Zeynab’s Spiritual Power 80 Zeynab the Leader 81 Zeynab as Saviour of the Shiite Tradition and the Line of Imāms 84 Zeynab the Generous 85 Zeynab and the Protagonists 86 Zeynab and Imām Ḥuseyn 86 Zeynab and Sakina 88 Zeynab as Mother 88 Zeynab as Defender 91 Zeynab and the Mother of Qāsem 92 Zeynab and the Antagonists 92 Zeynab and Yazid 92 Zeynab and Šemr 94 Zeynab and Ibn al-Ziyād 96 The Transformation of History 101 Pre-Islamic Iranian Elements in the Ta‘ziya Texts 103 Conclusion 105 Glossary: The Ta‘ziya of the Damascus Bazaar 109 The Ta‘ziya of the Damascus Bazaar 112 Bibliography 205 Index 213 holydrama-vijfde-def.indd 8 1-8-2013 6:05:03 Preface From my childhood I remember the beginning of the month of Muharram, when my mother wore black to honour the martyrdom of Imām Ḥuseyn. People in my city, Kerman, as in other cities, held mourning rites during the ten days from the first to the tenth of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, to commemorate the death of Imām Ḥuseyn. Their houses were thrown open to the public. The city was decorated with black cloths and banners. Many people dressed in black to show their commitment to Shiism and their fidelity to Imām Ḥuseyn. Others would make vows to dis- tribute sweets and sherbet among the poor or to the people on the streets, and believed that they received God’s grace for doing so. Sheep were sacri- ficed and the meat distributed among the needy, people cooked food and gave it to those who came to their door. Those who received the food treated it as a sanctified gift. Finally, the tenth of Muḥarram dawns. People gather on the streets and in the bazaars through which the many processions to mourn the martyr- dom of Imām Ḥuseyn will pass. The sounds of drums, cymbal and clarinet announce that the first procession is coming. As a child, on hearing the music, I would hurry outside, curious to watch the procession. At the head of each procession are several men carrying banners. They are followed by the musicians, and then the procession itself. The ta‘ziya director walks along with the procession and reads elegies for the martyrs of Karbalā. He carries a copy (nuskha) of the script to read. He both directs the procession and stimulates the audience to lamentation and mourning. There is a har- mony between the musicians, the procession, and the people who stand on both sides of the street or bazaar, crying and beating their chests and heads. The procession carries various flags and banners in black or green, on which the names of Imām Ḥuseyn and his family are sewn. There are some cross-shaped banners, called ‘alam. They are large and very heavy and are decorated with specific signs: green and coloured cloths, bronze pigeons and bronze hands. A young man rests the ‘alam in a holster on his belt, and holydrama-vijfde-def.indd 9 1-8-2013 6:05:03 10 | The Holy Drama others help him. When he arrives at an open space in the middle of the bazaar, the tone of the music changes and he begins whirling slowly. The people step back to give him more space to whirl. It is very important that the ‘alam does not fall. That would be a bad omen. Alongside each procession walks a youth carrying rose water, which he sprinkles on the spectators. Another youth carries water or sherbet and dis- tributes it among the people. It may take hours for all the processions to pass through the bazaar. The procession group may eventually arrive at a large house, or an open space prepared as a theatre, where they perform the ta‘ziya, but in my childhood in Kerman and other large cities this was rare. At noon the members of the procession go to the houses to which they have been invited, taking blessings and honouring the landlord. I also have a memory of a ta‘ziya play being performed in Mahan, a small district in Kerman province. Close to the tomb of the master of the Nematollahi order, Shāh Nematollāh Vali, a crowd gathers. They stand in a circle and from either side the antagonists and protagonists ride in on their horses, swords in hand. The protagonists recite the elegies of Imām Ḥuseyn, and the antagonists answer them. Then they fight, and those representing Imām Ḥuseyn and his companions are killed. At that moment, a man wear- ing a lion dress enters the arena, pouring dust and straw on his head. He is followed by several camels bearing litters, and young boys seated in each. As they enter, the people lament loudly, for they represent Imām Ḥuseyn’s family being carried into captivity. Acknowledgements I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to those who have helped me: to Dr. Ali Asghar Seyed-Gohrab for his supervision, advice, and guidance from the very early stages of this research. He has encour- aged and supported me in various ways. I am indebted to him more than he knows. Words fail me to express my deepest appreciation to my husband Mahyar Kavoosi, whose support and love for me have taken a load off my shoulders. I am indebted to him for being unselfishly beside me. I am very much indebted to the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (nwo) for the opportunity to write my PhD dissertation as part of the project Of Poetry and Politics: Classical Poetic Concepts in New Poli- tics of Twentieth-Century Iran, and to finish this book. I would also like to thank Sen McGlinn for his careful editing of the text, and J.G.J. ter Haar for holydrama-vijfde-def.indd 10 1-8-2013 6:05:03 Preface | 11 his invaluable comments and suggestions.
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