NOTES
1 . In a mystery play of the fourteenth century, Jesus Christ is crucified by Muslims. See York Cycle, 2 vols, Oxford, 1933.
2 . The Qurʹan is the holy book of Islam. According to the Muslims, the Qurʹan is God’s Word and is in Arabic and inimitable. The book has 114 sura (chapters).
3 . Qurʹan, IV: 125.
4 . This is the Shiʹa version of who first joined the Prophet. According to the Sunni version, first Khadija, and then Abu-Bakr, Muhammad’s father-in-law, believed in him as the Prophet. See The World’s Religions: Islam, ed. Peter Clarke, London, Routledge, 1980.
5 . The battle of Khybar took place in 622 and the Muslims under the command of Ali defeated the Jews in that battle. In Tabuk, the Prophet defeated the Greek army.
6 . Jafri, S.Husain, Origins and Early Development of Shiʹaa Islam, London, Longman, 1979, pp. 13–17.
7 . Shiʹa itself has many branches. The largest group is called the ‘Twelvers’, and is concentrated in Iran. They follow the twelfth Imam, from Ali to the Mahdi, the last Imam who mysteriously disappeared in 844 and according to Shiʹa, lives and will return as Messiah to bring justice and the right faith to the world.
8 . Ali’s bravery in the battles of Khandag and Khybar was crucial for the victory of Islam’s army.
9 . Quʹran, 33:33.
10 . ‘Then he took the hand of Ali and hoisted it like a flag, so that all of the people might see. Thereafter, he said, “I am the guardian of whosoever, Ali is also his guardian. Oh God! Be the friend of the friend of Ali and be the enemy of anyone who fights him.’” See Ayatullahi, S.M., The Infallible, vol. II, Qum, Ansariyan Publications, 1995, p. 27.
11 . Hadiths or traditions are sayings and examples remembered by Muhammad’s companions and transmitted by them in oral form to next generations. Together with the Quʹran, they formed the basis of Islam.
12 . Tabatabai, S.M.H., Shiʹa, Qum, Ansariyan Publications, 1981, p. 54.
13 . A Literary History of Persia, vol. II, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1929, pp. 200–2.
14 . Shiʹa, a, p. 50.
15 . Theatre Irani, Tehran, Shiraz Arts Festival, 1971, p. 1.
16 . The Infallible, vol. V, p. 9.
17 . Ibid., p. 20.
18 . There are a few Taʹziyeh plays based on this theme. The Martyrdom of Abbas (Shuhadat Hazrat-e Abass) is one of them.
19 . ‘I think tomorrow our end will come. I ask you all to leave me alone and to go away to safety. I free you from your responsibilities for me, and I do not hold you back. Night will provide you a cover; use it as a steed.’ The Infallible, vol. V, p. 34.
20 . Pelly, Lewis, Hassan and Hussein, vol. I, London, H.Allen, 1879, p. xiv.
21 . The month of Muharram is the most important period in the Shiʹa calendar. A time of mourning, self-sacrifice and acts of devotion, Muharram is the first month of the Islamic year and means to Muslims ‘sacred’ or ‘forbidden’. Ashura is the tenth of this month and the tragedy of martyrdom of Hussein took place on this day on the plain of Karbala. This is why Taʹziyeh is also called ‘Drama of Ashura’ or ‘Drama of Karbala’. According to Muslims, this day is also the day that God created Adam and Eve and the day that Ibrahim (Abraham) was asked to sacrifice his son, but was given a ram to sacrifice instead. There is a Taʹziyeh, Abrahams Sacrifice, that shows a connection between Abraham’s sacrificing his son for God and Hussein sacrificing himself for God and Islam.
22 . The Infallible, vol. V, pp. 16–17.
23 . We can say that this religion, Shiʹa, is a worship of martyrs. The effect of martyrdom is so powerful in Shiʹism that one might say that there is even an atmosphere of melancholy around it with such deep emotions and passions that easily turns into fanaticism. A good example of this fanaticism is the reaction of many spectators, even today, who cannot control their emotions and attack the actors who play the role of the killers of Hussein.
24 . See Chapter 5.
25 . Origins and Early Development of Shiʹaa Islam, p. 202.
26 . There are suggestions that the Muharram rituals might have been taken from the ritual of mourning of a mythical hero, Siavosh, from the pre-Islamic period. There is also a story about the marriage of Hussein to Shahr-banu, daughter of Yazdigird III, the last king of the Persian Empire. Although it is more a fictional tale, it has been accepted by Iranians as a historical fact. It is clear that this marriage could give Hussein and Shiʹa a Persian face among Iranians. See Chapter 3.
27 . Iran, New York, Columbia University Press, 1946, pp. 133–4.
28 . Ideals and Realities of Islam, London, Allen & Unwin, 1971, p. 147.
CHAPTER 3
The Origin and Development of the Taʹ ziyeh
IF WE WERE TO discuss all the elements involved in the origin and development of the Taʹziyeh, it would be necessary to go back 3,000 years to the pre-Islamic era in Iran and to examine Persian mythology and epics such as The Death and Resurrection of Siavush (Marg va Rastakhiz-e Siavush). However, what we can say with certainty is that the Taʹ ziyeh in its complete theatrical form, which dramatized the tragic events of the Karbala plain and the death of Imam Hussein, came into existence only in the mid-eighteenth century.
There has been a long debate among scholars about when and how the members of the Shiʹa sect began to perform the mourning rituals for the death of Imam Hussein. However, we have evidence that in 963 Muʹzzuʹd Dawla of the Buyid dynasty (945– 1055) ordered his people in Baghdad to go into mourning. Edward Browne records:
It is related in the History of Ibn Kathir the Syrian that Muʹzzuʹd Dawla Ahmad Ibn Buwayh issued orders in Baghdad that during the first ten days of Muharram all the bazaars of Baghdad should be closed, and the people should wear black for mourning and betake themselves to mourning for the Chief of Martyrs. Since this procedure was not customary in Baghdad, the Sunni doctors regarded it as a great innovation; but since they had no control over Muʹzzuʹd Dawla, they could do nothing but submit. Thereafter every year until the collapse of the Daylamit (Buyid) dynasty, this custom of mourning was observed by the Shiʹite in all countries during the first ten days of Muharram. In Baghdad it continued until the early days of the reign of Tughril the Saljug (1037).1
As Browne mentions in his book, the source of his information was Ibn-e-Kathir of Syria, but the original report of these mourning rituals had been provided by Ibnul-Athir, the author of The Complete History of Islam and Iran:
On the tenth day of Muharram this year (963) Muʹzzuʹd Dawla issued orders for people to close the shops and the bazaars, not to sell or buy, and to wear coarse black clothes, and for women to disarray their hair, to blacken their faces, to rend their clothes, to lament, to walk in the city, and to slap their faces, and the people did so.*2
This report gives us more precise details of the mourning rites than that supplied by Ibn-e-Kathir. In particular we are provided with a detailed description of aspects of the processions that were very important in the development of the Taʹziyeh. In addition, Ibnul-Athir’s account precisely dates the first performance of this ritual.
The next important piece of documentary evidence concerning the mourning rituals associated with the death of Imam Hussein is provided by Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605– 80), a Frenchman who travelled to the East six times between 1632 and 1668 at the time of the Safavid dynasty. It is in his book that for the first time we read about some of the important theatrical elements of the Taʹziyeh, which were performed as part of mourning rites practised at that time: ‘In some of those coffins, a child was sleeping and the coffin was surrounded by people who were weeping and mourning. These children were representatives of two children of Imam Hussein who were killed by Yazid.’*3
Tavernier’s description of the child’s coffin carried in a procession is a clear example of what is known in the Taʹziyeh as Shabih-sazi, or impersonation. In this case the dramatization (shabih) involves the impersonation of Ali Akbar and Ali Asghar, two children of Imam Hussein. Tavernier’s account p
rovides the evidence of the first attempts at turning the mourning rites into a full-scale religious theatrical form.
Adam Olearius,4 who was in the city of Ardibil in Iran in Muharram of 1637, has given a very precise account of mourning rituals and processions from a Western observer’s point of view. However, his description makes no mention of the Taʹziyeh or anything close to it. Another Western observer, the Frenchman Jean Chardin, travelled to Iran twice between 1664 and 1677 and recorded his observations in Voyage en Perse et aux Indes Orientales.5 Although Chardin gives full details of mourning rituals during the holy month of Muharram, he (like Olearius) makes no mention of the Taʹziyeh as a complete form of theatre. In 1683 Sanson,6 a Christian missionary, was in Iran. It is probable that he was aware of the passion plays of the Middle Ages, and if he had witnessed anything similar to those plays in Iran, he almost certainly would have mentioned it. However, we find no reference in his book to any play. Finally, if we look at what Gemelli-Careri7 wrote in his book about his travels in Iran in 1664, we find useful information about the mourning rituals of Muharram, but nothing about the Taʹziyeh. His report is important, however, because he recorded the controversial performance of Omar-Koshan or Killing of Omar. This religious ritual was another public presentation by Shiʹa that satirized Suniʹ ism. The ‘Killing of Omar’ was an Islamic adaptation of the pre-Islamic ritual of the ‘Killing of Megies’.8 In this ceremony, Shiʹa people made puppets of Omar, the second caliph of the Muslims. They then took the puppets into the streets, mocked them and finally, while singing, set fire to them. This ritual burning was an act of revenge on Omar, whom the Shiʹa believed had been responsible for taking the caliphate away from Imam Ali. This ceremony, which was practised during the Safavid period (1501–1735), influenced the development of the Taʹziyeh in that many of the negative characteristics of Omar were assigned to the character of Yazid. Performance of this ritual has been outlawed by the government for some years, as it is regarded as offensive to the Sunni people.
Almost all the evidence we have concerning the mourning rituals related to Imam Hussein belongs to the Safavid period. The writings of this period indicate that there were mourning rituals and processions that included some symbolic theatrical elements, such as the carrying of the coffins of Imam Hussein’s children. Even his horse can be interpreted as a symbolic presentation of Hussein himself. However, despite those ‘theatrical elements’ that were part of the mourning rituals, and despite an evidence of dramatic dialogue in the form of elegiac recitation between the leader of the mourning rites and the mourners, there is still no evidence to suggest the existence of the Taʹziyeh as a complete form of drama during that period. It is not until the era of the Afshari and the Zand (1735–87) that we find evidence of the existence of Taʹziyeh performances.
The first important description of Muharram rituals that confirms the existence of the Taʹziyeh right at the end of the Zand dynasty comes from William Francklin, who was in Iran in 1787. He observed a Taʹziyeh in the city of Shiraz. In his book Observation Made on a Tour from Bengal to Persia, he first provides a detailed description of the place of performance (Takiyeh), and of the scenery. He then speaks of a performance, The Marriage of Qasim (Aroosi Qasim), which is one of the famous plays of the Taʹziyeh. Francklin writes:
In one of the representations, the court of Yazid the caliph is shown and the caliph who is sitting on a beautiful throne and is surrounded by many guards. The Ambassador of Europe is also sitting by him… Among the most affecting representations is the marriage of young Qusim, the son of Hassan, and nephew of Hussein, with his daughter; but this was never consummated, as Qusim was killed in a skirmish on the banks of the Euphrates, on the 7th of Muharam. On this occasion, a boy represents the bride, decorated in her wedding garment, and attended by the females of the family chanting a mourning elegy, in which is related the circumstance of her betrothed husband being cut off by infidels. The parting between her and her husband is also represented, when on his going to the field she takes an affectionate leave of him; and on his quitting her presents him with a burial vest, which she puts round his neck.9
The Ambassador of Europe’ whom Francklin describes in the court of Yazid was to play a leading part in the famous Taʹziyeh of The Ambassador of Europe (Safir-e Faranghi). This particular Taʹziyeh was performed regularly during the Qajar era (1787–1925). Several versions of this Taʹziyeh have come down to us, as well as a photograph showing the very scene described by Francklin. The photograph was taken in the Takiyeh Dowlat, which was the most popular place for performing Taʹziyeh during the Qajar period.
The Taʹziyeh of The Ambassador of Europe is about a Christian European ambassador who comes to the court of Yazid. The ambassador sees Yazid drinking wine and beating a bodiless head. When the ambassador asks about the head, Yazid tells him that the head is that of Imam Hussein, who has been killed in the plain of Karbala by his order. The ambassador, moved by the Imam’s faith and suffering, expresses his sympathy and criticizes Yazid for what he has done to Hussein and his family. Yazid is so angered by the ambassador’s criticism that he kills him. The message of the Taʹziyeh is very clear: the tragedy of the Karbala is so impressive that even a non-believer like this European ambassador shows sympathy for its martyrs.
Apart from The Ambassador of Europe, Francklin’s description of The Marriage of Qasim also provides strong evidence that an early form of the Taʹziyeh was being performed as far back as the Zand dynasty, and a few scholars have come to the conclusion that the Taʹziyeh was indeed performed in one way or another at this time. Among these scholars are Sadeq Humayuni,10 Muhammad Jafar Mahjub,11 Farrokh Ghaffary12 and finally Bahram Bayzaie,13 who writes: ‘This evidence [Francklin’s] shows that the Taʹziyeh had found its form at the end of the Zand Dynasty. Later, at the beginning of the Qajar period, it was spread all over due to the support of the Qajar’s kings and the new wealthy middle class.’*14
As mentioned by Bayzaie, the Taʹziyeh became so popular during the Qajar dynasty that every year in the month of Muharram Iranians were able to see high-quality performances for ten consecutive days all over the country. Samuel Benjamin, the first ambassador of the United States of America to Iran, was posted there from 1883 to 1885 and attended one of those plays at the Takiyeh Dowlat. He writes:
I was invited to attend on the fifth day of the Taʹziyeh. We arrived at the Takiyeh toward noon. On alighting from the carriage I was surprised to see an immense circular building as large as the amphitheatre of Verona, solidly constructed of brick… On looking over the vast arena a sight met my gaze which was indeed extraordinary. The interior of the building is nearly two hundred feet in diameter and some eighty feet high… In the center of the arena was a circular stage of masonry, raised three feet and approached by two stairways… The entire arena with the exception of a narrow passage around the stage was absolutely packed with women, thousands on thousands… Refreshments were served in our box repeatedly, and cigars for myself… But after the performance began, all smoking and refreshments were banned as indications of frivolity in consistent with the tragical events of the dramas.15
Apart from the observation of Samuel Benjamin, a foreign observer, the most important and comprehensive description of the Taʹziyeh comes from Abdollah Mostofi. He saw the performances of the Taʹziyeh at the time of Nasseredin Shah in the Takiyeh Dowlat, when the Taʹziyeh was at its height. In his book Dastan-e Zandeghi Man, he first speaks of the long ceremony of preparation that preceded the performance of a Taʹziyeh. He then describes the performance itself in great detail:
As soon as the Mullah left, the sound of the Military Band was heard…the Royal Military Band entered. This band circled the platform and then took its place in the middle. Immediately after that, the Band of Drummers came in, and circled the platform and took its place as well. After that it was time for several groups [processions] of mourners, who came in procession and stopped in front of the Royal Gallery, where they began reciting eulogies and bea
ting their chests before proceeding to leave. At the end, the group of over a thousand government officials entered, circled the platform and then departed. After them, it was the turn of the artillery men, riding on camels… And finally, the group of Taʹziyeh performers came in. They were led by Moin al-Boka (the Master of the Taʹziyeh)… And then came thirty to forty young boys and girls16 of the Taʹziyeh, and after them came a group of four actors, all in their costumes, reciting eulogies. After making a circle, these actors went up onto the platform, and with the guidance of the Master, sat on the golden chairs which were placed on the platform17 … The children sat on the ground. The Taʹziyeh began…*18
This report and those of Ibn-e-Kathir and Francklin show us that the Taʹziyeh developed slowly over a long period of time, from the Buyid dynasty (945–1055) to the Qajar dynasty (1787–1925). The most notable elements involved in this development were: 1) the pre-Islamic rituals; 2) the establishment of Shiʹa as the state religion and the popularity of religious poetry; 3) the readings of eulogies and processions; 4) public story-telling and pardeh-dari; and 5) music and song. We look first at the pre-Islamic rituals.
THE PRE-ISLAMIC RITUALS
The early drama (before the Greek drama) deals mainly with the concept of ‘death’ in one way or another. Death is the prime subject of tragedy. Man tries to deny death and secure his resurrection by performing death rites. The tomb becomes the stage and the actors represent spirits. This is probably how drama developed from the mourning rituals.19 And as already stated, the Taʹziyeh developed from the mourning ritual of Muharram. However, this was not the first or only mourning ritual practised in Iran. In fact, in pre-Islamic Iran (before 652 AD) many forms were practised, and they had something in common with mourning rituals performed in other areas of Mesopotamia. It is arguable that there was a connection between those rituals and the Taʹziyeh. As we shall see, some elements of the Taʹziyeh were derived from the pre-Islamic rituals, while other elements belong to the Islamic era.
The Islamic Drama Page 5