The Islamic Drama

by Jamshid Malekpour

  In 1967 a Taʹziyeh performance, Hurr, was presented at the first Festival of Arts in Shiraz as result of the support of Peter Brook, who bad asked the queen of Iran to provide a licence for it. In my opinion, that performance had a negative effect on the Taʹziyeh and hindered its revitalization. After years of oppression and isolation, the Taʹziyeh was performed in a Western-style festival for an audience who did not share the faith that is required to experience fully this kind of tragedy. In addition this Taʹziyeh was directed by one of the well-known directors of Iranian television, who had little real knowledge of non-commercial religious drama.

  Interest in the Taʹziyeh did not die out, however. The first Iranian to carry out research into the Taʹziyeh was Yazdan Hushvar who, in 1964, submitted a thesis entitled Pidayish Namayeshat Mazhabi dar Iran to the Faculty of Fine Arts. Two years later, in 1966, Bahram Bayzaie published a book on traditional forms of theatre in Iran, Namayesh dar Iran, in which one chapter was dedicated to the Taʹziyeh. In August 1976, an International Symposium on the Taʹziyeh was held at the Shiraz Arts Festival. The Institute for Traditional Performance and Ritual was established in 1977 by Farrokh Gaffary, whose main task was to collect the Taʹziyeh manuscripts and publish them. Unfortunately, the Institute did not last long and it vanished along with its collections and resources when the Islamic Revolution took place in 1979. Nevertheless, the publications produced by the Institute aroused interest in the Taʹziyeh among many specialists of theatre.

  Before drawing any conclusions about the yesterday of the Taʹziyeh, it is important to discuss the attitude of the Islamic high clergy, the ayatollahs, towards the performance of the Taʹziyeh. The role of the ayatollahs in relation to the Taʹziyeh has been greatly discussed in recent years and there is disagreement about whether they have played a negative or positive role in the survival of this art form.

  From the golden years of the Taʹziyeh in the Takiyeh Dowlat in the 1870s until 1979, when the Islamic Revolution took place and a new era began for the Taʹziyeh, the Islamic high clergy has operated a double standard. On the one hand, they did not approve of the Taʹziyeh, or any other theatrical presentation, because, traditionally, Islam disapproves of the visual arts and music in general and in particular disapproves of any representation of the human form. On the other hand, the clergy were unable to ignore the popularity of the Taʹziyeh and recognized that these performances had a profound effect on the people. They saw that such drama could be useful in publicizing the Shiʹa faith. Consequently, a majority of the Islamic clergy kept silent on the issue. A few issued fatwas that were ambiguous and could be interpreted as expressing either approval or disapproval. Most of the fatwas were similar to that issued by Ayatollah Haj Shyikh Abdol-Karim Haeri. He was the spiritual leader of the Shiʹa followers and founder of the Hawza-e-ilmi Qum, the most respected centre of religious learning. In a fatwa issued some time before 1936, he wrote: ‘All types of Taʹziyeh in memory and friendship of Sayed al Shohada [Imam Hussein] are legitimate and recommended as long as they do not include anything that has been prohibited in the religious law.’1 This particular fatwa is typical of those issued by ayatollahs both before and after the Islamic Revolution with reference to the Taʹziyeh. The problem, and perhaps the benefit, of this fatwa lies in its generality. The term ‘Taʹ ziyeh’ is used in Iran for all sorts of mourning rituals, including the performance of the fully fledged Taʹziyeh passion plays. Furthermore, the question of what is prohibited and what is not is still hotly debated among clergy today. One can argue that this type of general fatwa can be considered a kind of tacit approval of the Taʹziyeh.

  ʹ The yesterday of the Taʹziyeh has been full of mixed fortune because of the various shifts from governmental support to governmental hostility. What ensured the Taʹziyeh’ survival, however, was the passion that it inspired in its faithful spectators. This and the simple, powerful and flexible style of performance has kept it alive through all the years of disturbance, change and confusion.

  The today of the Taʹziyeh began with the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and continues to the present time. The Revolution established an Islamic regime, which promised its people the creation of a society based on Islamic values. The revival of the tradition of the Muharram rites in memory of Imam Hussein was seen as part of this new religious society. The Taʹziyeh could not have had a better situation in which to flourish than that provided for it by the new regime. The new government started to support the Taʹziyeh through the Dramatic Arts Centre of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, as well as through other state organizations.

  Today, throughout Iran, it is possible to see many Taʹziyeh performances during the month of Muharram, as well as at the many festivals held throughout the year. It remains to be seen, however, whether the new situation has put the Taʹziyeh solely into the hands of the government. The danger of this situation is that it could impose the tastes and policies of the state upon this form of drama and turn the Taʹziyeh away from being a reflection of the faith and taste of the people by restricting its religious and artistic freedom. An example of the sort of restrictions that can occur is illustrated in Arz-yabi Sogvarehayi Namayeshi, which was published in 1995 by Golam-Reza Golli-Zavareh. In this book, published by a powerful state body, the Islamic Propaganda Organization, the author asks for the establishment of a ‘Control Board’ to supervise all aspects of Taʹziyeh writing and performance. Among his suggestions is that: The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance should not allow, in any circumstances, manuscripts to be published that are distorted, debilitated or are mixed with superstitions.’2

  This sort of suggestion could be very dangerous as it could provide opportunities to those who want to impose their own taste or ideology on the Taʹziyeh, or to use it for their own interest. Even though the Taʹziyeh is enjoying the benefit of an Islamic regime today, there is the danger that it might become completely affiliated with the government, which would end up censoring it.

  Finally, we come to the tomorrow of the Taʹziyeh. I can only suggest two possible scenarios. At the moment, there are two factions within the current regime, each challenging the other for power.3 The first group, the moderates, are apparently opposed to harsh censorship and reject the idea of complete government control of cultural activities. Under the moderates, the Taʹziyeh could benefit greatly as it might have the support of both the people and the government without being controlled by the state and its board of censorship. The second scenario would be less favourable. If the second group, the conservatives, gain power then the Taʹziyeh may suffer, for it would have to deal with a government that believes in applying the religious law to everything and everyone. If this occurred then the Taʹziyeh would be subject to censorship, its freedom to connect with the powerful characters of the Imams, including Imam Hussein himself, would be restricted, and no space would be left for further development in terms of content or style of presentation. It is well known that a few of the more conservative clergy argue in favour of the removal of all the holy Imams from the Taʹziyeh plays. One can imagine what would be left of the Taʹziyeh of The Martyrdom of Imam Hussein if the character of the Imam himself were taken away from the play.

  In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that the tomorrow of the Taʹziyeh is tied up with the political future of the country. The Taʹziyeh, like other forms of cultural activity, needs to have freedom of expression and development to flourish…

  NOTES

  1 . Golli-Zavareh, G.R., Arz-yabi Sogvarehayi Namayeshi, Qum, 1996, p. 27.

  2 . Ibid., 223.

  3 . Rooznameh Azad, Tehran, 14 March 2002, pp. 1–2.

  Appendix: Collections of the Taʹ ziyeh

  THE CHODZKO COLLECTION

  THIS IS A COLLECTION of thirty-three scripts, collected by Alexander Edmond Chodzko and preserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris (suppl. Pres. 993). This collection was donated to the National Library of Paris in 1878 and contains what are probably the oldest texts of the Taʹziyeh.

&
nbsp; Alexander Edmond Chodzko (1804–91), who was Polish, was an early Iranologist who went to Iran in 1833 as the Consul of Russia. He worked and lived in the cities of Tehran and Rasht for six years. In 1840 he resigned from his job and went to live in France. Chodzko knew Persian very well and published many articles and books on Iran. Among his publications was Le Théâtre Persan,1 which included an introduction to the Taʹziyeh and a French translation of five Taʹziyeh scripts. After this book was published in Paris in 1878, Chodzko donated the original scripts to the National Library of Paris. The Chodzko Collection is also known in Iran as Jong-e Shuhdat. In the introduction of his book, Chodzko writes:

  These manuscripts were sold to me by Khaje Hussein Ali-Khan, who was the Master of the Taʹziyeh in the Iranian court. He claimed that these scripts were written or at least adapted by him. Khaje Hussein was famous as the writer of the Taʹziyeh and if he himself did not write them, no doubt he edited some of them.*2

  The poems in this manuscript collection are very long and are written in the form of monologues. Each manuscript is probably written by a single author. The shortest script, entitled Gabriel Brings News to the Prophet (No. 1), contains 185 couplets. The longest script is The Martyrdom of Imam Hussein (No. 24), which has 641 couplets.

  There are thirty-three manuscripts in the Chodzko Collection, but since there are two versions of five of them, the collection really comprises twenty-eight scripts. The collection covers the whole story of the Prophet House from The Death of the Prophet (No. 2) to The Martyrdom of Imam Hussein (No. 24). The scripts are all tragic in form and deal with religious subjects and characters.

  The complete list of the scripts in the Chodzko Collection is as follows:

  Gabriel brings News to the Prophet that Imam Hassan is to be Poisoned and Imam Hussein is to be Killed.

  The Death of the Prophet.

  The Confiscation of the Fadak Garden by Omar.

  4. The Death Of Fatima.

  The Martyrdom of Ali.

  The Martyrdom of Imam Hassan.

  The Martyrdom of Imam Hassan (second version).

  The Departure of Muslem ibn Aqil for Kofa.

  The Martyrdom of the Children of Muslem.

  The Martyrdom of the Children of Muslem (second version).

  The Departure of Imam Hussein from Medina to Kofa.

  The Arrival of Hur to Visit the Imam Hussein.

  The Arrival of Hur.

  Imam Hussein is Lost in the Desert.

  Imam Hussein is Lost in the Desert (second version).

  Imam Hussein asks to be Granted a Grace Period from the Bandits.

  The Martyrdom of Imam Abbas, Brother of Hussein.

  The Martyrdom of Ali-Akbar, the Oldest Son of Imam Hussein.

  The Martyrdom of Qasim, Nephew to Imam Hussein.

  The Martyrdom of the Children of Ziynab, Sister of Imam Hassan.

  Fatima, the Daughter of Imam Hussein, sends Flowers to Karbala.

  Fatima writes to his Father, Imam Hussein.

  The Martyrdom of Ali-Askar, the Youngest Son of Imam Hussein.

  The Martyrdom of Imam Hussein.

  Visiting the Body of Imam Hussein by the Prophets.

  26. Bringing Water by the Women of Bani-Sadr for the Family of Imam Hussein after his Death.

  Sakina asks Ibne-Sad to give her Permission to Bury the Dead.

  Looting the Camp of Imam Hussein.

  Katib-Valid.

  The European Monk.

  Burying the Martyrs by the People of Bani-Asad.

  The European Monk (second version).

  Sending the Family of Imam Hussein to Medina.

  THE PELLY COLLECTION

  The second collection of the Taʹziyeh plays from the Qajar period is known as the Pelly Collection. It contains thirty-seven scripts, all of which were translated into the English by Lewis Pelly and published in London in 1879.

  The problem that this collection presents any scholar is that the original Persian manuscripts no longer exist. Consequently, we do not know how close the Victorian English translations are to the original texts.

  The manuscripts were collected by Sir Lewis Pelly, who was an embassy officer of the British Empire in the Persian Gulf from 1862 to 1873. He was first introduced to Muharram rituals in India in 1859, but it was only during his residency in Iran (1862–73) that he saw the Taʹziyeh performances and was persuaded to collect the scripts. He writes:

  It so happened that I was acquainted with a Persian who had long been engaged as a teacher and prompter of actors. I arranged with this man that, assisted by some of his dramatic friends, he should gradually collect and dictate all the scenes of the Hasan and Husain tragedy,3

  The introduction to the collection provides us with useful information concerning both the origin of the scripts and their method of collection. Pelly was resident first in Bosher and then in Shiraz, two cities in the southern part of Iran. From this we can deduce that the scripts of the Pelly Collection originated in the south. This makes them different from those in the Chodzko Collection, which originated in Tehran, the capital of Iran. Rather than copying them from written scripts, as Chodzko had done, Pelly made an oral transcription of the Taʹziyeh plays. We know that Pelly collected fifty-two scripts but published only thirty-three. Unfortunately we do not know what happened to the rest. It seems probable that the teacher of the Taʹziyeh read the plays to Pelly in Persian and that he then translated the scripts directly into English. It is unlikely that Pelly had any Persian text in his hands at all. Concerning the dramatic values of the Taʹziyeh, Pelly writes:

  I observed above that this drama is singular. It is so in many respects. It is singular in its intolerable length; in the fact of the representation of it extending over many days; in its marvelous effects upon a Mussulman [Muslim] audience, both male and female; in the curious mixture of hyperbole and archaic simplicity of language; and in the circumstance that the so-called unities of time and space are not only ignored, but abolished.4

  Among the scripts of the Pelly collection, are such works as Joseph and his Brothers (No. 1), The Disobedient Son (No. 3), The Rescue by Husain of Sultan Ghyas from the Jaws of a Lion (No. 21), and The Conversion of a Christian Lady to the Muhammadan Faith (No. 35). These titles provide us with information that suggests that the scripts of the Pelly Collection are different from those to be found in the Chodzko Collection. In particular certain of the plays in the Pelly Collection include non-religious characters within stories that dramatize religious subjects.

  The complete list of the scripts in the Pelly Collection is as follows:

  Joseph and his Brothers.

  The Death of Ibrahim, the Son of Mohammed.

  The Disobedient Son.

  The Magnanimous Offer of Ali to Sacrifice his Life for a Fellow Creature.

  The Death of the Prophet Mohammed.

  The Seizure of the Khalifat by Abu Bakr.

  The Death of Fatima, the Daughter of the Prophet Mohammed.

  The Martyrdom of Ali, the Son of Abu-Taleb.

  The Martyrdom of Hassan, the Son of Ali.

  The Martyrdom of Muslim, the Envoy of Hossein.

  The Murder of the Sons of Muslim.

  The Departure of Hossein from Medina on his Way to Kufah.

  The Withdrawal of Hossein from the Road to Kufah.

  The Martyrdom of Hurr.

  The Martyrdom of Abis and Shauzab in Defence of Hossein.

  A Night Assault on Hossein’s Camp.

  The Death of Ali Akbar, Eldest Son of Hossein.

  The Death of Kasim, the Bridegroom.

  The Death of Abbas, the Brother of Hossein.

  The Martyrdom of Hashim.

  The Rescue by Husain of Sultan Ghyas from the Jaws of a Lion.

  The Lamentation of Husain and his Family for the Loss of the Martyrs in Karbala.

  The Martyrdom of Husain.

  The Camp at Karbala after the Death of Husain.

  The Field of Karbala after the Death of Husain.

/>   26. The Flight of Shahrbanu from the Plain of Karbala.

  Husain’s Faithless Camel-driver.

  The Release of Fatima, Owing to the Intervention of the Persians.

  The Despatch of Husain’s Family as Captives to Syria.

  The Arrival of Husain’s Family at Damascus.

  The Conversion and Murder of the Ambassador from Europe.

  The Death of Rukayah the Daughter of Husain.

  The Release of Husain’s Family from Captivity.

  The Death of Zainab.

  The Conversion of a Christian Lady to the Muhammdan Faith.

  The Conversion of King Caniah.