Karbala in the Taʿziyeh Episode, Shiʿi Devotional Drama in Iran

by Eleanor Lucy Deacon

Overview

“I am not Shemr, this is not a dagger, nor is this Karbala,” recites the arch-antagonist as a taʿziyeh performance begins. Verisimilitude is not the endeavour; this is a devotional offering that stirs lament for the the Shiʿi martyrs by representing events crucial to sacred history. But what does that retelling entail? Through study of four of its main episodes—from their long inter-female dialogues to the protagonists’ encounters with jinn, dervishes, and foreigners—this book explores the taʿziyeh repertoire’s compositional features. Combining a wide range of historical scripts, largely unpublished manuscripts, with witness accounts, it tracks the tradition’s development from Safavid to Qajar Iran asking, who were its contributors? And, how have they left their mark?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789004716131
Publisher:	Brill Academic Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	12/19/2024
Series:	Studies on Performing Arts & Literature of the Islamicate Wo , #15
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.22(w) x 9.37(h) x 0.87(d)

About the Author

Lucy Deacon (Ph.D. University of Edinburgh, 2022) is a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Fribourg. She has published on the emergence of the taʿziyeh tradition, its dramatic content, and present-day performances. Before studying Persian and Arabic she was a professional performer.