Senses of Mourning: Moharram Performances in Shi?i Iran from the Qajar to the Covid Era

A multisensory approach to the study of Shiʿi Iran that examines how devotional Moharram performances changed over time

The mourning traditions of Moharram comprise a body of Shiʿi Muslim devotional performances commemorating the martyrdom of Hosayn ibn ʿAli, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and the Third Imam of the Shiʿi, in 680 CE. These traditional rites are performed during a period of communal mourning when Shiʿis remember Hosayn’s sacrifice and affirm their allegiance to him and ...