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Ashura as Submission and Rebellion
An Ethnography on Shia Rituals in Contemporary Iran
Series: - Islamic Area Studies, Volume: 7
Author:
This book offers an ethnographic account of Shia mourning rituals in contemporary Iran, focusing on practices such as processions, chest-beating, pilgrimage, and self-flagellation. Drawing on fieldwork and theoretical reflection, it examines how these embodied rituals intersect with state power, modern governance, and religious discourse. At its core is the oscillation between instrumentalist appropriations of ritual by the state and the enduring logic of the Shia discursive traditionâa historically grounded framework shaping norms, authority, and practice. Through this lens, the book contributes to debates on ritual, resistance, and authority, revealing the limits of state control over religious affect and meaning.
Kenichi Tani, Ph.D. (2022), is JSPS Research Fellow (PD) at National Museum of Ethnology. He has published monographs, translations and articles on Iran and social anthropology, including âRealizing the existence of blind spots in the âWestââ (with Kosuke Sakai, Anthropological Theory 20(4), 2020).
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of Figures, Maps and Tables
Note on Transliteration
Introduction
âAbout the Materials and Ethnographic Data
âThe Structure of This Book
1 Alternating between Instrumentalism and the Discursive Tradition
âThe Karbala Paradigm as the Discursive Tradition
âBetween Instrumentalism and the Discursive Tradition
âTwo Dialectic Dynamisms
2 An Historical Overview of Shia Rituals in Iran
âMourning Rituals and Their Development in Iran
âAshura in Contemporary Tehran
ââStreet Procession and Chain-Beating
âMourning Rituals Embedded in Local Neighborhood
3 Regulating Sound Culture, Expanding Ritual
âThe Politics of Regulating Sound Culture in the Islamic Republic
ââNegotiating the Boundaries of Acceptable Music
ââDancing with Power after the Revolution
âThe Boundaries of Lamentations and Chest-Beating Rituals
ââMassive Chest-Beating Rallies
ââContinuity between Popular Music and Lamentation Songs
âThe Expanding Boundaries of Ritual
4 Pilgrimage to Karbala at the Intersection of State and Religion
âHistorical Overview of the Pilgrimage to Karbala
ââSuspension and Resumption
âPilgrimage Routes and the Emergence of Religious Communality
âThe Karbala Paradigm Inhabited by the State and Shias
ââInternational Politics and the Karbala Paradigm
âInstrumentalizing the Pilgrimage
âUnintended Consequences of Pilgrimage
ââThe Discursive Tradition beyond the Stateâs Intentions
âThe Intersection of State and Religion
5 The Prohibition of Self-Flagellation and the Excesses of the Devotional Body
âThe Social Status of the Self-Flagellation Ritual
âSelf-Flagellation within the Shia Discursive Tradition
ââAuthentication and Self-Flagellation Rituals as Resistant to the Discursive Tradition
âState Prohibition and the Juridical Logic of Religion
ââGoverning Ritual through Modern Sensibility
ââAddressing Religious Excesses by the State
âParadox of the Ritual
Conclusion
References
Index of Modern Authors
Index of Subjects
Acknowledgements
List of Figures, Maps and Tables
Note on Transliteration
Introduction
âAbout the Materials and Ethnographic Data
âThe Structure of This Book
Part 1: Setting
1 Alternating between Instrumentalism and the Discursive Tradition
âThe Karbala Paradigm as the Discursive Tradition
âBetween Instrumentalism and the Discursive Tradition
âTwo Dialectic Dynamisms
2 An Historical Overview of Shia Rituals in Iran
âMourning Rituals and Their Development in Iran
âAshura in Contemporary Tehran
ââStreet Procession and Chain-Beating
âMourning Rituals Embedded in Local Neighborhood
Part 2: Enactment
3 Regulating Sound Culture, Expanding Ritual
âThe Politics of Regulating Sound Culture in the Islamic Republic
ââNegotiating the Boundaries of Acceptable Music
ââDancing with Power after the Revolution
âThe Boundaries of Lamentations and Chest-Beating Rituals
ââMassive Chest-Beating Rallies
ââContinuity between Popular Music and Lamentation Songs
âThe Expanding Boundaries of Ritual
4 Pilgrimage to Karbala at the Intersection of State and Religion
âHistorical Overview of the Pilgrimage to Karbala
ââSuspension and Resumption
âPilgrimage Routes and the Emergence of Religious Communality
âThe Karbala Paradigm Inhabited by the State and Shias
ââInternational Politics and the Karbala Paradigm
âInstrumentalizing the Pilgrimage
âUnintended Consequences of Pilgrimage
ââThe Discursive Tradition beyond the Stateâs Intentions
âThe Intersection of State and Religion
5 The Prohibition of Self-Flagellation and the Excesses of the Devotional Body
âThe Social Status of the Self-Flagellation Ritual
âSelf-Flagellation within the Shia Discursive Tradition
ââAuthentication and Self-Flagellation Rituals as Resistant to the Discursive Tradition
âState Prohibition and the Juridical Logic of Religion
ââGoverning Ritual through Modern Sensibility
ââAddressing Religious Excesses by the State
âParadox of the Ritual
Conclusion
References
Index of Modern Authors
Index of Subjects
Scholars and students of anthropology, Islamic studies, Middle East studies, and political theology; readers interested in ritual, state-religion relations, and contemporary Shia practices in Iran.