Nazr Necessities: Votive Practices and Objects in Iranian Muharram Ceremonies

Friday, April 22, 1:30-2:30 pm
Fine Arts, room 007


"Nazr Necessities: Votive Practices and Objects in Iranian Muharram Ceremonies" by Prof. Christiane Gruber, Department of Art History
Abstract:

Votive practices have thrived in Arab, Turkish, and Persian lands since the beginning of Islam to today. At the center of Islamic popular devotional practices stands the votive offering (nazr), by which a pious aspirant uses an object to secure a bond with a sacred entity, be it a place or person. Although it is clear from textual sources that ex-votos have been used since medieval times to make a request or to give thanks for a wish granted, they rarely survive today. Turning to contemporary Iranian Shi'i mourning ceremonies, especially those performed during the month of Muharram, can shed further light on the matter, however. Muharram rituals preserve and expand Islamic votive traditions, while also forwarding sectarian discourses. Moreover, they share intriguing overlaps with Christian and Zoroastrian votive customs, such as processional parades and communal meals. Based on fieldwork carried out in Tehran during December 2010, this paper discusses votive practices and objects used in contemporary Muharram ceremonies in order to explore more broadly how a "world of representations" ('alam al-mithal) can enable a devotee's dealings with the divine within Islamic traditions-- traditions which, in this particular instance, converge into a highly artistic votum complex that fuses Shi'i martyrial narratives with Christian and Zoroastrian ritual practices.