Traditions

The festivals of Muharram in Iraq are like no other across the globe not least because of the Battle of Kerbala took place in Iraq in 680 AD. In every city, from North to South, Iraqi's mourn the tragic event that would cement the Shia-Sunni divide for centuries to come. Across the world many have lost their lives for the innocent crime of belonging to one of these two sects. Sunnis have massacred Shia and the Shia have massacred Sunnis for no other reason than being members of opposite sects of the same religion.

The fuse of this bomb was lit immediately after Prophet Mohammed's death when Abu Bakr became Caliph but the explosion occurred when Hussain Ibn Ali and his companions had their heads decapitated and paraded in Damascus while their bodies were left unburied in the scorching desert of Kerbala. The battle is seen as a civil war by historians because on one side of the battle field stood the grandson of the Prophet with 71 of his closest family members and friends and on the other side a 30,000 strong army led by Omar Ibn Sa'ad sent by the Ummayad Caliph Yazid Ibn Mu'awiya. Hussain refused to pay allegiance to Yazid and the price he paid was his head. The battle ended after only a few hours. The end result a quick and decisive victory for Yazid. Every man, and in some instances, child, that faced the army of Yazid was killed.

Every year, for the past 1,320 years, the Shia have mourned the death of Hussain. For many of these years, and especially during the reign of Saddam, the Shia have been arrested, tortured and even executed for publicly mourning. The pilgrimage to the Imams shrines is always encouraged except for when there is a danger to ones life, property or family. However, the pilgrimage to Kerbala is the only exception and is not discouraged even if one fears death. Because of the persecution the Shia have faced it has become part of their "Shia" identity.

Every gathering that mourns in some way or another is called a "Majlis" and there are lecturers who speak to large crowds of the lessons to be learnt from Kerbala in almost every main road, neighbourhood and mosque in Najaf. These usually take place inside buildings or under tents erected solely for this purpose. After the lecture the people are reminded in graphic detail what fate awaited the men in Hussain's army who charged the enemy against the odds. Men cry and beat their chests ("Latum") to the poems that are recited.

Meshiq

On the streets, for the last 3 days, the "Meshiq" starts after sunset. Hundreds of men wielding swords stand side by side and swing their swords in union to the sound of drums beating away. They are signifying symbolically that they would have been ready to fight with Hussain if they had been born in a different era. The most time consuming, colourful and most watched ceremony in Najaf is the "Masha'el" procession.

Masha'el

Before the days of electricity, when a tribe or family had a funeral procession at night they would use fire to show who ever was watching that they were mourning and this is a tradition that continues to take place in Iraq. Huge aluminum coated wooden beams with burning flames weighing over 100kg are lifted by well-built men and carried towards the holy shrine. Surrounding the wooden beams are dozens, and sometimes hundreds of men, most wielding swords and daggers, who march with the flames. Every so often the man carrying the beam swings it around in circles and the people around them duck to avoid being hit. Twice I saw men who couldn't duck in time and ended up being dazed for several minutes after the heavy beam hit them across the head.

On the last night, the 9th of Muharram, there were 84 lit beams representing different families, tribes, areas and even streets in Najaf. It took almost 5 hours for the procession to end. After it finished I headed towards Kerbala with a few friends and due to the special occasion the security was unprecedented. The car could not enter the city center and so we had to walk the rest of the journey.

Dweyreej run

Around a century ago, a tribe from Dweyreej in Southern Iraq decided to run bare foot from the Imam Hussain shrine to the Abbas shrine and this is another tradition that has been resumed after the fall of Saddam and is known as the ''Dweyreej run''. It becomes so crowded at the shrine gates it is a miracle none of them get trampled to death.

The most controversial act of mourning is "Tatbir". Thousands of men shed blood by striking the top of their heads with razor sharp daggers to the sounds of trumpets and drums. Sunnis condemn it outright but the Shia are divided. Some openly encourage it and others forbid it. Many of the people get dizzy from the loss of blood and their daggers end up being forcefully taken away from them for fear of death.

Tatbir

The controversy surrounding some of these traditions has recently come to light in spectacular fashion and my next post will be about how this division has played a role in the coming provincial elections.