A tazia (; from Arabic ‘condolence’), also called tabut or taboot (; from Arabic ‘coffin’), is a temporary structure representing the shrine of Husayn ibn Ali, which is carried in Muharram processions in South Asia, particularly on the day of Ashura. Rather than being an exact replica, it is a creative representation of his actual shrine at Karbala, Iraq. The practice was also brought to the Caribbean through the Indo-Caribbean diaspora. Tabut can also refer to objects shaped like coffins that are covered in cloth or metal, which are treated in much the same way as the miniature representations of shrines.Ebrahimbay Salami, Gholamheidar and Mahmoudi, Mostafa (2022) "Thick Description of Ashura Rituals in Iran: Case Study of the Nakhl-gardani Ritual," International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage: Vol. 10: Iss. 3, Article 10. doi:https://doi.org/10.21427/9a1p-az65 Available at: https://arrow.tudublin.ie/ijrtp/vol10/iss3/10
Construction and procession The artwork is a colorfully painted bamboo and paper mausoleum. It is then carried on a ritual procession. These tazia processions have traditionally walked through the streets of a town, with mourning, flagellation and wailing, ultimately to a local lake, river or ocean where the tazias would be immersed in the water. In some South Asian communities, a Chup Tazia () procession is also observed, in which participants maintain silence.
Geographical distribution Some believe the tazia/tabut procession originated in the western region of Iran, where cypress trees are common. This is because there was a similar pre-Islamic practice of a coffin procession connected to cypress trees, such as for the ritual mourning of Siavash. Such processions are not common in other regions of Iran.
The tradition is observed by South Asian Shiites throughout present-day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as in countries with large historical South Asian diaspora communities established during the 19th century by indentured labourers to British, Dutch and French colonies. Notable regions outside of South Asia where such processions are performed include: British Guiana and Dutch Surinam ( now Guyana and Suriname)Specifically, Trinidad Sentinel 6 August 1857. Also, Original Correspondence of the British Colonial Office in London (C.O. 884/4, Hamilton Report into the Carnival Riots, p.18) FijiPeasants in the Pacific: a study of Fiji Indian rural society By Adrian C. Mayer Trinidad and TobagoJihad in Trinidad and Tobago, July 27, 1990 By Daurius Figueira JamaicaShankar, Guha (2003) Imagining India(ns): Cultural Performances and Diaspora Politics in Jamaica. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Texas, Austin pdf
In the Caribbean, the tazias are known as tadjahs and were brought by Shia Muslims who arrived there as indentured labourers from the Indian subcontinent.
Since 1790 in Mauritius the practice is known as Ghoon Festival or Yamsé. A group of believers celebrate the 10th day of Muharram and first month of the Islamic calendar in Plaine Verte within the capital city Port Louis Mauritius.
Tabuik made from bamboo, rattan and paper is a local manifestation of the Remembrance of Muharram among the Minangkabau people in the coastal regions of West Sumatra, Indonesia, particularly in the city of Pariaman culminates with practice of throwing a tabuik into the sea has taken place every year in Pariaman on the 10th of Muharram since 1831 when it was introduced to the region by Shia Muslim sepoy troops from India who were stationed and later settled there during the British Raj.
A similar custom is/was observed in parts of Upper Egypt. Rather than being specific to Muharram, local shaykhs (saints and venerated dead) had tabut made and placed in their tombs. The spirits of such people sometimes struck people with illness to ensure one of these was constructed. This could be placed over the grave in a tomb or stand as a representative for a grave located elsewhere. Every so often, these are taken out of the tomb and carried in a procession. They are often covered in cloth as decoration.
Intercommunal relations During the colonial-era in British India, the tazia tradition was not only practiced by Shia Muslims and other Muslims but joined by Hindus.Beyond Hindu and Muslim: Multiple Identity in Narratives from Village India By Peter Gottschalk, Wendy DonigerToleration through the ages By Kālīpada Mālākāra Along with occasions for Shia Muslims and Hindus to participate in the procession together, the tazia processions have also been historic occasions for communal conflicts between Sunni and Shia Muslims and between Hindu and Muslim communities since the 18th century, most notably the Muharram Rebellion which took place in Sylhet and was the first ever anti-British rebellion in the Indian subcontinent. Also in the Sylhet region, a riot took place between the Muslim and Hindu communities, even though Sylhet's Faujdar Ganar Khan tried to prevent it from forming, due to tazia procession coinciding with a Hindu chariot procession.
Gallery
See also Chup Tazia Hosay Muharram Rebellion Hussaini Dalan
References
Sources
External links
The Legality of making figurine effigy (Taziyah) of the shrine https://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1842/7362/381673.