"Ta'ziyeh" is the custodian of Iranian literature, music and religious performances

"Ta’ziyeh" is a kind of performance art in Iran, the  subject is about the life and martyrdom of holy figures in the Shia religion, especially battle of  and the martyrdom of Imam Hussain and 72 of his companions.

In terms of form and style, this kind of show has its roots in the pre-Islamic rituals in Iran, which were used by the Shiites to narrate historical events and the stories of religious leaders since a thousand years ago.

For many years, "Ta’ziyeh" has been performed mostly in the months of Muharram and Safar, which commemorate the incident of Karbala and the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali (the third imam of Shiites). However, in the second half of Ramadan, which is the anniversary of the martyrdom of Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (the first imam of the Shias), Ta'ziyeh is performed in a more limited way.

Farhad Kiarostami, one of the artists of "Ta’ziyeh", explained the reason for the time limit for performing this type of show: "We have about 170 original texts for Ta’ziyeh, many of which have not been performed for years; Some Ta'ziyeh shows that refer to the history of other Abrahamic religions or the first years of the rise of Islam. For example the story of "Throwing Prophet Joseph into the well" or "Building Kaaba by Abraham".

He said that Ta'ziyeh texts have a lot of variety.         

“Ta'ziyeh artists can host interested people on all days of the year and their work is not limited only to the months of Muharram, Safar and Ramadan.”

The artist added: "Ta’ziyeh is a multi-dimensional art. An art in which the audience plays a significant role in the performance. This art is not related to a specific time period or audience. Some of the audience and watch the performance with a spiritual vision and for vows and needs. Theater students look at it from an artistic point of view. Literature students pay attention to the literary arts hidden in dialogues, but music artists watch Ta'ziyeh to hear and learn about Iranian instruments. Because the purest Iranian music is performed in Ta’ziyeh. But despite the importance of all these aspects, this art is still neglected and it is not being worked on as it should be."

 

He explained: "In recent years, Ta'ziyeh Association of Iranians has been formed, and a college was supposed to be established to teach this art, but unfortunately, the efforts in this field were unsuccessful. The establishment of a faculty and research institute can help to avoid some superstitions, problems and baseless references that have no historical or religious references. It should be kept in mind that neglecting the historical and religious details in "Ta’ziyeh" is an insult to the personality of religious leaders and to the intelligence of the audience, and it further distances the audience from this art.