“Commemorating Muharram involves observation of matam or azadari (mourning) through various institutionalized practices. Among Shias, two central rituals dominate: the mourning session, or majlis, held in an imambara or a private dwelling, and two types of procession. The first imitates Imam Husain’s march towards Karbala with armed men, drummers, and marchers carrying banners, or alams; the second recreates the burial of Husain and his followers and a replica (tazia) of Imam Husain’s tomb in Karbala is carried in homage. In the South Asian Urdu-Persian world, Muharram is observed by organizing majlises and reciting marsiyas and mauhas (elegies) in Urdu. It also includes taziadari, a procession with relics of tombs in Karbala and self-flagellation by devotees. Although such ties and rituals may seem similar to the observation of Muharram in other parts of the world, here, the meaning of the event shifts with locales, ideologies, memories, and the way in which the language of religion is negotiated through intertwined and conflicting idioms. Bilgramis, for instance, feel so attached to the qasbah’s Muharram rituals that even those working far away make it a point to visit Bilgram during the first ten days of that month. In other qasbahs as well, Muharram was an important vehicle for reinforcing the qasbāti identity, principally among the Shia Muslims.”
From Locale, Everyday Islam, and Modernity: Qasbah Towns and Muslim Life in Colonial India by M. Raisur Rahman
