Polish journalists intrigued by Iran’s Muharram rituals

By: Hamdollah Emadi Heidari

TEHRAN -- Among the world’s most unique religious ceremonies, Muharram rituals are extremely fascinating, Polish photojournalist Marcin Kalinski told MNA on Friday.

Polish photojournalist Marcin Kalinski and his brother Piotr, a music specialist from the Dziennik newspaper, traveled Iran to take photos and also to review music performed during the Muharram ceremonies.

They unite Iranians into a single family who mourns for the loss of their most beloved member, namely Imam Hussein (AS).

They expressed their amazement over the continuation of such rituals for centuries in Iran and also lauded the collective nature of the mourning ceremonies.

“The Muharram rituals I observed were very different from Muharram I knew previously through Western media,” Marcin Kalinski mentioned.

“I saw a Reuters photo in which a Pakistani stabbed himself in the chest during a Muharram ceremony but the ceremonies I have witnessed in Iran are intense and meaningful, but without self-mutilation,” he added.

“I had expected to see Iranians injuring their bodies during the rituals but I did not see such a thing. In Iran, the Muharram mourning ceremonies were really quite different from what I expected.

“I have traveled to many countries and took several photos of different religious ceremonies but none of them were as extensive as those here in Iran. It seemed as though my brother and I were the only ones in the whole country not mourning Imam Hussein (AS),” he said.

Marcin Kalinski, who also traveled to Bander Abbas in southern Iran, commented on the Tazieh, Iranian passion plays performed in the street during the mourning period of Muharram. He said that although professional actors perform the Tazieh in Tehran, in other Iranian towns amateur actors perform in them.

Piotr Kalinski said that although he did not understand the liturgy recited during the Muharram rituals, he found that the music compositions performed were intriguing, sorrowful but also tranquil.

Tehran Times Art Desk