Hosay Trinidad
Hosay Trinidad
Muḥarram Performances in an Indo-Caribbean Diaspora
FRANK J. KOROM
University of Pennsylvania Press
Philadelphia
Copyright © 2003 University of Pennsylvania Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Published by
University of Pennsylvania Press
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104–4011
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Korom, Frank J.
Hosay Trinidad : muḥarram performances in an Indo-Caribbean diaspora / Frank J. Korom.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8122-3683-1 (alk. paper)—ISBN 0-8122-1825-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Tenth of Muharram. 2. Shi‘ah—Customs and practices. 3. Shi‘ah—Trinidad and Tobago. 4. Muslims—Trinidad and Tobago. 5. Trinidad and Tobago—Religious life and customs. I. Title.
BP194.5.T4 K67 2002
| 297.3'6—dc21 | 2002075894 |
Contents
2. Muharram Rituals in Iran: Past and Present
3. The Passage of Rites to South Asia
5. Building the Tadjah, Constructing Community
6. Conclusion: Maintenance and Transformation via Cultural Creolization
Illustrations
Figure 1. An unadorned nakhl frame from Nain
Figure 2. A large nakhl from Mahriz
Figure 3. A nineteenth-century muḥarram procession
Figure 4. A nineteenth-century majlis
Figure 5. An attendant fanning a ta‘zi̅yah
Figure 6. The inside of an imāmbāṛā, with a ta‘zi̅yah and a rauz̤eh khvān
Figure 7. A nineteenth-century standard bearer
Figure 8. A contemporary muḥarram ‘alam
Figure 9. Nineteenth-century tassa player
Figure 10. Nineteenth-century bass player
Figure 11. An Indian sipar
Figure 12. A muḥarram procession with ta‘zi̅yahs and men performing mātam
Figure 13. Master tadjah builder Anthony “Muggy” Millette
Figure 14. Kirk “Purple” Rodriguez working on a tadjah
Figure 15. Trinidadian youths practicing drumming
Figure 16. A chowk with tassa drums
Figure 17. Noble Bisnath playing his bass on the streets
Figure 18. Drummers perform in unison during a procession
Figure 19. Named tassa drums hanging in a drum room
Figure 20. A bass maker busy at work
Figure 21. Women carrying flags
Figure 22. A cutter performing in front of a chowk
Figure 23. A pensive bass player
Figure 24. The green moon resting on its chowk
Figure 25. The Balma katheeyah on Small Hosay Night, 1991
Figure 26. Noble Bisnath crowning a tadjah
Figure 27. Another step in crowning a tadjah
Figure 28. A completed tadjah resting on a chowk
Figure 29. A tadjah being kissed by the red moon
Figure 30. Tassa drummers heading to the Queen’s Royal College
Figure 31. The two St. James moons prior to the janaaza prayers
A Note on Orthography
With a few minor modifications that should be obvious to the specialist, the transliteration of all terms in this work follows the guidelines set by the Library of Congress’s series of Cataloguing Service Bulletins. For Arabic, see Bulletin 91; for Persian, see Bulletin 59; for Urdu, see Bulletin 120; and for Hindi, see Bulletin 64. Because many Perso-Arabic words are used in Hindi and Urdu, I do not necessarily use the etymological transliteration but opt for the form used in the sociolinguistic context under discussion when a term is used. For the reader’s convenience,