Figure 1. An unadorned nakhl frame from Nain, located in central Iran, being constructed for muḥarram processions. Photograph courtesy of Peter J. Chelkowski, Sr.
Figure 2. A large nakhl from Mahriz in procession on the tenth. Photograph courtesy of Peter J. Chelkowski, Sr.
Perhaps the most outstanding structure to emerge out of this ceremony is the huge teardrop-shaped nakhl, which is constructed on a lattice wooden frame (see Figure 1).50 Virtually every town and village in central Iran has one, and although there is a general uniformity in its teardrop shape and design, each is built in proportion to the specific community’s financial prosperity. Some of them are as small as a baby’s cradle, while others are incredibly large, such as the one in Yazd, which weighs, according to knowledgeable sources, three tons, requiring hundreds of men to carry it on their shoulders during the processions.51 At the height of approximately one meter, wooden beams set roughly a meter apart protrude around the bottom of the structure. Those who carry the nakhl use these beams to lift the object in the manner of weight lifters. There are additional beams along the length of the nakhl above these, which rest upon the shoulders of those who carry it. These huge structures are focal points for the processions. The nakhl in Mahriz, for example, is a colossal structure that accommodates 156 people, 39 on each side (see Figure 2).52
The word nakhl means date palm in Arabic. According to those directly involved in the construction of Yazd’s ritual objects, the nakhl’s structure, with all of its decorations, symbolizes the ma‘fah of Imam Husayn. Ma‘fah in the local dialect refers to the coffin of a holy person. Since it is said that the bier of Husayn was covered with date palm leaves to protect his corpse from the blazing sun of the desert, the structure symbolizing it has come to be known as a nakhl. Others call this structure a naql, a term that means “carrying from one location to another.”53 In Persian religious poetry, nakhl stands for “stature,” especially of the martyred imām. Edward Browne makes this point in his translation of Safavid-period poet Muhtasham’s (d. 1588) celebrated haft-band (poem of seven-verse strophes). In the fifth verse, we read: “Many tall palm-trees from the grove of the ‘Family of the Cloak’ [Holy Family] did the people of Kúfa fell in that plain with the axe of malice.” Then in verse eleven the term appears again: “They cast to the ground his [Husayn’s] tall palm-tree even as the thorn bush; A deluge arose from the dust of the earth to heaven.”54
In eastern India, “stature” becomes translated into the “courage” of Husayn. There Husayn’s courage is embodied in an object taken out in procession known as a sipar (shield) in Urdu and Hindi (see Figures 3 and 11). The shape and design of the sipar suggest strong parallels with the nakhl.
During the days preceding ‘āshūrā’, the structure is covered from top to bottom with black cloth, which is the sign of mourning, and it is decorated with various objects made specifically for this purpose. Anyone can assist and participate in the ceremonial decoration of the nakhl, which is called nakhl bastan. Some do it because of a naz̤ar (vow) and some out of sheer love for Imam Husayn. During the ceremony, people utter words of praise and greeting to the Prophet and his family. I describe the ornamentation here because it serves as a strong marker of continuity with the material culture of the tradition as it passes from Iran to India and onward to the Caribbean. Perhaps most noticeable on the black cover of the nakhl are the large and small decorative mirrors on its flat surfaces. The mirrors, often donated by people who have taken vows to perform some reciprocal act of exchange, are a gift of faith. These people believe that if they donate mirrors for the nakhl, Husayn will intervene on their behalf to have their naz̤ar fulfilled. Others also donate mirrors, in addition to colored pieces of fabric or daggers with which to decorate the surface out of sheer love for the imām’s radiance. According to those involved in the ceremony, a popular folk belief is that the mirrors symbolize the light emanating from Husayn’s body; this is the reason why lanterns are placed inside the coffin that often accompanies the larger structure in procession. Also, young women promise to donate mirrors for the nakhl if they find a good husband. This would symbolize the light of their destiny. Occasionally, lanterns are also hung from the nakhl to illuminate the entire structure in a symbolic way, reminding spectators that the structure’s iconicity represents not only Husayn’s bier but also his body. Moreover, because the nakhl also symbolically represents Karbala on another level, it serves as a microcosmic, multivocalic symbol of the overall event’s master narrative, integrating as it does images of Husayn, his bier, and the plain upon which he was slain.
Daggers, along with swords, used to be hung on the covering of the nakhl to symbolize the weapons used by the enemy to assassinate Husayn. It is customary to attach a cypress tree made from a cross section of plywood to the front surface of the nakhl. Various designs made from cork and small pieces of arrow-shaped wood are placed on the wood’s surface. In Persian literature, cypress has always symbolized a tall, straight figure in the shape of the beloved. The cypress attached to the nakhl stands for Husayn’s erect body being riddled by enemy arrows like a porcupine on the tenth of Muharram. The pieces of cork symbolize the actual arrows that struck him.
At either end of the nakhl, extending from the top, is a shaddeh, a long pole surmounted by a circular object festooned with colorful fringes, tassels, and sashes. As an act of devotion, people donate garment-sized pieces of cloth to be tied to the circular portion of the shaddeh. These fabrics can be of any color or even be multicolored. On the shaddehs, the pieces of donated fabric are so numerous that they have to be tied to the circles in a very dense concentration. Recall that it is said that after the battle at Karbala, the members of Husayn’s family were robbed of their belongings. Ayoub corroborates this belief by citing the verses of an unnamed poet:
[T]he womenfolk of Muḥammad were among the enemies, pillaged and their goods divided amongst low and dissolute men.
They were pushed around like slave girls, mistreated and beaten with whips … as though they were captives or even more lowly.
Their head covers and veils were forcibly torn off their heads and faces.
Behold a man, his limbs tied in stalks with no one to set him free, and a noble woman taken captive and her earrings snatched away.55
The donation of these fabrics and tying them to the shaddeh is a symbolic gesture in memory of Husayn’s surviving family members. In addition, flags adorn the structure on top. In Arabic, the word al-‘alam can mean a “distinguishing mark.”56 It can also mean a flag or banner, and that is how it is used in Taft and Yazd to refer to a banner of distinction. ‘Alams often adorn the nakhl or are carried in procession with it to symbolize the numerous standards carried by Husayn’s party. On top of the nakhl, between the shaddehs, there is a horizontal wooden beam spanning the structure. Several vertical sticks three to four meters high are attached to the horizontal beam, so that people performing naz̤ars may attach pieces of cloth to them.
According to Fischer, the nakhl is supposed to be taken out at noon on the tenth. In his vivid description of the observance in Yazd, he notes that the movement of the object represents a threefold desecration committed by Yazid’s army under the command of ibn Sad and Shimr: “they shed the blood of the Imam, they shed his blood during the time for Friday noon prayer, they shed blood during the holy month of Muharram when fighting is supposed to be suspended.”57 These desecrations are not to be forgotten by the pious, and they remind the faithful that there is much tyranny and oppression in the world. As the nakhl moves about, a special stew named in honor of the martyr is being prepared for later communal consumption. Eventually, all of the dastehs converge at a central mosque, while villagers