On the private level, however, the story is quite different. It is relatively rare for Sunnis to attend Shi‘i majālis, partly out of philosophical reasons and partly out of practical fear of physical retribution by fervent Shi‘ah who may hold them responsible for Husayn’s death. In Iran, for example, people have reported that the villainous characters in the dramas have often been attacked and, in some cases, even killed out of an emotional frenzy. This may be an urban legend, but Abedi reminisces that “Shemr would gallop into the center calling Husain to show himself, and announcing to the audience, ‘I’m not Shemr, nor is this the land of Karbala; I’m just playing a role.’ This formula was partly used to fend off the danger that onlookers would become so enraged at his killing of their beloved Imam that they would kill him.”39 So, for reasons such as these, there are usually public prayers held in Sunni mosques, readings from the Qur’ān, and khut̤bahs acknowledging the Karbala tragedy as an unfortunate incident in which members of the Prophet’s family were killed, but nothing more.
Hindus and foreigners, on the other hand, are most welcome at the private gatherings organized by the Sh‘iah because the historical events are seen as universal tragedies and opportunities to convert those moved by the elegies.40 Hindu intellectuals such as Jawaharlal Nehru are drawn to the observance precisely because of its universally tragic nature. As Nehru wrote in 1939, “sacrifice for a noble cause can never be in vain. And though we may sorrow for it, it is more fitting that we should derive inspiration from it. The fact that countless generations have been powerfully affected by the sacrifice and tragedy of Kerbala is in itself significant of its abiding value.… We shall have to forget our petty selves and minor complaints and think in terms of the larger good. That is the lesson of Kerbala and it is in this spirit that I hope all of us will pay homage to that sacrifice.”41
Essentially, the recitations in formal settings follow the historical events day by day and are relatively uniform across India because of a standard publication distributed by the All-India Shia Congress, in which canonical narratives for each specific day are printed.42 The two Indian census volumes on the observances in Lucknow and Delhi in the north and Hyderabad in the south both contain the following serialization of the daily narrative recitals for the Shi‘i majlis:
first day: demands by Yazid’s men for Husain to give allegiance to Yazid or to accept death
second day: departure of Husain for Karbala
third day: arrival of Husain in Karbala
fourth day: account of Hazrat al-Hurr
fifth day: account of Abad, one of the sons of Imam Husain who had fallen sick at Karbala
sixth day: account of the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali Akbar
seventh day: account of the martyrdom of Hazrat Qasim
eighth day: account of the martyrdom of Hazrat Abbas
ninth day: account of the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali Asghar
tenth day: account of the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Husain43
Each formal majlis also follows a standard pattern of observance and is led by a ẕākir (one who praises God). According to Regula Qureshi, the format progresses in a specific sequence. First, sauz (short lament) is performed to express “one emotion intensely and concisely,” followed by salām (salutation), which is often “reflective or didactic in character.” There then follows the mars̲i̅yah, “chanted usually by group in unison,” which “may be followed by a marsiyā poem in the style of formal oratory.” This is followed by nauḥah, which is a “dirge, simple, highly expressive and lyrical in character.” After nauḥah is complete, mātam is performed. In the assembly, this term stands for an expressive and passionate dirge as well as the breast-beating performed by the participants. The majlis closes with a “salutation of the martyrs and imams in Arabic, a type of litany chanted by the leader of the majlis,” which is referred to by the term zi̅yārat.44 Perhaps this last practice alludes to a kind of internal or mental pilgrimage to the shrine of the martyr being eulogized on that particular day. Whatever the case may be, the formal majālis are complemented by private ones, which can be arranged by anyone with adequate financial means (see Figure 4). Due to gender segregation, women often conduct their own majālis. 45
Regardless of how raucous muḥarram may become as the tenth approaches, many early accounts describe the solemnity of the first day of Muharram. Mrs. Meer Hassan Ali, for example, refers to Lucknow on this occasion as “the Deserted Village.” She comments still further: “The profound quiet and solemn stillness of an extensively populated native city, contrasted with the incessant bustle usual at all other times, are too striking to Europeans to pass by unheeded.”46 The first day’s solemnity is marked by ritual purification of the body and by cleaning the home and the place of worship. The pious cut their nails at this time, whitewash their homes, and clean sacred sites, while women untie their normally braided hair and break their glass bangles as a signal that the official period of mourning is starting. In rural areas of India, even in villages lacking a Shi‘i population, cauks (squares) are demarcated to serve as sacred space on which to place the model tombs. Nadeem Hasnain and Sheikh Abrar Husain suggest that in such non-Shi‘i villages “a large number of Sunni Muslims and a considerable section of Hindus … keep Tazias and observe mourning in one form or another” (see Figure 5).47 When asked why Sunnis participate, an Indo-Shi‘ah responded to John Hollister that “the Sunnis recognize Hasan and Husain as grandsons of the Prophet whom he greatly loved, and that they were killed. Some too have found prayers answered, and so continue to pray.”48
The first day is devoted to final arrangements for processions and for setting up platforms throughout Muslim sectors of the city. From these platforms the story of Husayn is transmitted in numerous but less formal ways than in the ritualized majlis liturgy. The most common form of transmission, however, is the mars̲i̅yah. At other times, there are exegetical lectures given by Shi‘i clerics pertaining to the event, which combine fervent piety and political content, as in Iran. Cole mentions that “Some notable-class Shi̅‘i̅s depicted the encroaching British as the evil Yazi̅d in the 1857–58 rebellion. Among laboring-class devotees of the Imam the tax collectors and police of the Shi̅‘i̅ government itself may have been seen at times as the real Yazi̅d.”49