Editing Nakhl (section)

===Nakhl Ritual===
Sometimes the front and back log-poles of the lattice are laid across the side poles, and sometimes the side poles are laid on top of the front and back ones. The logs thus form a grid pattern. The men carrying the nakhl at the front and rear have it on their shoulders, while those on the sides carry it resting on the biceps of their bent arms. The distance between the poles on each side is less than one meter. The nakhl of Mehriz requires 156 men to carry it; there are thirty-nine places on each side of the structure for them to stand.<ref>Torayya</ref>
[[File:Nakhl fig 7.jpg|thumb|7. A modern covering of the nakhl features paintings of various Shiʿite personalities (Photographer unknown).|397x397px]]
Several days before the ʿAshura, the wooden structure of the nakhl is dressed from top to bottom. The predominant colors of the fabric covering the skeleton are black, symbolizing mourning, and green, representing the family of the Prophet. The ceremony decorating the nakhl is referred to as nakhl-bandi. Everyone is welcome to help in this process: some contribute their efforts as the result of private vows; others do it as an expression of their love for Imam Hussain (picture 7). During this process, one can hear constantly invocations for God’s blessing such as Allah-omma salla ʿala Mohammad wa Al Mohammad “O God, praise Mohammad and his descendents.”
[[File:Nakhl fig 8.jpg|thumb|8. The nakhl at Mehriz seen from the front, covered with mirrors (Photo by Judith L. Goldstein).]]
Once the wooden structure of the nakhl is covered with cloth, symbolic objects are attached to the structure. Mirrors are the main items of ornamentation(picture 8). Some of the mirrors are donated by members of the local community as votive pledges; some are bought and given as offerings; and some are lent for the occasion. Young women offer mirrors with the intention that their wishes for a good husband will be granted. Many believe that such an offering will in return result in the answer of their prayers through the intercession of Imam Hussain. Symbolically the mirrors represent the shining aura of the corpse of the Imam. The mirrors reflect light, thereby turning the bier into a glittering object. Moreover, the participants in the processions, seeing their reflections in the mirrors attached to the bier, feel that their wish to identify with Imam Hussain’s suffering is fulfilled.

These days it is less common to see the great number of daggers, swords, and shields that were attached to the nakhl in the past. Symbolically these arms represent the weapons used by the enemy to wound and kill the Imam. The mirrors appear on the front of the nakhl, sometimes covering it completely and sometimes placed in an arch around a cypress tree fabricated of narrow wooden strips and painted green. Standing out from the black background surface, the cypress tree, representing the Imam’s body, has arrows affixed to it, which illustrates those that entered the imam’s body. The overall shape of the lattice also recalls the cypress.<ref>Tabibi, pp. 175-78</ref>

At the apex of the nakhl, front and back, is a shadda, a vertical pole surmounted by metal rings. This name might be used with its meaning “fringe,” which the attachments to the ring form around the pole, or with analogy to the open, ring-like shape of the Arabic diacritic sign shadda. Hanging from these rings are colorful fabrics donated by local people, and each one is large enough from which to make a dress. According to tradition, after Imam Hussain and his seventy-two companions were killed on the plain of Karbala, the enemy plundered their tents and looted whatever they could carry away before setting fire to the encampment. These fabrics symbolically represent the cloth from which the women of Karbalaʾ could fashion their garments. In the middle of the roof of the nakhl, between the two shaddas, stands the ensign of the Imam, called [[Alam|'alam]]. The ʿalam is a huge, sometimes three-meters high metal blade attached to a wooden shaft. ʿAlams come in three sections. The wooden shaft has a horizontal metal crossbar; on this crossbar are several small metal blades. Various metal animals are attached to the crossbar, including lions, peacocks, and doves, and precious shawls also are suspended from it. ʿAlams are usually carried separately in the procession.
[[File:Nakhl fig 9.jpg|thumb|9. Nakhl in Mehriz, 1974.  A view from the rear of the nakhl shows golden thread on a black canvas in the shape of the mausoleum of Hossain at Karbalaʾ (Photo by Judith L. Goldstein).|276x276px]]
When the entire back panel in the rear of the Amir Chakhmaq nakhl is dressed, it represents the Imam’s tomb shrine at Karbala. The characteristic and easily recognizable architectural features of his mausoleum are woven with golden thread into the black canvas (picture 9). In this fashion, the nakhl symbolically represents not only Imam Hussain’s stature and his coffin, but his tomb as well. The Amir Chakhmaq nakhl, though no longer in use, is decorated for the ʿAshura day with this canvas.<ref>[[Peter J. Chelkowski|Chelkowski]]</ref>
[[File:Nakhl fig 10.jpg|thumb|10. The lifting of the nakhl. Mehriz, 1977 (Photo by K. Bayegan).|311x311px]]
Many rituals are performed in large communities of central Persia, where the big nakhls are employed on the day of ʿAshura. Once these rituals are finished, all attention turns to the nakhl. Barefoot men dressed in black shirts and pants take up their positions around the poles protruding from underneath the nakhl’s lattice. Four guides stand on each side facing the nakhl, holding green shawls. On the top of the nakhl, next to the shaddas, are men with cymbals. Dirges are sung while bags of sugarplums are tossed to the cymbal players, who in turn shower the heads of the crowd below with the sweets. Even those bags of sugarplums that are not caught by the cymbal players but nevertheless have touched the nakhl, are believed to bring good luck (tabarrok). People collect rocks and pebbles along the path of the nakhl so that the nakhl carriers won’t hurt their bare feet. Finally, it is the decisive moment to lift the nakhl. The man in charge, called baba, invokes the Imam by crying “Ya Hussain,” and, with a clash of the cymbals, the nakhl is raised. This action is called nakhl-bardari (picture 10). 
[[File:Nakhl fig 11.jpg|thumb|11. Nakhl-gardani, Mehriz, 1977 (Photo by K. Bayegan).|296x296px]]
The procession of the nakhl, called nakhl-gardani, follows (picture 11). The nakhl, guided by four men (sometimes, in the case of a very big nakhl, additional guides stand on the protruding poles), moves majestically on a circular path in an anti-clockwise direction. It is surrounded by a crowd of softly treading men clad in black who parade their ritualized grief and sense of mourning (matam) by striking their heads with their hands. Soon the nakhl comes to a stop so that the nakhl-carriers can rest. During the pause, dirges are sung and a chest-beating matam is performed. In a town square location like that of the Amir Chakhmaq, the nakhl can be carried around the square as many as seven times.<ref>Chelkowski</ref>

In other places, such as Qamṣar of Khasan, the nakhl-gardani has a linear structure. The nakhls of several districts file one after the other as they traverse the town. In Qamṣar, the nakhls are preceded by ʿalams and followed by chain-beaters. Women line the entire path of the nakhl-gardani on sidewalks and on the flat roofs of houses. Even the bystanders are drawn into this ritual by joining in various matams.<ref>Chelkowski</ref>