Nakhl: Difference between revisions

nakhl-gardani is the ritual ceremony of carrying the nakhl, as a symbolic representation of the Imam’s coffin, in the procession of the ʿ[[Ashura|Ashura]]ʾ (i.e., 10 [[Muharram|Moharram]], the date of the martyrdom). On the day of ʿAshura, the nakhl is carried to a place where [[Rawza-Khani|rawza-kani]] (mourning sessions commemorating the tragedy at [[Karbala]]) or passion play ([[Ta'ziya|taʿzia]]) is being performed. Sometimes, the nakhl is so colossal and heavy that it requires several hundred men to lift it up and carry it (pictures 2 & 3).

[[File:Nakhl fig 3.jpg|thumb|3. The nakhl carriers awaiting the order to lift the nakhl (Photo by J. Ghazbanpour, Mehriz, 1997).|371x371px]]

[[File:Nakhl fig 5.jpg|thumb|5. Amir Chakhmaq nakhl in front of the Takiya Amir Chakhmaq (Photo by Tara Bahrampour).|384x384px]]

As ritual objects for the ʿAshura, nakhls are built from wood in various sizes, from simple constructions that can be carried by two persons to colossal structures about three stories high that have to be supported by hundreds of men. In Yazd and the surrounding towns and villages, a nakhl is often referred to as a naql “conveying, carrying, transferring.” This large wooden structure is carried on the day of ʿAshura from one place to another. According to some, the edifice is called nakhl during the entire year except on ʿAshura, when it is referred to as naql (since on that day it is moved in procession), but this opinion is not universal. It is interesting to note that on the dedication plaque attached to the biggest and most famous nakhl, which stands in front of [[Takia Amir Chakhmaq]] in the square of the same name in Yazd (pictures 4 & 5), the word naql is used. It bears the date 20 Rajab 1229/9 February 1882 and measures 8.50 m in each of its three dimensions.<ref>Afšār, II, pp. 709, 1194-96, pl. 167</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]]

[[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).