Interpretation of Religious Symbols in the Shiite Rituals (Case Study: Nakh-Gardaani in Abyana)

Distinguishing human phenomena from natural ones, the interpretive methodology is based on the principle that the subject of religious sociology is the mental and semantic dimension of the forms of religion manifested in history, society and humans’ behavior. Unlike affirmative model that considers the origin of religion and its functions in the macro level of society, this model investigates the nature of religious symbols and beliefs and their role in giving meaning to individual and social life. The present study uses Clifford Geertz’s interpretive approach to do a case study on Nakhl-Gardaani rite in the village of Abyana. It uses two brief and detailed methods of describing the rites to indicate the representations of conscious meanings and hidden symbols of Nakhl (palm tree). The most important methods of gathering data in this study were the methods of collaborative observation, interview and library research; and the results show that Nakhl (as Imam Hussein’s coffin) carries a much broader meaning in the social life of Abyana people than in real life. Indeed, it is a symbol of concepts such as freedom, healing power, resurrection, and an everlasting return to one’s origin. This has not lost its effect in the course of time; rather, it serves as a factor for preserving one’s lineage, commemorating the elements of nature, and recreation of the sanctity of religious places on the scene of the Shiite beliefs and rites.