The Psychological Analysis of Ta ziya and the Way it Works

One of the most important congregational rites in Shiism is the morning ceremonies of Muharram, attended by most Shiites. The content of the rite has led to a special religious discourse which may be called the discourse of Karbala. It is a discourse in which the incident of Karbala and Ashura are variously related by Shiite pious people. Due to its role in people’s life, the morning rites and the Karbala discourse have been crystallized in various forms, and the people have reconstructed it in different forms with different mechanism. The traditional form of the Iranian theater, i.e. Ta’zia (or the traditional ceremonial stage-mange), as well as other rites such as Rowda (meaning homily), home-prepared votive receptions, group morning in Muharram, and numerous congregations formed under this discourse are all manifestations of this discourse in people’s life. In the present research, the Ta’zia and morning rites in Muharram have been studied, through a documentary analysis, from psychological, socio-psychological, and dramatic-psychological viewpoints. The research data include the primary and secondary sources among the Islamic scientific works found in journals, authentic web-sites, documentary films, and existing memoires; and the sampling was done in a purposeful way. Based on the findings of the research, the ta’zia effects on people have been explained considering ten psychological factors.