Ritual System of Muharram as Communicative System

Mourning rituals of Muharram are as a central part of Shia culture. These rituals beside of their religious function, have many social and cultural function. Ritual system can be considered as symbolic system that provide a context for communicative action.In this paper the ritual system of Muharram studies as communicative and interactive system among actors. This issue analyzed through symbolic anthropology and Turner`s theory on ritual. Mourning rituals of Muharram and their ritual symbols as a meaningful complex, have a key role in production and exchange of meanings in social life of Shias. What happens through these rituals is a kind of social construct of Shia community and representing and legitimating of social and cultural changes. By these communicative interactions, shia identity is constructed. This ritual process is a historical and contextual process.