A Study of the Ritual of Chavosh Khani in Minab

The “clamour of Chavosh” in Hormozgan is a spiritual and mystical tune that Chavosh Khan (“khan” means “reader” in Persian) uses to invite people to religious meetings and gatherings including reading the Rawda or pilgrimages. To perform it, Chavosh Khan usually stands on a height and, while his hands are at his face, he sings tunes praising Imams. In the past, the “clamour” informed people to perform preaching and sermons and was a form of delivering news as well. Considering the type of the trip a pilgrim intended to go on, he would sing poems and people would go to his house to ask for forgiveness. Now Chavosh Khani (“khani” means “reading.”) is a religious ritual in Hormozgan province. Considering the remained manuscripts of Molla Monsef and Hossein Ali Ghazaei Olyayi, it dates back to three hundred years ago and nowadays it is very common among the people. Adopting content analysis method, the present study aims at introducing the ritual of Chavosh Khani in Hormozgan through library research and field study.