'Ashura 2008 in Manama: Processions are often preceded by a banner announcing which "funeral home" it represents

Copyright ARN, 2008

In this case, it is Ma'tam Madan, one of the most widely supported funeral homes in Manama (some funeral homes are called Husseiniyyas", as they are elsewhere in Shi'i societies)". There were few camels in the processions, but this creature and two other riderless animals were intended to evoke the transport of the women prisoners, including the much revered Zaynab, and the Fourth Imam, Ali ibn Hussein--Zein al-Abidin, from Karbala to Damascus.

An ethnographic video on the Muharram rituals in Bahrain will be available in a few months, and I will also publish a portfolio of superior images, with commentary, in the coming months.

For those of you interested in other cases: My earlier article on 'Ashura in Nabatiyya, Lebanon, is available in the Drama Review, as well as in a chapter in my book on Hezbollah. In both cases, you may find photos taken by me and my colleague 'Ali Safa. A shorter article by Safa and I appeared in the defunct Middle East Insight.

'Ashura 2008 in Manama, Bahrain

Muharram 9 in Manama, Bahrain: the coffin of the infant kllled by an arrow as Hussein begged Yazid's troops for water for the baby

Copyright ARN, 2008

The seventh night of Muharram in Muharraq, Bahrain

Copyright ARN, 2008

After meeting in the Husseiniyyas, which are often called funeral homes (ma'aatim, sing. ma'tam) in Bahrain, the young men and many older men go into the street to form processions organized by individual funeral homes. The processions last for several hours. The one I walked with lasted from about nine thirty until almost midnight. Men chant, sometimes rhythmically beating their chests, and generally enjoy a social occasion together. While the mood is somber at times, there is also joy in the event, which people look forward to annually. Young boys march too, usually mimicking their elders. Women and girls do not march (though they have a few ma'aatim of their own), but they are in abundance on the sidelines watching the event. All are wearing black abayas. The non-Muslim foreigner is readily welcomed.