Gendered Ashouraa’ in Dahieh
Disclaimer: This text reflects my own individual experience and my personal views only, and can in no way be taken as “representative” of Shiites in Lebanon, or considered to be “evidence” of any sort. All translations are my own, please excuse potential inaccuracies!
As a child, I remember going to Ashouraa’[1] tent in Dahieh every night with my mum and some other relatives to attend the majlis[2]. Women and men were/are always separated with a long barrier of black cloth, and the narrator was/is always a man. I asked my mother about this, “because women’s voice should not be heard out loud on speakers, and because a man’s voice is more powerful and affective”, she answered. I used to be bewildered and sometimes repulsed by the man’s active attempts to make me cry through his weeping tone.
At the end of every majlis, young boys and men line up in preparation for the ritual of Latm, wherein they beat their chests with both hands creating a mass spectacle and a collective sound of chest-beating. Women do not take part in this ritual, but they can silently and gently place their hands on their chests or thighs and imitate the movement of chest-beating. However, women are always the audience of the male Latm ritual. I remember very clearly how women gathered in excitement and admiration behind the barrier at the end of the majlis, to watch the men on the other side get ready to beat their chests. The men, with similar excitement, would glance at the women’s side to make sure they are watching. Some men would get excited and consumed in the ritual to the extent of taking off their shirts, especially if they have grown muscles, or use iron chains to beat their backs and heads, indicating a deeper sorrow and dedication to Ahlu-al-Bayt, and indeed, a more “impressive” masculinity than other “regular” men.
- *Men performing Latm ritual in a Maseerah in Dahieh (December 16, 2010, Dahieh, courtesy of annabaa.org)
Before the majlis starts, a male cleric usually opens the ceremony with a (not-so) brief speech. These speeches are usually a mix of social and moral guidance, religious preaching, and of course political statements. In these speeches, the gender roles of Ahlu-al-Bayt are re-narrated and emphasized in detail; men did the fighting, women took care of the children, provided moral support for the men, witnessed their chivalrous deeds, and ensured the continuity of the message after the martyrdom of all men. Males were chivalrous and strong, women were modest, patient and supportive. These roles complement each other, we are told by the cleric, and thus, men and women of today must take on these roles in the battle against Israel and all other imperialist forces. Men must be “Hussayniyyoun” (Hussein[3]-like), and women must be “Zeinabiyyat” (Zeinab[4]-like). This way we strengthen our nation, achieve victory and guarantee our places in heaven.
Then, the majlis opens and the narrator starts to detail the events in a highly emotional, descriptive and expressive tone. I remember and still notice, that the most painful events for listeners, and especially men, are those that describe female members of Ahlu-al-Bayt being humiliated, exposed or left alone unguarded after all their men had died in battle (i.e. Zeinab’s face cover being removed by one of the enemy soldiers, etc.). At these moments, men burst into tears, weep, shout and beat themselves. Indeed, similar reactions also happen on the tenth day, when the momentum has been built along the past nine days: the moment Hussein is killed after a long chivalrous battle which he fought on his own against the enemy’s army, and then Shimr sits over his chest and chops off his head, placing it high on an arrow as a sign of final victory.
The sense of loss and sorrow at such moments fills in the whole tent. Only weeping, unclear humming and chest-beating are heard. A certain sentiment of an irredeemable injury is felt. Ahlu-al-Bayt were besieged, left thirsty and hungry, massacred, their women’s faces exposed, left unprotected and held in captivity. How could we have not been there to fight the Battle with them, and to protect the women?[5] We, the men, the descendents and followers of the hyper-masculine Imam Ali, and his sons Hassan and Hussein, known for our chivalry; how could we be paralyzed in the present, unable to change anything about the past? Masculinity seems to be a bless and a curse.
With their hearts broken and pride injured, men line up to beat their chests under the eyes of women. They inflict pain upon themselves, in sorrow, or perhaps in self-punishment? Many of them shed their own blood on purpose (a ritual called Dharb Haidar that has been banned by many Shiite clerics for conveying a savage image of Shiites). On the tenth day, the events of Karbalaa are re-staged in Nabatieh (South Lebanon) in a very popular theatrical production with horses and swords, imitating the original Battle. They are re-staged elsewhere as well, such as in the massive Maseerah where people take the streets, separated by gender, and where men beat their chests more violently, and get creative in the ways of pain-infliction such as walking barefoot and using metal chains in the beating. Certain squads of women and men dress as Ahlu-al-Bayt, and every squad takes on the name of one of Ahlu-al-Bayt members. Women squads include “Zeinab” and “Al-Zahraa”, while men's include “Abu Al-Fadhl Al Abbass” and “Al-Qassem”.
- *A group of young girls re-staging the scene of the capture and chaining of Hussein’s sister, wives and daughters. (December 16, 2010, South Lebanon, courtesy of yasour.org)
In this annual ceremony, remembering and mourning are not enough. The whole trauma has to be recreated, re-enacted and re-lived in highly gendered terms; but the ending will always be the same. No matter how many times the event is repeated, it will always end with death, loss and injury. This fact of irredeemable loss and injury (of masculine pride?) can be sensed in this annual ritualistic repetition, before it is turned into a productive lesson of patience, wisdom, perseverance and glory that inspires the present . Self-punishment, mourning, self-beating and recreating the event are typical signs of a major injury or trauma that one never processed, or perhaps does not want to process because it represents the essence of identity and belonging to Shiism, to this narrative of martyrdom, chivalry and hyper-masculinity. A narrative that is constantly re-formulated to resonate with current political realities of Shiites in Lebanon. I grew up to the famous Ashouraa’ slogan “Intisarou-ddam-‘ala-assayf” (the victory of blood over the sword) indicating that the martyrdom of Imam Hussein and his family was more powerful than the enemy who won the Battle, because their message has survived until now, and their descendent Imam Al-Mahdi[6] is still to emerge in the future to undo the injury, and restore the rights of his ancestors. Analogically, this slogan has been evoked by Shiites in the battle against Israel[7]: Israelis own the most sophisticated weaponry in the world, they can inflict death and injury upon us, but our blood is stronger than them, and thus we were victorious in 2000.
The religious has always been tied to the political, and both elements are inevitably gendered. This is noticeable in Ashouraa’s annual slogans in Dahieh, South Lebanon, Biqaa’ and other Lebanese areas of Shiite presence. Typically, the annual slogan is inspired by the dominant political situation that concerns the two major Shiite parties: Amal Movement and Hezbollah. This year, the dominant event is the war in Syria which those two parties (like all other parties in Lebanon) are directly concerned with and involved in on the side of President Bashar Al-Assad, and thus, the primary slogan is: “Hal Min Nasseren Yansourouna?[8] Labbayki ya Zeinab!” (Is there any supporter to stand up for us? we are all for you, Zeinab!). Other “secondary” slogans are “Oh Zeinab! We are all your Abbass!”[9], and “We swear by Hassan and Hussein, Zeinab will not be captured twice!”. All these slogans are heavily gendered, they focus on Zeinab as the main character who is calling upon the men to defend her and protect her shrine currently under attack by some rebel armed groups in Damascus, Syria. As she calls them, they respond whole-heartedly: Labbayki! we are yours, here we come, and this time we promise you shall not be captured again!
It is the golden chance for these men to fight the infidels who are defiling and attacking Sitt Zeinab’s honourable shrine, and to provide her with the protection they failed to provide before. They can partially heal the injury and restore the honour, and simultaneously fulfil their religious-political duty which they are strongly dedicated to.
Ashouraa’ is the identity, the religious, the political and the gendered. Young men, including some relatives of mine, have volunteered this year at security checkpoints to ensure the community is safe as it carries on the ceremonies. This year, when the majlis ends, the women gather behind the barrier and in front of the screens to watch young men in black line up to beat their chests violently, and behind them an enormous banner stating firmly “Oh Zeinab! We are all your Abbass!”.
- * “Abu-al-Fadl Al-Abbass” Brigade currently defending Sitt Zeinab’s shrine in Damascus throughout the Syrian war. The sticker reads “Servants of Sitt Zeinab, Abu-al-Fadl Al-Abaass Brigade”. (August 17, 2013, courtesy of alhadathnews.net)
[1] The major Shiite religious event that takes place in the first ten days of Muharram, in remembrance of the martyrdom of Ahlu-al-Bayt (the direct family of Prophet Muhammad) in the Battle of Karbalaa’ (year 61 AH, 680 AC, Iraq).The Battle took place between a small army lead by Imam Hussein, the grandson of Mohammad on one side, and a larger army of Yazid, the Umayyad Caliph, whom Hussein had refused to pledge allegiance to.
[2] A mass gathering attended by believers who listen in sorrow to the events of the Battle of Karbalaa’ and the suffering of Ahlu-al-Bayt narrated by a specialist narrator. The rituals include crying, weeping and other expressions of mourning.
[3] Referring to Imam Hussein, the head of the family and the leader of the Battle.
[4] Referring to Sitt Zeinab, Imam Hussein’s sister who played a prominent role in managing care-giving tasks, keeping the family together, and ensuring the dissemination of Hussein’s message after his martyrdom.
[5] One very popular slogan repeated in majlis and Maseerah is “ya laytana kounna ma'akoum!” (How we wish we were with you!).
[6] The awaited saviour in the Shiite doctrine, the descendent of Ahlu-al-Bayt who will emerge in the future to rule the Earth and save it from all evil and infidelity.
[7] Israel had occupied South Lebanon from 1978 to 2000, when the liberation happened after twenty years of armed resistance against occupation.
[8] A famous saying by Zeinab when she learned of the martyrdom of all her male relatives in Battle.
[9] Abbass is Abu-al-Fadl-Al-Abbass, Zeinab’s brother who is known for his charisma and chivalry. During the Battle, he went to fetch water for his besieged family, only to return with both palms chopped off.
