Overview

This book offers an ethnographic account of Shia mourning rituals in contemporary Iran, focusing on practices such as processions, chest-beating, pilgrimage, and self-flagellation. Drawing on fieldwork and theoretical reflection, it examines how these embodied rituals intersect with state power, modern governance, and religious discourse. At its core is the oscillation between instrumentalist appropriations of ritual by the state and the enduring logic of the Shia discursive tradition—a historically grounded framework shaping norms, authority, and practice. Through this lens, the book contributes to debates on ritual, resistance, and authority, revealing the limits of state control over religious affect and meaning.

Full Product Details

9789004747814

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Kenichi Tani, Ph.D. (2022), is JSPS Research Fellow (PD) at National Museum of Ethnology. He has published monographs, translations and articles on Iran and social anthropology, including “Realizing the existence of blind spots in the ‘West’” (with Kosuke Sakai, Anthropological Theory 20(4), 2020).

Tab Content 6

Countries Available