Carpet-Washing Ceremony
 | |
| Ritual information | |
|---|---|
| Time | The second Friday of autumn |
| Place | Mashhad-e Ardahal |
| Geographical Extent | Kashan |
| Origin | Martyrdom of Sultan 'Ali b. al-Imam al-Baqir (a) |
| Symbolic Objects | Carpet, Wooden sticks |
| Symbolic Meaning | Memory of the Imamzada's burial |
The traditional, religious ceremony of Carpet-Washing (Persian: قالیشویان, Qālī shūyān ) is a ceremony held in Mashhad-e Ardahal, near the central city of Kashan, Iran, every year on the second Friday of autumn as an anniversary of the martyrdom of Sultan 'Ali b. al-Imam al-Baqir (a). The ceremony is also known as Friday Carpet (Persian: جمعهقالی, Jumʿa Qālī). People of Fin, near Kashan, wash a carpet in a creek near the shrine with wooden sticks in a symbolic fashion. Every year, many people from different parts of Iran go to Mashhad-e Ardahal to witness this historical ceremony. The ceremony is identified by UNESCO as an Iranian cultural and spiritual heritage in December 2012.
History
According to reports, Imamzada Sultan 'Ali, one of Imam al-Baqir's (a) sons, went to Iran at the request of people of Kashan, but after a while, he was martyred by rulers of the time. Sultan 'Ali is said to be martyred at the time of prayer and supplication in a place which is known today as "Qatlgah" (place of murder). People of Fin learned about his martyrdom two days after he was martyred. They arrived in Ardahal with shovels, wooden sticks, and bats. On the third day of his martyrdom, they put the corpse of Imamzada on a carpet, took it to a creek known today as the creek of Shahzada Husayn, washed his corpse, and then buried it in his present mausoleum.
According to another report, they put Imamzada's mutilated corpse on a carpet without washing it, took it to the top of a hill, and buried it there. They then washed the bloodstained carpet in the creek. It is said that when people of Fin were washing and burying the corpse, people of Khaveh arrived there and helped them. This is why people of Fin go to Mashhad-e Ardahal on the second Friday of Mehr month (the seventh month of the Iranian calendar) (late September or early October) every year to keep alive the memory of Imamzada's burial.
Location and Time
Mashhad-e Ardahal is a village on the west of Kashan. It is also known as "Mashhad-e Qali" and it is the place where Imamzada Sultan 'Ali, one of Imam al-Baqir's (a) sons, was martyred and buried.
Jum'a Jār (Friday Blare)
One week before the ceremony, usually on the first Friday of autumn, the "Jār" (blare or announcement) ceremony is held in Fin. The day came to be known among people of Fin as "Jum'a Jār" (Friday blare or announcement). On this day, a public invitation to the carpet-washing ceremony and its exact date are announced. The announcement is undertaken by organizers of the traditional, religious ceremony of carpet-washing. They usually announce the second Friday of autumn as the day of carpet-washing. But if it coincides with religious mourning or celebrations, it will be postponed or preponed for one week.
Manners and Practices
The Market of Mashhad-e Ardahal
One part of the carpet-washing ceremony is a temporary street market which lasts from one week to 10 days. In this market, owners of different businesses present their goods and products to people and pilgrims. People of the area believe that purchasing furniture and home requirements in Mashhad-e Ardahal near the mausoleum of Imamzada Sultan 'Ali brings blessings and good fortune with it.
The Main Ceremony
The main part of the carpet-washing ceremony which came to be known as "Jum'a Qāli", has particular features. Most of the mourners go to Mashhad-e Ardahal the night before Jum'a Qali and stay the night in pilgrim residences or the courtyard of Imamzada. From early morning on Friday, thousands of people wear black clothes and carry wooden sticks or bats in their hands. People with sticks in their hands gather on the side of a creek flowing inside the courtyard of Shahzada Husayn's mausoleum and wait for the ceremony to begin. In the meantime, some senior people collect people's nudhurat (votive offerings) in cash. When the ceremony begins, people walk toward Sultan 'Ali's mausoleum, which is located about 800 meters from where they gather, while chanting "Ya Husayn" with a lot of passion and raising their sticks in order to take the carpet.
When they cross the passage of the valley, they enter the Papak courtyard of the mausoleum from its southern side, and they step up to the Safa courtyard. Before they receive the carpet from the servants of Imamzada, they hold nawhakhwani, chest-beating, and preaching ceremonies in the Safa courtyard and its surroundings.
When the preaching and mourning ceremonies end, a senior person from Fin gives the collected cash to the guardian or the head of the servants of the mausoleum as a donation, and then, requests the carpet of the martyred Imamzada. The servants cover a rolled carpet with a black cloth and give it to senior people. People with sticks in their hands rush to the carpet with a great passion while chanting "Ya Husayn". They carry the carpet on their shoulders, and while they are surrounded by people from areas other than Fin, they quickly and passionately take the rolled carpet out of the Safa courtyard as a symbol for the corpse of Imamzada while chanting "Ya Husayn". Another group of people wave their sticks and bats in the sky, and they rush toward the spring like an angry army.
Some people arrive sooner in the spring and pave the way for the entrance of the carpet by keeping away the ones who already gathered there. The carpet is put down near the creek. People then curse those who did not help Imamzada (when he was being martyred). Then in order to wash the carpet, they submerge their sticks in the water of the spring, take them out, splash water drops on the carpet, and then wet a corner of the carpet as a symbol of washing the carpet of the martyr. They then carry the carpet on their shoulders through a path which leads to the eastern gate of the mausoleum and enter the Sardar or Finiha courtyard. They circumambulate around the courtyard with the carpet, and then take it to the porch of the mausoleum.
Some senior people step forward to receive the carpet, but people with sticks exhibit reluctance to submit the carpet, and thus they keep those seniors away by waving their sticks. Finally, after a lot of struggle and chanting "Husayn, Husayn" and "Allah Akbar", senior people from Fin give the carpet to the senior people from Khaveh. People of Khaveh give the carpet back to the servants of Imamzada after particular rituals. Thus, the ceremony ends around noon, and people visit the shrine of Imamzada.
World Nomination in UNESCO
The carpet-washing ceremony of Mashhad-e Ardahal was approved by the International Committee of Cultural Heritage, in its 7th meeting, to be internationally recognized at the suggestion of Iran.
References
- The material for this article is mainly taken from قالیشویان (آیین) in Farsi Wikishia.