Mourning after 1400 years

A few days ago was the beginning of the month of Mah-Haram. It’s a month of mourning for Shia (Shiite) Muslims. Actually it’s two months, after Mah-Haram is Mah-Safar. Yes two whole months of mourning. Who died? Hossein. Imam Hossein. Grandson of Mohammad, prophet of Islam.

Basically Hossein, along with many of his family members and some of his followers, were killed by their Arab overlords (Sunni Muslims who at that time were in power, ruling the Islamic Empire) in the town of Karbala (in present day Iraq). Hossein is arguably the most important Imam for Shia Muslims – partly because of the way he died (bravely in battle, deserted by many of his followers, without a chance in hell – his clan was about 70, Yazid’s army was many thousand).

Iranians are majority Shia – the only country in the world. 90% of the world’s Muslims are Sunni. There are also large Shia populations in Iraq and Lebanon.

It’s a couple months of mourning. This means that certain things become sinful, or at least not polite, such as wearing bright colours (especially red, considered the colour of the enemies), singing, dancing and being merry.

For about half of the Mah-Haram people come onto the streets at night and engage in various activities (which take a hell of a lot of organising). Each neighbourhood is divided into a number of “heyats” which are groups that pool money together in order to organise the mourning events. Each Heyat has a “tekiyeh” which is sort of like a base for mourning, usually a large tent set up on the street. Inside people can come in to mourn. The heyats give out food and drinks. I can’t say for sure but I’d say more people come for the food than the mourning.

Each tekiyeh has a “dasteh” which is a group of mourners. These are all men. They set off onto the streets at night and mourn. Of course they have to make a public show out of it! To the rhythm of many drums and the sound of a live singer singing songs about Hossein and his death, they either hit their chests with their hands or use chains to hit their own backs.

Yes, it is a form of self flagellation, but it’s not something practiced only by fanatics. It’s more of a cultural practice that those that do not participate in go and watch. The mood is more exciting than it is sombre. There is the sound of live music and loud drums, the songs are rhythmic and though religious in content, nevertheless make you want to dance. Everyone is out and about at night. There is free food everywhere! Boys and girls are mixing it up on the street. They have the same amounts of hair gel and make-up as other months, the same tight fitting clothes, the only difference is it’s all black.

These pictures are from the tenth day of Mah-haram, known as Ashura, when Hossein was killed. The day is a public holiday and the dasteh’s come out in the morning and finish up at noon (the hour Hossein is believed to have been killed) – warning…. sacrifice of animals depicted.

The dastehs set off down the streets of their own hood.

Sometimes there is rivalry between the datehs – who’s got the biggest Alamat (you can see it with the couloured feathers in the distance in the photo), who has the most numbers, who’s got the best singer, etc.

Here is an alamat – it weighs around 500 kilos I’m told and has to be carried by one person. They take it in turns and wear special belts to avoid their spines snapping. Alamats have been deemed illegal because of the health hazard they are, the fact that they block the entire street and not to mention that it has more to do with rivalry and showmanship than Islam (but as you know by now people in Iran mostly just ignore the law).

Yep, the dastehs add to Tehran’s already chaotic traffic.

My mother enjoying some of the food being given out. mmmmm.

My aunt, little cousin (wearing red – so going to hell no doubt), and I enjoy more freebies – hot chocolate – so good as it was yet another literally freezing day!

Before

during…

and after. Ok so it’s not the same sheep. I saw about 5 killed in one night. It’s a sacrifice to God (like the story of Abraham). You will be surprised just how red the blood is. Sorry girls for putting these photos up. Sorry guys I didn’t get any photos of the in between (they put a pump up the sheeps ass and blow it up before removing the skin… gross).

The rhythm and atmosphere is at times hypnotic. Reminds me of Sufi rituals.

Girls dressed up (in black) looking at boys (looking at girls, etc).

 

A Small Revolution

There is a joke that goes “how do you know you’re Persian? After dinner there is a fight to the death in the kitchen between the women over who will wash the dishes while the men sit on their asses and wait for their tea.”

Well my friends, this is indeed how it goes down over here. But after almost two months of dutifully joining in that fight to wash the dishes and occasionally serving the tea myself, I lost it.

We were at my maternal grandmothers house with my own family – mum, dad, brother – my three uncles and their wives (two are married). After a bit of complaining my mum joined me in planning this small revolution. She announced that tonight, after dinner, the roles would be reversed. I made a bit of a speech myself, citing the virtues of equality and independence (meaning being able to clean up after yourself).

This was an interesting experiment. How do you think it went? Well, like any revolution, it was met with opposition. The men could not come out straight and say what they believe to the depths of their beings, “no, that’s women’s work”. So instead each came out with a reason as to why he should be excused from this role reversal. One said he’d been working all day, the other said his neck hurts, my dad and brother (who before coming to this country did housework) said they’re sick, one even quickly offered to stir the salad dressing as his only contribution. Because of their lack of unity we were able to shoot down their excuses, one by one.

Well, the work got done. We had to pretty much hold my grandma down to stop her from helping. But the men were not happy! Amazing to think that there was this much fuss over the simple act of cleaning up after dinner.

Too bad it was all back to the bad ol’ days the very next night.

 

Persian Music

So what is the latest trend in Persian music? You would have never guessed. It’s rap. But the rappers themselves do not present the typical image of this genre. They’re not quite gangsta. They all seem to be skinny little 21 year olds with excessive amounts of gel in their hair and lots of trendy jewelery.

see…

They do win a bit of street cred for the fact that what they’re doing is actually illegal – it’s all underground. Non-traditional forms of music are against Islam, as they excite the emotions, etc. As time has gone by this law has become more lax. However there are still not that many Persian musicians living in the country. Some of these rappers have been arrested also.

For a culture that has been so polite and closed off for so long, with censorship of simple things such as men and women even touching each other, it is shocking to have this type of content suddenly explode onto the music scene, with lyrics about drinking, drugs and sex. 

Here’s an example from Zedbazi’s Tabestoon Kootahe – Summer is Short.

 to o man, tooye takht, rooye ham/ rooye bang, ood o sham, ba noore kam
 you and me, on the bed, on each other, on pot, insense and candles, with dimmed lights

(so romantic) a little later…

Falsafe donya 2 rooze / Harshabesh Cognaco doode
The philosophy of the world is 2 days (ie life’s short)/ every night is cognac and smoke

oon dokhtare hambazime/ harja mire barname barf bazie
That girl is my play mate/ wherever she goes the plan is playing in the snow (I don’t know if this is a metaphor)

chand maahie midoone shab ba kie/ (hah) man beram oonam tanha mishe
For a few months she knows who she’s with at night/ if I go she’ll be lonely

too fekresh manam o too livan vodka/ Emshab mikhad ‘Livin la vida loca’
In her thoughts are me and 2 glasses of vodka/ tonight she wants to ‘livin la vida loca’

weed o Coca ta be nesfeshab zadan/ tamoom mishe ba ye cheshm beham zadan
we did weed and coke until midnight/ it’s over with the blink of an eye.

Here are Zedbazi… they’re probably the most hood looking. They’re all 21!

Others, such as Hichkas, choose to rap about more political topics, which are just as controversial:

Ekhtelaafe Tabaghati Inja Bidad Mikone
Economic disparity overwhelms here  

Roohe Mardomo Zakhmio Bimar Mikone
It makes people’s souls injured and sick

Hame Kenar e Haman Faghira O Maye Dare
Everyone is next to each other, poor and rich

Hatta Tooye Taxi Hame Mikhan Keraye Nadan
Even in taxis everyone wants to evade the fare

Main member of Hichkas on left, Pishro is also one of the more famous rappers.

 

Skiing Finally!

Remember my skiing vacation got canceled because of the bad weather? (no I still have not got my 350 odd dollars back!). Well the opportunity came up to go on a skiing day trip. I went with my dad, two of his friends and Mahsa. We headed to Tochal – just at the edge of Tehran. We drove for about 20 mins and from there rode a tele-cabin all the way over the first set of mountains to the 7th stop – Mt. Tochal slopes – nestled in the heart of the mountain ranges.

It was still bloody freezing – it was under zero in the city so must have been at least 10 under on the slopes. But it was a beautiful sunny day and under the sunshine the cold was bearable.

Mahsa and I had planned to hire ourselves an attractive coach to teach us (given we’d each been maybe twice) but given the one we found was in his mid fifties we settled for our fathers instead. I rode off down the slope just to practice how to stop but found that I was already too far down to go back up and join Mahsa for our lesson. So I decided to continue down the mountain and get the lift back up. It didn’t occur to me that I should travel in a zig-zag pattern. I just went straight down. Which was fine for the 5 seconds before I gained speed and totally lost control. At this point I went tumbling head over feet. This happened about 6 times. 3 of those times were bad enough to cause my skis to come flying off my feet. One time I fell face first into the snow. It was awful! My face was and hair were wet and when the wind blew it was excruciating.

But I’m happy to report that I survived and furthermore did not break anything!

Leaving Tehran and the smog below us. It’s so convenient that you can drive only 20 mins and go skiing.

Mahsa and I riding the tele-cabin up.

Of course, skiing is not for everyone – you have to have a bit of money. I was surprised to find that nearly everyone on the slopes that day was under 30. Iran’s demographics are  ridiculously biased towards the under 30 age group – they make up over 2/3rds of the population. Everywhere you go, you see lots of young people. At Tochal I suppose we were seeing the spoilt rich kids (who of course were not at uni or work and judging by their skiing and snowboarding skills spend most of the winter on the slopes).

Me trying to look cool. Note no strict hijab being observed (by anyone).

Mahsa losing the will to go on.

Mt. Tochal

Tochal Hotel – at the bottom of the slope. There’s a restaurant/cafe just at the entry. I went in and saw that it was a big hang out for all the youngens – all dressed in their matching ski outfits, girls with full on make-up and everything (they never give up!). I looked the daggiest out of everyone.

Mahsa and I resting at the bottom. We joined everyone else who was lying in the sunshine

 

Goodbye Paykan

There is a strange change in the landscape in Tehran that I notice. Two years ago the streets were overflowing with Paykans. Every second car was a Paykan. They stood out too because they look like they’ve been teleported straight out of 1969. But now, maybe every 10^th car is a Paykan.

 
Yes, this is goodbye. In 2005 the government of Iran reportedly offered Iran Khodro, the producer of Paykan in Iran, a large cash incentive to end the production of Paykan vehichles labelling them as an environmental hazard due to their unacceptably high levels of fuel consumption.

Where to now? Iran Khodro has sold the Paykan automobile construction line to a Sundanese company. I weep for the future of Sudan’s air quality (though I guess they have bigger problems to worry about right now). 

The design is based on the 1967 Hilman Hunter.

 

Sanctions

I really have not been keeping up with the news while over here… it seems everyone just watches satellite TV (I’m totally up to date on Persian, Arabic, Turkish, Polish and American pop music). But I hear there are new sanctions against Iran (probably from late last year). The result for everyday people living in Tehran? No laundry powder.

Apparently the sanctions, aimed at halting Iran’s nuclear energy program, include ingredients found in laundry powder which is currently only imported into Iran. I don’t know if you can actually make a nuclear bomb with Cold Power but nevertheless it seems like a necessary precaution (sarcasm).

Ok i just spent 20 mins googling this phenomenon and I can’t really find a reason for it! In the meantime we have searched everywhere for laundry powder and we are fresh out! But this is nothing new. There have been US sanctions against Iran for over twenty years and they manage to get around it. The store owners tell us we’ll have laundry powder in a couple of days but at 3 times the price.

 

Snowed In

I had planned a ski trip for my family with my mum’s cousin’s family. 3 days and 2 nights in the slopes of Dizzin (the best slopes in Iran). I had even shouted everyone hotel accommodation. We were going to stay in a little cabin right at the foot of the slopes.

The day before we were due to leave it started snowing. Let me say it was pretty freezing. As the day wore on we got worried – news updates told us that the roads were becoming dangerous and they recommend that you delay all unnecessary travel. We were still hopeful. But by nighttime they had closed the road to Dizzin (which even without snow is known as one of the most dangerous roads in Iran).

The next day there was sunshine! There was hope! But the news came in that dozens of roads have been closed. The cold weather was something Iran had not seen for 50 years, went the news report. 20 people had died in one day due to avalanches. On the road to Dizzin alone there were 125 avalanches. I guess I should be thankful that we didn’t leave earlier and die in an avalanche. And that we are stuck in Tehran rather than Dizzin.

Next week they are expecting even worse weather. It’s about -13 at nights. Apparently it’s going to get worse. They’ve recommended canceling all non-essential travel to ANYWHERE in Iran and the airports are chaos. So no more trips! Let’s just hope I can leave the country!!

Outside Mahsa’s house – bloody freezing!

Park-e Mellat – A public park in the middle of the city where we went to play in the snow.

It seems like everyone had the same idea as us! School was out and everyone was in the park playing in the snow. I had a go sliding down that hill… it didn’t go too well :S

Me and Mahsa. Yes, it seems snow makes me whiter. We were freezing. Ever felt so cold that you are convinced your toes might snap off? Or that you’d prefer to be dead? Well I was getting there!

Near the mountains (at Darband) moving water freezes. Schools have been closed for a week and will be for this week too. All university exams have been moved back a couple of weeks as well.

 

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Ok, so we don’t celebrate Christmas here, and also the calender is completely different so we celebrate the new year in March.  What did I do new year’s eve (which was also my birthday eve)?

I was in bed, sick   My whole family went to a party (we had 5 parties in one week!) and I just stayed home and slept and tried to stay alive (ok so it wasn’t that bad).

But the good news is that it’s snowing like crazy here so it’s a white christmas

Also had a birthday party on Thursday night which I’ve posted photos up on a new page.

 

Not So Scary Movie

I went to the movies this week and watched this Persian film that was in the horror genre. Whoever asked  me what I watched, and I told them it was a scary movie, looked surprised and asked me if it was a Persian movie. Why? Censorship is not just for sex and women’s hair, it’s also for supernatural themes.

Makes sense, right? It’s against Islam to believe that there are ghosts or powers other than God. So Iranian film makers have generally stayed away from the horror genre. As a result, the few horror movies they do make are not that scary.

The plot was a woman who is being haunted by a ghost (up to this bit it is a little scary) but in the end the ghost turns out to be her husband’s mistress. So when you discover there is actually no ghost it doesn’t really leave you with anything to be scared of.

Me and my little brother Nima thought the movie was funny whereas our Iranian cousins thought it was scary. Since we’re used to seeing real horror flicks and they’re not. My cousin commented that Islam is kind to them in this regard, not letting them beleive in ghosts and the like.

 

Petrol Problems

Iran has the 3^rd largest oil reserves in the world (after Saudi Arabia and Iraq). Iranians have long enjoyed very cheap petrol prices. They pay around 10cents a litre. But petrol in Tehran has now become rationed. Each car receives a petrol card you swipe at the pump that entitles you to 100 litres per month. Vans receive more and taxis receive 400 litres. But when you consider that many people in Tehran use their cars as taxis (it’s not regulated like it is in Australia, anyone can use their private vehicle to make some extra money), many people are now out of a job or that extra bit of income they relied on.

I guess this is why you now see people carrying plastic canisters and asking people at the pumps if they can spare a litre or two. This act has been dubbed “petrol begging”.

Somehow though petrol stations now are more crowded than they used to be. A whole black market in petrol shares has opened up, selling rights to petrol at 4 times the price. But to buy it you have to line up at the petrol station and ask people there since no one is going to part with their card.

Many cars are converting to gas (natural gas – CNG). You have to line up for at least 1 hour at the gas station (separate from the petrol stations) and one tank gives you around 150 kms.

I thought these measures were to reduce pollution but apparently the main aim is to reduce consumption so that Iran won’t have to eventually import petrol.

 (I’ll post a photo of the queues when I get a good one!)