One of the deep-rooted ceremonies of mourning in Iran, the signs of which go back thousands of years, is the “Chamar” ceremony. This mourning is done in Lorestan province and other Lur areas and has a fundamental connection with Iranian myths.
Chamar is held to commemorate great men of a tribe. When a highly revered man passes away, and his death has a lasting impact on the lives of the tribe members, they hold the chamar ceremony with splendor and full of symbolic signs. Chamar ceremony has been the subject of extensive research, and traces of many ancient customs have been found in them. Chamar is a Luri word for cham, meaning “mourning”. In Kurdish, chamar or chamari means “circle” and refers to percussion instruments such as drums and dohol played in this ceremony. Chamari is the same sad and heartbreaking sound heard from the sorna instrument, when a beloved and revered man dies.
Chamar mourning ceremony lasts for 3 to 10 days. Although women are also present in this ceremony, Chamar is held only for great men who have passed away. What is celebrated on the death of the famous woman is called Perseh (Porseh).
When a re-known person dies, his body is carried to the cemetery together with the playing of sorna and drums, while a horse covered with black clothes accompanies the group of mourners. An upside-down gun is also hung on the horse’s saddle as a sign of the manly and brave character of the deceased. This black-clad horse is called Kotal and is kept in the middle of the ceremony until the end of mourning.
Preparations for chamar begin by playing the drum on the roofs of houses. In this way, relatives and friends from far and near are informed about the death of a famous man. Those who are further away are advised of the sad event of a great death by the arrival of a mourning courier. These couriers inform others about the time of the Chamar ceremony.
In Chamar’s mourning, sad poems are read continuously, with an expressive and resonant voice called “Marsieh (Elegy),” and all of them are in Luri or Laki language. Lamenters walk ahead of the mourners. The co-singers also accompany the singer of the elegy by repeating the poem’s refrain. These poems are so sad that it is hard to avoid their impact!
Another thing mourners do is smear their hats, head, and chest with mud. This mud is known as “Kharag.” On the morning of chamar day, sorna and drums are played, and very soon the mourners gather in the square where chamar is to be held. The family and relatives of the deceased stand in the first row. Women are also in rows further away. Everywhere dark pieces of cloth are seen, as a sign of mourning. These fabrics, hanging on poles, look like cedar trees. Each woman catches the corner of the woman’s skirt next to her, and this goes on until the end of the line; this being a sign of solidarity and sympathy of the participants in the ceremony, with the mourners.
As the musicians and mourners arrive, several of those close to the mourners go to meet them, while scratching their faces and showing their pain and sorrow by continuously repeating the sound of “vey vey” (alas). Cutting a part of the long hair of women and girls is another sign of mourning in the Chamar ceremony. The cut hair is hung to the deceased coffin, and some more is thrown in the grave. The last part of this ceremony is a table full of food, laid out to entertain the participants, which is called “shave shin” (dinner offered by mourners). When the participants are leaving the close relatives of the deceased bid them farewell with this phrase “May you never have grief so that we can join you in your joys”.
The Chamar ceremony has still more symbolic parts, counting which would make our story very long. It is enough to say that this ceremony has roots in historical legends and the culture of mourning in different parts of Iran, and is a survivor of the mourning ceremony of ancient Iranians.
