Detailed multi-pages Description of Muharram commemoration in Bahrain from Papers of Charles Dalrymple-Belgrave,1926-1957
Charles Dalrymple-Belgrave brushed up his Arabic at the School of Oriental and
African Studies in London and arrived in Bahrain in March 1926. He became Advisor to the Government of Bahrain in 1933, a position which he held until 1949. Belgrave remained in Bahrain until 1957. He died in 1969.
The following quotes from Charles Belgrave diaries describing Muharram commemoration in Bahrain, were taken from diaries of different years, or rather decades, in most of the cases we did not record the years. We posted the quotes as they are without correcting even the typo mistakes. We have put some side title, which were mostly copied from the diaries themselves:
New Moon:
New moon, the beginning of Muharram. I shall go to some of the prayer meetings this season.
The mystery play (on the10th Muharram)
In the morning everyone went down to the big square near the mosque to see the Muharram procession. M & Mrs Holmes & the others went to a house in the square belonging to a Persian watchmaker where he had arranged an upper room for the English ladies. They had a good view and were quite cool. I stood outside the mosque in the crowd and then climbed onto the edge of the mosque where I got a good position for taking photographs, I had Hamood with me and several attendants.
Before the procession I went to a place where the men were beginning to cut themselves with swords, this year the Baharna as well as the Persians took part in the sword play which is a new departure. The procession was the best and biggest I have ever seen here, there were hundreds & hundreds of men taking part in it and the sort of episodes were very well acted. Some of the things were very realistic and several "corpses" looked most alarmingly lifelike. One especially which was supposed to be a man with his head cut off was very cleverly done, in another there was a lion which was supposed to be eating a dead man, very gory and realistic. The thing is really a sort of mystery play showing the history of the Shia martyrs who were killed
1300 years ago and it is acted on 10th Muharram every year. This year there were hundreds of men beating their chests, flaying their backs with bunches of chains, & cutting themselves with swords besides all the actors and the people carried in litters etc. Afterwards most of the performers came round to our house so that I could photograph them - an entirely new idea, but much to my disappointment I only had two or three films left.
The Sword play (on the 10th Muharram):
Went down in the morning with Alban to see the Muharram procession. First went into the place to see them cutting themselves before the show, rather a horrible sight, a great arch of men & boys in white clothes going round & round, shouting "Hardar" with drums in the centre, each man flourishing a sword. Gradually get worked up & slash themselves over the forehead, having shaved off their hair for the occasion, their clothes become absolutely covered with blood. Left there & went onto the roof of the Jew's house from where we watched the show, it is just like a mystery play, they act the battle & the whole thing, on horses & camels, men dressed as women & some in uniform & armour. All the while thousands of women on the housetops screaming & crying. Quite a cool day.
More detailed description of the Muharram show:
..de Grenier & I went down the town to see the Muharram show, its a great occasion among the Shia Mahomedans of whom there are a great many here. In Baghdad & most places no Christians are allowed anywhere near the place. It was really a most amazing show. We were the guests of an old Shia man & sat for a while outside his house, also I had the head of the police with me, an escort of policemen carrying torches, so we did the thing in style. The show consisted of a procession which went through all the streets, halting awhile outside the mosques, first a number of old men carrying banners, some of them very beautifully embroidered, from the mosques, & then about a couple of thousand men, stripped except a waist cloth, beating their chests & scourging themselves with chain whips, all in a sort of religious frenzy shrieking & yelling, & on all the roofs thousands of women screaming, tearing their clothes & throwing sand on themselves, all by the light of torches & a moon. Really awonderful sight - but not pleasant. We watched it from several places & then motored back. The show is held on the anniversary of the murder of Hussein & Hosein, two disciples of Mahomed who are the two special saints of Shia Mohamedans.
The frantic state of excitement!
The third & most important day of Muharram. Public holiday. Went to the office after an early breakfast & then to Daly's where we started the work. Very hot damp day. At 9.30 Daly & I motored down to the square behind the biggest mosque & went up onto the top of a house belonging to some Jews. The sides of the square simply packed with people & all the roofs crowded with women, in black, all howling & crying. The procession really looked rather like a circus, flags & banners & then all the figures, like a mystery play, from the story of Hussein & Hosein, the corpses, very realistic & covered in blood, one headless corpse, very unpleasant, horses covered in gore, wives, prisoners, Hoseins house, an affair of cardboard & tinsel, & camels & horses etc etc, really amazing, then thousands of men beating themselves & then, the pièce de resistance, about 50 men carrying swords & cutting themselves across the forehead, dressed in white clothes simply covered with blood!
Altogether rather a nasty sight on a hot day! After a while we motored on to the Quadi's house & watched the whole procession pass again from there. One of the queerest things was seeing the frantic state of excitement among the women. We saw two of the performers fall down in a sort of faint - & no wonder. I'm glad M didn’t come. She had been going to but Daly sent a message saying that he didnt recommend it.
to be continued..
Charles Dalrymple-Belgrave brushed up his Arabic at the School of Oriental and
African Studies in London and arrived in Bahrain in March 1926. He became Advisor to the Government of Bahrain in 1933, a position which he held until 1949. Belgrave remained in Bahrain until 1957. He died in 1969.
The following quotes from Charles Belgrave diaries describing Muharram commemoration in Bahrain, were taken from diaries of different years, or rather decades, in most of the cases we did not record the years. We posted the quotes as they are without correcting even the typo mistakes. We have put some side title, which were mostly copied from the diaries themselves:
New Moon:
New moon, the beginning of Muharram. I shall go to some of the prayer meetings this season.
The mystery play (on the10th Muharram)
In the morning everyone went down to the big square near the mosque to see the Muharram procession. M & Mrs Holmes & the others went to a house in the square belonging to a Persian watchmaker where he had arranged an upper room for the English ladies. They had a good view and were quite cool. I stood outside the mosque in the crowd and then climbed onto the edge of the mosque where I got a good position for taking photographs, I had Hamood with me and several attendants.
Before the procession I went to a place where the men were beginning to cut themselves with swords, this year the Baharna as well as the Persians took part in the sword play which is a new departure. The procession was the best and biggest I have ever seen here, there were hundreds & hundreds of men taking part in it and the sort of episodes were very well acted. Some of the things were very realistic and several "corpses" looked most alarmingly lifelike. One especially which was supposed to be a man with his head cut off was very cleverly done, in another there was a lion which was supposed to be eating a dead man, very gory and realistic. The thing is really a sort of mystery play showing the history of the Shia martyrs who were killed
1300 years ago and it is acted on 10th Muharram every year. This year there were hundreds of men beating their chests, flaying their backs with bunches of chains, & cutting themselves with swords besides all the actors and the people carried in litters etc. Afterwards most of the performers came round to our house so that I could photograph them - an entirely new idea, but much to my disappointment I only had two or three films left.
The Sword play (on the 10th Muharram):
Went down in the morning with Alban to see the Muharram procession. First went into the place to see them cutting themselves before the show, rather a horrible sight, a great arch of men & boys in white clothes going round & round, shouting "Hardar" with drums in the centre, each man flourishing a sword. Gradually get worked up & slash themselves over the forehead, having shaved off their hair for the occasion, their clothes become absolutely covered with blood. Left there & went onto the roof of the Jew's house from where we watched the show, it is just like a mystery play, they act the battle & the whole thing, on horses & camels, men dressed as women & some in uniform & armour. All the while thousands of women on the housetops screaming & crying. Quite a cool day.
More detailed description of the Muharram show:
..de Grenier & I went down the town to see the Muharram show, its a great occasion among the Shia Mahomedans of whom there are a great many here. In Baghdad & most places no Christians are allowed anywhere near the place. It was really a most amazing show. We were the guests of an old Shia man & sat for a while outside his house, also I had the head of the police with me, an escort of policemen carrying torches, so we did the thing in style. The show consisted of a procession which went through all the streets, halting awhile outside the mosques, first a number of old men carrying banners, some of them very beautifully embroidered, from the mosques, & then about a couple of thousand men, stripped except a waist cloth, beating their chests & scourging themselves with chain whips, all in a sort of religious frenzy shrieking & yelling, & on all the roofs thousands of women screaming, tearing their clothes & throwing sand on themselves, all by the light of torches & a moon. Really awonderful sight - but not pleasant. We watched it from several places & then motored back. The show is held on the anniversary of the murder of Hussein & Hosein, two disciples of Mahomed who are the two special saints of Shia Mohamedans.
The frantic state of excitement!
The third & most important day of Muharram. Public holiday. Went to the office after an early breakfast & then to Daly's where we started the work. Very hot damp day. At 9.30 Daly & I motored down to the square behind the biggest mosque & went up onto the top of a house belonging to some Jews. The sides of the square simply packed with people & all the roofs crowded with women, in black, all howling & crying. The procession really looked rather like a circus, flags & banners & then all the figures, like a mystery play, from the story of Hussein & Hosein, the corpses, very realistic & covered in blood, one headless corpse, very unpleasant, horses covered in gore, wives, prisoners, Hoseins house, an affair of cardboard & tinsel, & camels & horses etc etc, really amazing, then thousands of men beating themselves & then, the pièce de resistance, about 50 men carrying swords & cutting themselves across the forehead, dressed in white clothes simply covered with blood!
Altogether rather a nasty sight on a hot day! After a while we motored on to the Quadi's house & watched the whole procession pass again from there. One of the queerest things was seeing the frantic state of excitement among the women. We saw two of the performers fall down in a sort of faint - & no wonder. I'm glad M didn’t come. She had been going to but Daly sent a message saying that he didnt recommend it.
to be continued..
