Achoura

Nabatiyeh. Lebanon. This town in southern Lebanon is also known as “the town of Imam Hussein”.⁽¹⁾ “. Every year, to commemorate the assassination of Imam Hussein and his family in Kerbala, the darb⁽²⁾ as part of the Shiite ritual of Ashura.

Ashura is the tenth day of Muharram, the first month of the Muslim calendar. The name is derived from “ashara”, meaning ten in Arabic.

This day is of great importance to the Shiites, for on this day in 680, at Kerbala⁽³⁾the massacre of Imam Hussein, his family and companions by the troops of Omar bin Saad under the orders of Caliph Yazid 1st⁽⁴⁾.

Every year, to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the darb procession takes place in Nabatiyeh. This procession is particularly impressive for the fervor of the believers and the amount of blood shed by the participants during the event.

This report illustrates the procession in detail. Click here for more images.

Text: Tarek Charara
Photos: Laurent Abad

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¹⁾ Hussein Ibn Ali Ibn Abi Talib, born in Medina on January 9, 626, died in Kerbala on October 10, 680, was the son of Ali Ibn Abi Talib and grandson (through his mother) of the Prophet Muhammad.

After the death of his brother Hassan in 670, he became the third Imam of Duodecimal Shiism.

Wikipedia

²⁾ Darb, or darb haidar, or tatbir: scarification of the skull which the subject strikes in cadence, with the flat of the hand or a sword, while marching, in order to make his blood flow for Imam Hussein.

Body image and self-esteem among men practicing darb during the Shiite ritual of Ashura.
Dissertation in psychology, Line Abouzaki, July 2012

³⁾ In Iraq

⁴⁾ Yazid Ibn Muawiya, 2nd Umayyad caliph, (645-683).