The ceremony (chagh chagho) in the Ashura desert
на канале: Lovers of Hussain
The lovers and devotees of Hazrat Abu Abdullah Al-Hussein (AS) are preparing to hold the Tasu'a and Ashura ceremonies of the Sayyid and the Commander of the Martyrs. Every day that passes, the city has a different atmosphere. Cities and villages hold their own rituals that have a special charm, and one of the ancient and traditional rituals is "Chack Chao" which is held in the city of Saman.
According to ISNA, wherever we look in the country, there are traditional rituals that still have a different color and flavor in the month of Muharram despite the passing of years, rituals that are still in place and every year more people are eager to participate in those ceremonies. Chack Chao is one of the ancient and traditional rituals of the city of Saman.
In the city of Saman, after the mourning on Tasu'a Day, mourners go to mosques from 9:00 PM and mourn. The Chak Chao ceremony begins at around 2:00 AM with the sound of reeds, cymbals, and drums, and the singing of a special lament, and the queuing by banging sticks or stones, each other, and saying "O Ali" to mourners in the streets and alleys of the city, and continues until the morning call to prayer.
In the Chak Chao mourning ceremony, a special lament is sung, and while singing this lament, the mourners and participants bang two stones or two sticks that they are holding against each other.
In the past, stones were used more, so in the past, they collected smooth and polished stones and used them in the Chak Chao ceremony, and today, they mostly use smooth, carved pieces of wood with finger holes on the back.
The "Chak Chao" lament singers are special people who are particularly skilled in singing this special lament, and this singing is accompanied by a special burning and melting sensation. Among the skilled lament singers, the late "Naser Jafarzadeh" can be mentioned.
The singing of the lament is accompanied by the sound of cymbals and drums. The sound of the stones clashing is uniform. In addition to the sound of cymbals and drums, the reed is also played to give this ceremony more burning and melting sensation. In the past, the drum was not played with this ceremony, but this ceremony was accompanied by the playing of the local instrument "Serena", which is called "Saz Chapi" in Saman.
The most passionate factor of the "Chak Chhaw" of the lament singer or lamenter is that unfortunately, with the passing of the old and elderly lament singers, the prosperity and atmosphere of the lamentation is reduced, and the introduction of an instrument such as a drum instead of playing the serena instrument has taken this ceremony a little away from its true essence.
One of the philosophies of performing this ritual is to recall the event of the night of Ashura when Imam Hussein (AS) took the oath of allegiance from his companions and asked them that anyone who did not want to stay should leave and asked his children to knock two stones together so that the sound of the horses' hooves of those leaving Karbala would not embarrass them.
According to another narration, by knocking stones together, Imam Hussein (AS) and his companions prevented the sound of the enemy's horses' hooves from reaching the people of the shrine so that they would not be aware of the enemy's abundance and would not lose hope.
Another philosophy of this is that on the 13th of Muharram in the year 61 AH, some of the Bani Asad tribe came to this land to bury the martyrs of Karbala. They were divided into small groups. Since it was dark, some of the Bani Asad women found the pure bodies of the martyrs and, by knocking two stones together, informed the other groups so that all the pure and luminous bodies of the martyrs were collected. Imam Sajjad (AS) also came out of Ibn Ziyad's prison in Kufa and helped this tribe in identifying and burying the martyrs, including the burial of the pure body of Hazrat Sayyid al-Shuhada (AS).
Another philosophy of this ceremony is that the event of Ashura and the burial of its martyrs were accompanied by so much burning and melting that even the stones of the desert clashed and made a sound.
The Chak Chhau ceremony in Saman city has existed since the establishment of the Saman village and is more than 250 years old. The Chak Chhau ceremony in Saman city has been registered with registration number 622 in the National Heritage List. Some ceremonies are unique to a specific place and location. Although there are examples like these in the country, there are many differences between them that need to be preserved in order to promote and promote the culture of Ashura.