Abstract:
Rite of Urban Passage; The Spatial Dynamic of the Ashura Ritual in Iranian Cities during the Modern Transformation

This research focused on advancing the understanding of how society and space interact with each other through ritual. The thesis investigated the spatial constitution of the Ashura ritual, which is a Shi'i-Muslim ritual and is considered the most significant socio-cultural practice in Iranian cities since the Safavid era (16th century). The research is particularly concerned with the spatial organisation of ritual processions through urban spaces, and the changes brought about during and after Iranian Modernisation, from the 1920s to the 1960s.

The research is an interdisciplinary investigation based on a spatial approach, combined with anthropological insights. The research has theoretically explored the spatial question in ritual studies as a fundamental question. The spatial genealogy of the Ashura ritual is evidence that the spatial dynamic is a key to understanding the ritual changes over Shi'i history. The analysis of the ritual processions suggests that the spatial organisation of the ritual is a medium by which an urban society practises social relations.

The research demonstrated that, in contrast with everyday life activities and political procession, the Ashura ritual has not simply been affected by the spatial transformation of the city during Modernisation. It is stated that the spatial organisation of the Ashura ritual was transformed during Modernisation by the rite of urban passage, through which social organisation was ritually transferred from a traditional to a transformed state. As long as the social organisation is not significantly changed, the spatial organisation of the ritual will be stable.
The transformed ritual is spatially organised through the modern city in a way in which not only are the current social relationships practiced, but also the traditional social relationships are preserved and practised. The ritual appears as a complex and active structure through urban spaces, which preserves the old structure of Iranian cities. These are spatially/physically transformed but remain alive and active, through the Ashura ritual.