Abstract:
The present study attempts to investigate the role of Sufism in development of story-telling، naqqāli (narrating of important old Iranian stories) and Rawzahkhāni (telling story of mourning for Imams) arranged in three sections. The first part of the article is intended to inspect story-telling as a social practice of Sufism. It also expresses the reasons behind Safavid Scholars’ opposition with storytelling. Then، the content of stories، their connection to the event of Karbalā، the evolution of maqtal khāni in Kāshefi’s Rawzat al- Shohadā (The Garden of the Martyrs)، and different reactions of Shi‘a scholars to this event is analyzed. Next section of present study seeks to introduce Naqqali and its’ subcategories such as Pardeh khāni. Besides، Sufis’ story-telling in the Safavid era as reflected in reports and records of western travelers is explored. Naqqali appears as one of the main activities exercised by dervishes of Khāksār especially in the sect of ajam. In the third section، the main role of Sufi Naqqals in the development of rawzakhāni in Safavid and Qajāri periods are revealed. Further analysis indicates that people’s tendency toward religious Naqqali and description of ‘Ashourā event presumed to be a Sufism concept. Although firstly opposed by extremists، these traditions have been mostly welcomed by public and nobles so that both of them emerged to be the most important traditions of mourning.
Machine summary:
In the third section, the primary role of Sufi Naqqals in the expansion of Rawda Khani during the Safavid and Qajar eras is mentioned, showing that religious Naqqali and the inclination toward narrating the Ashura event is, in both substance and form, a Sufi element.
228 and 229) Of course, as we will see, neither the stories of the Sufis were limited to the stories of Abu Muslim and Muhammad al-Hanafiya, nor were the storytellers limited to the wandering dervishes and arena performers; for instance, during the Qajar era, when circumstances changed to the detriment of the Sufis, the common people, because Mirza Abulqasim Sokut (died 1239), one of the famous Sufis in Shiraz, read history and the Shahnameh, were incited and intended to kill him; this matter was about to turn into a sedition, but the calmness and composure of Mirza Abulqasim brought an end to the commotion.
6 Naqqal Murshids not only performed Ashura Naqqali in squares and religious centers, but also in coffeehouses, especially during the days of mourning, they engaged in eulogizing the great figures of religion, reciting elegies, and mentioning the events of Karbala, Rawdah-khani, and Ta'ziyeh-khani.
(Social History of Tehran in the Thirteenth Century, 4/505; 2/141, compare with Travelogue from Khorasan to Bakhtiari, 2/218) This matter even affected the style of Naqqali, and gradually, with the publication of various Rawdah-khani books, Maqtal books, and stories that recounted the Ashura event, the eloquent speeches, which were previously in verse, were converted into prose.
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