Tazia

A tazia (Urdu: تعزیہ, romanized: ta'ziya; from Arabic تعزية taʿziya ‘condolence’), also called tabut or taboot (Urdu: تابوت, romanized: tābūt; from Arabic تابوت tābūt ‘coffin’), is a replica of the shrine of Husayn ibn Ali, which is used in Muharram processions in South Asia, particularly on the day of Ashura.

The artwork is a colorfully painted bamboo and paper mausoleum. It is then carried on a ritual procession observed by South Asian Muslims throughout present-day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as in countries with large historical South Asian diaspora communities established during the 19th century by indentured labourers to British, Dutch and French colonies. Notable regions outside of South Asia where such processions are performed include:

• British Guiana and Dutch Surinam ( now Guyana and Suriname)
• Fiji
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Jamaica

In the Caribbean it is known as Tadjah and was brought by Shia Muslims who arrived there as indentured labourers from the Indian subcontinent.

Since 1790 in Mauritius the practice is known as Ghoon Festival or Yamsé. A group of believers celebrate the 10th day of Muharram and first month of the Islamic calendar in Plaine Verte within the capital city Port Louis Mauritius.

Tabuik made from bamboo, rattan and paper is a local manifestation of the Remembrance of Muharram among the Minangkabau people in the coastal regions of West Sumatra, Indonesia, particularly in the city of Pariaman culminates with practice of throwing a tabuik into the sea has taken place every year in Pariaman on the 10th of Muharram since 1831 when it was introduced to the region by Shia Muslim sepoy troops from India who were stationed and later settled there during the British Raj.

During the colonial-era in British India, the tazia tradition was not only practiced by Shia Muslims and other Muslims but joined by Hindus. Along with occasions for Shia Muslims and Hindus to participate in the procession together, the Tazia procession have also been historic occasions for communal conflicts between Sunni and Shia Muslims and between Hindu and Muslim communities since the 18th century, most notably the Muharram Rebellion which took place in Sylhet and was the first ever anti-British rebellion in the Indian subcontinent. Also in the Sylhet region, a riot took place between the Muslim and Hindu communities, even though Sylhet's Faujdar Ganar Khan tried to prevent it from forming, due to Tazia coinciding with a Hindu chariot procession. These Tazia processions have traditionally walked through the streets of a town, with mourning, flagellation and wailing, ultimately to a local lake, river or ocean where the Tazia procession would be immersed in the water. In some South Asian communities, a Chup Tazia (Urdu: چُپ تعزیہ, lit. 'silent tazia') procession is also observed, in which participants maintain silence.