The Life of the World: Mourning Associations and Their Application to the Formation of Ta'ziyeh in Iran

Religious congregations are urban institutions distinct from the mourning groups that form in villages during periods of grief. These congregations maintain specific relationships with other urban institutions in Iranian cities, including family structures, markets, the clergy, and trade guilds, functioning as organizational forms within cultural institutions. Scholars argue that the goals and desires people pursue through these congregations have roots in ancient Iranian religious ceremonies and mythology, reflecting aims pursued in those earlier practices.