Memory, Community, and the Mashhadi Jews During the Underground Period

Abstract

The "converted" Jewish community of Mashhad, one of Shi'a Islam's holiest cities, has a unique history. Evidence is scarce and inaccessible except for one type: the memories embedded in folklore and traditions. Nevertheless, its story has been told several times and from different angles, depending on the tellers' memories, which are sometimes unnervingly silent, sometimes bafflingly conflicting. The need for research regarding these memories, and thus their uses in constructing a community's particular identity, is self-evident. As Anthony D. Smith put it: "[L]ater generations of a particular community are formed in their collective life through the memories, myths and traditions of the community into which they are born and educated." He also asserts that "traditions, myths, history and symbols must all grow out of the existing, living memories and beliefs of the people who are to compose the nation." 1 This is true of any community, of course. Thus, an interaction of building and rebuilding exists between a community and its collective memory. An examination of one promises valuable insights into the other.