The Ethnographic Description and Analysis for Culture of Hajj-Ceremonies Performance and Its Impact on Public Social Relations in Shooshtar City (Iran)

Abstract

Ten thousand thousands of people move from their own homeland and city toward Hejaz every year in order to perform hajj minor (Omareh Mofradeh) and major (Hajj Tamatto) pilgrimages as one of the most splendid religious prayers of Muslims. The Hajj culture is one of the precious, dynamic, and live sources of which the spirit of life, morality, and philosophy of life is induced and inspired. It familiarizes public emotion and insight within framework of rites and ceremonial activities by the aid of its latent values, norms, mysteries, and secrets. It is hereby followed by a pleasant pattern for life and dramatic effect in social ties. The present article is intended to conduct an ethnographic description and analysis on Hajj culture and its impact on public social relations among people of Shooshtar city (Iran, Khuzestan province) through employing ethnographical technique and for the sake of data collection some tools have been utilized including oral history, observation, and in-depth interview. The resultant findings have signified this point that hajj culture might noticeably effect on social ties and relations where this significant effect is surely visible in ethnic customs and ceremonies of the people. The people hold this ceremony with a lot of enthusiasm and eager similar to the past that is deemed as a type of thanksgiving and prayer for God as creator. Despite of public eager and enthusiasm for participation and holding these ceremonies and rites, the lavish luxuriousness phenomenon has been accustomed in their performance as well that caused their social relations not to be proportionally performed to cultural values of hajj and in other words a type of haughtiness, masquerading, and envy has been observed in performing these ceremonies and rites.