TEHRAN – A museum dedicated to Tazieh -- Iranian passion play on religious events especially on the day of Ashura – is being prepared to be launched in the city of Ardebil, northwest Iran.

The museum, which will be the largest of its kind in northwestern part of the country, is projected to be inaugurated by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2021), Ardebil’s tourism chief Nader Fallahi said on Monday.

Registered on UNESCO’s List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in November 2010, Tazieh recounts religious events, historical and mythical stories, and folk tales. Each performance has the four components of poetry, music, song and motion. Performers are always male, and female roles are played by men.

Tazieh is a kind of drama that depicts the event of Ashura and is performed in Mahur, Chargah, and Shur Baghdad radifs of Iranian music.

It is based on Ashura culture and the brave war and martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS). It is a religious play dated back to 9th-century daylamites and Buyids. However, Tazieh performance began during the Safavid era (1501-1736) and flourished during the Qajar era.

AFM/MG