"AROOSI-150 Years of Iranian Wedding Traditions" (Exhibitipon, Feb 24 - May 31, 2020)

Marriage practices are evolving in the Islamic Republic of Iran as a result of modernity’s impact on its political, economic, and social structures. Young Iranians are in direct contact with these structures that define them. Autonomy, rationality, and individualism are notions of modernity that directly affect marriage, therefore, their beliefs and practices concerning marriage expose the extent to which they grasp tradition or embrace modernity. Through a qualitative study that involves participant observation and collection of in-depth narratives from young, unmarried Iranians living in urban cities in Iran, I examine the unique Iranian encounter with the subjective modern. Existing ethnographic studies rarely delve into contemporary narratives about marriage. This study discovers that young Iranians yearn for an authentic experience of modern life that combines tradition, family, rationality, and individualism. Rather than viewing this collaboration of values as a bifurcation, young Iranians embrace a unique hybrid reconciling the modern with tradition.

Jurnal Indonesia Sosial Sains, 2023

After a long ethnographic interview, an Iranian informant summed it all up with, " In short, Iranians are partners in joy and sorrow ". This pithy comment became the title of this paper, which has its starting point is Kádár's view that social ritual practices embody and reinforce the moral order of communities 1. It aims to explore how the moral order in the marriage and mourning rituals of a collective orientation society such as Iran 2 includes the ostensive expression of respect and mutual constituting of individual and collective face. In particular we will focus on the ostensivity of such settings. We define ostensivity as apparent conformity to long-standing practices/established customs, and enactment of others' status and show of respect through social rituals, in the presence of an audience (real or presumed). This work-in-progress on ritual is based on an extensive body of ethnographic data collected in Tehran over the last eight years. This project explores the ways in which the ostensivity in ritual practices connected with marriage and mourning is still seen by participants and observers as maintaining the moral order 3 even though the practices themselves may be adapted to today's rapidly changing realities. At the same time, these ritual practices retain

ИСТОРИЯ, АРХЕОЛОГИЯ И ЭТНОГРАФИЯ КАВКАЗА. Т. 14. № 4. 2018. С. 166–172., 2018

Daghestan’s urban culture, in its Russian–European variety, is a relatively new phenomenon. Until the 1970’s, weddings in cities have been celebrated only by hereditary citizens, i.e. Russians, Armenians, Jews, Azerbaijanis, Kumyks, occasionally, while the rest of the city residents preferred to go to their home villages and play weddings there, after which bride and groom would return if they were going to live in the city. Since the 1990’s, with the growth of the urban population due to the influx of the rural population, this tradition has disappeared in Daghestan, as rural residents often have to come to the city to celebrate the wedding. This article is based on ethnographic materials identified through field observation included. The authors focus on the presentation of the preserved traditional elements of urban wedding rituals and the new ritual and other components that have appeared in recent decades. The analysis of the modern family and public holiday, which the wedding has always been for the peoples of Daghestan, demonstrates the close connection between local traditions and Russian-European innovations, under the influence of various factors. Modern city weddings in Daghestan find in different cities a different ratio between the secular and Islamic components in wedding ceremonies. The authors consider the modern wedding in the cities of Daghestan as a multicomponent ceremony, consisting traditionally of preliminary preparations, the wedding itself and the ceremonies after the wedding. The innovations used in urban wedding rituals are an expression of value orientations, ethnic, ethical, aesthetic, and ethnocultural preferences of modern Daghestan citizens. Under the conditions of ethnocultural dynamics influenced by the intensive migration of the population from the mountains to the plain, where all the modern Daghestan cities are located, the “urban culture” radically transforms not only the marriage traditions, but also the very perception of these traditions. A look at the ratio of the traditional and the modern in the urban wedding rituals is now in each generation its own. And perhaps it is partly subjective and needs to be discussed.

Pragmatics, 2020

The basis of this study is the view that social ritual practices embody and reinforce the moral order of communities. It takes a step towards providing more empirical research on the ritual practices in lesser studied languages by examining ethnographic data collected during marriage ceremonies in Tehran. Extracts taken from marriage ceremonies and a film extract are examined in terms of recurrence, liminality, embodiment of the moral order and emotivity, elements identified in Kádár's definition of ritual (2017). The paper makes a theoretical contribution by showing that ostensivity can also be considered an important facet of ritual. In ritual practices connected with marriage, ostensivity is experienced by participants and observers as a means of maintaining the moral order. The paper proposes future areas of research for the theoretical refinement of the concept of ostensivity and further examination of the relationship that ostensivity has with ta' arof (Iranian ritual politeness) and face. TOC link: https://benjamins.com/catalog/prag.30.1

Folklor/Edebiyat, 2016

Sociologists have distinguished between sex and gender. Sex refers to whether a person is considered female or male, based on the kind of body they have. Gender describes the idea and practices that constitute femininity and masculinity. This paper describes gender roles through the wedding practices among Uyghurs communities in Xinjiang and the extent to which these have affected the role and status of men and women in contemporary Uyghur society. Modern marriage among Uyghur, and the procedures adopted in choosing partners, have changed radically since 1980. Changes such as these are easy to observe. However, traditional ideals continue to form the coexistence of traditional gender models and modern ideals. This paper examines the roots of gender roles in traditional culture as seen through wedding rituals, and will then return to a consideration of the contemporary. Weddings are not just for the two families, but are important gatherings for the entire village. Uyghurs perceive t...

2016

Sociologists have distinguished between sex and gender. Sex refers to whether a person is considered female or male, based on the kind of body they have. Gender describes the idea and practices that constitute femininity and masculinity. This paper describes gender roles through the wedding practices among Uyghurs communities in Xinjiang and the extent to which these have affected the role and status of men and women in contemporary Uyghur society. Modern marriage among Uyghur, and the procedures adopted in choosing partners, have changed radically since 1980. Changes such as these are easy to observe. However, traditional ideals continue to form the coexistence of traditional gender models and modern ideals. This paper examines the roots of gender roles in traditional culture as seen through wedding rituals, and will then return to a consideration of the contemporary. Weddings are not just for the two families, but are important gatherings for the entire village. Uyghurs perceive t...

<i>WORD</i>, 2018

"Paula Bradstreet Richter organized this wide-ranging exhibition of art inspired by marriage--from the first frissons of attraction through remembrances of decades--long unions that stood the test of time. Ms. Richter gathered works by Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Claes Oldenburg, Winslow Homer and many others, known and anonymous, from 30 countries and cultures around the world." —Northeast Antiques This lavishly illustrated book is the first to explore the wedding’s global terrain as a source of artistic inspiration, both historically and today Weddings are among the most universal social ceremonies, and Wedded Bliss: The Marriage of Art and Ceremony explores the aesthetic expressions related to weddings—paintings, sculptures, photographs, decorative objects, textiles, and even cakes—from a selection of international cultures since the eighteenth century. Comparisons among the Euro-American “white wedding” tradition and vibrant marriage ceremonies in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific region are among the book’s many special features. Five authors bring their perspectives as art historians, artists, cultural historians, and sociologists to essays that explore diverse aesthetic and cultural themes—the dynamics of identity; tradition and changing social values; ritual and ceremony as performing arts; spirituality and religion; and displays of status and prestige. These thoughtful discussions of weddings as the impetus for creativity provide fresh insights into a familiar subject and probe a complex, often highly charged, human experience.