Every day, for the past seven years, octogenarian Mahram Ali Umrani has religiously followed a set routine: he wakes up, washes himself and heads straight to the stable to tend to his beloved horse, Jalali Baba — one of Hyberabad’s many zuljanahs, brought out every Muharram for various mourning processions. This year, however, Jalali Baba fell ill.

“Look at how pale and weak he has become; he fell ill a few days before Muharram because of some unknown infection that caused a urinary disorder. It is for the first time in my seven years with Jalali Baba that we couldn’t be part of any pir (mourning procession) before Ashura,” says Umrani.

Umrani lives in Hussainabad and maintains a small stable for his horse in Lajpat Road area. Umrani’s family is from a Sunni school of thought, but Muharram in Hyderabad goes beyond sectarian beliefs. “Our pir, the Maulaiyon Ka Pir, is staged every year on Muharram 5,” says Umrani. “This zuljanah participates in not just the Maulaiyon Ka Pir, but we also join a pir in Hussainabad every year on Muharram 2.”

Zuljanah rituals in Hyderabad are as much about mourning as they are about Sindh’s history and culture

The tradition of taking their zuljanah to the Muharram processions began in the Umrani household with Mahram Ali’s brother, Mohammad Yaqoob, some 25 years ago. Zuljanahs traditionally mark respect for the horse used by Imam Hussain, and are central to Muharram’s mourning rituals. Ever since his brother’s demise, Mahram Ali has been upholding this tradition — most recently, with Jalali Baba. When asked why he named his horse Jalali Baba, Umrani simply replied: “This seven-year-old horse doesn’t allow everyone to get close to it and reacts somewhat angrily when people touch it.”

Such is the close relationship between Jalali Baba and Mahram Ali that the owner feels a sense of loyalty towards his horse. This year, Umrani’s friends and acquaintances offered another horse to him for his Muharram 5 pir but he flatly refused. “He might be an animal but he still has a heart and emotions. He can feel too; he’ll know that since he is unwell, his master has opted to reward another horse with the zuljanah’s status. That’s why I didn’t opt for any temporary substitute.”

But maintaining the horse the year round and preparing it for a pir necessitates a handsome expenditure. There is the cost of providing shelter as well as some room for the horse to exercise and trot around. Then it must have access to clean water as well as grass or hay. “A man and a horse never get old if they get proper diet,” Umrani smiles.

Most tasks are usually completed by Umrani’s help, a man named Wahid, but with limited space inside Umrani’s compound, his sons take Jalali Baba out for a ride in the city every day. “I handle minor ailments by myself; symptoms can easily be gauged from its [horse] movements,” he says.

Meanwhile, Wahid, a daily wager, attends to Jalali Baba’s different needs. he says. “I administered an injection to the horse and now he is fast recovering. I am confident he’ll be part of the Muharram 18 pir in Talab Number Teen,” he says.

Wahid comes from the Kali Mori area to the stable in the mornings and spends time with the horse till the afternoon, and then briefly in the evening before returning home. “I look after the horse only for the sake of sawab,” he says. “I don’t want any money but Baba (Umrani) insists that I take some for my efforts,” he says.

Hyderabad’s legacy of mourning

The city of Hyderabad enjoys a special relationship with Muharram. Processions are brought out and majalis are held before the month begins and continue long after it ends. Events commemorating Muharram include the Aag Par Maatam (mourning on embers) on Muharram 8 in Tando Jahanya, where 20,000 to 25,000 people turn up; the Muharram 7 Jamiatyon Ka Pir in Tando Agha, and Shahzada Qasim’s Mehndi (in memory of Imam Hasan’s son, Qasim) in Khokhar Mohallah the same night.

These events attract huge crowds — women, children and men — not only from Hyderabad but elsewhere in Sindh as well. Participant numbers have dropped recently, however, in large part due to the threat of terrorist attacks.

The tradition of taking their zuljanah to the Muharram processions began in the Umrani household with Mahram Ali’s brother, Mohammad Yaqoob, some 25 years ago. Zuljanahs traditionally mark respect for the horse used by Imam Hussain, and are central to Muharram’s mourning rituals.

And yet, Hyderabad sees a large number of zuljanah processions that provide a more pan-sectarian appeal. There are 1,495 processions and majalis organised, of which 784 are pirs that have zuljanahs, taaboot (coffins to signify the bodies of Karbala’s martyrs), and alams (a large and thick wooden piece that used to be carried in holy wars). On an official level, only 150 to 200 of these have been awarded permits since the rest are old, traditional ones that date back to before Partition.

In fact, the tradition of zuljanah processions in Sindh began from the time of Mir Fateh Ali Khan Talpur, the first Talpur ruler of Sindh.

“Mir Fateh Ali Khan Talpur brought out the first zuljanah procession on Muharram 7 from Pucca Qilla (now a densely populated area after migrants from India settled there),” explains Mirza Fateh Ali Baig, caretaker of a pre-partition days imambargah located in Aliabad, Tando Agha. “This procession made its way to the Fakir Ka Pir area, to a mosque named after Mir Fateh’s mother, Bibi Khairun Nisa Masjid. This mosque is commonly known as Mai Khairi Masjid and it is still there.”

This religious custom continued until March 1843, when the Mirs were overthrown and imprisoned by British forces led by General Charles James Napier. Generally, Baig points out, the common perception is that the Kalhoros, who preceded the Talpurs, had banned azadari (mourning) when they ruled Sindh. The Kalhoros, led by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro, had built Pucca Qilla as a military garrison on a hilly area.

Academic Imam Ali Beg Mirza, author of Sindh Ji Azadari (which was translated from Sindhi to Urdu as Ahl-i-Bait, claims that after Mir Hassan Ali Khan, a descendant of the Mirs, returned from imprisonment in Calcutta to Hyderabad in 1863, he backed azadari — perhaps even “more than his forefathers.” Imam Ali argues that Mir Hassan Ali Khan used to pay for niaz (food) among mourners; his benevolence contributed to azadari taking root in Hyderabad.

“Mirza Murad Ali Beg — who was among our forefathers — was then called from Khairpur to read marsias (eulogy),” says Imam Ali. “This exercise continues till this day; although now, the Talpurs’ descendants bring their own zuljanah to Latifabad’s Tando Mir Noor Mohammad area on Muharram 6 rather than the 7th,” he says.

The zuljanah used to be decorated with the sword of Mir Fateh Ali Khan Talpur, besides other gold ornaments and jewellery, as a mark of respect. Subsequently, he adds, Mir Hassan Ali Khan, son of the last Talpur ruler, Mir Naseer Ali Khan Talpur, sent these valuables to Karbala, where the shrine of Imam Hussain was under construction at the time. “When a minaret of Imam Hussain’s shrine was being built, Mir Hassan Ali Khan once again sent adornments of a zuljanah to Karbala,” says Imam Ali.

Fervour of the pir

Most horses used as zuljanah in Muharram are accorded special treatment: they are never used for any purpose other than being part of mourning processions. Some bury these horses where they are usually kept, while others slaughter them if they become sick. One such zuljanah is said to be buried behind Qadam Gah Maula Ali off Station Road, and it belongs to Qadam Gah itself.

“No, we can’t use it even for a ride,” says Asim Mirza whose zuljanah is usually part of Jamatiyon Ka Pir on Muharram 7. “It is kept and nourished well. When it dies, we bury it but don’t construct a grave; land is simply levelled after the burial. My father doesn’t allow anyone other than our family members to even touch our zuljanah.

Jamatiyon Ka Pir travels for about 36 hours after beginning its journey on the evening of Muharram 7 from Tando Agha. Around 30 zuljinahs are usually part of this single pir — district police estimate that the pir has a mourners’ turnout of 80,000 to 100,000 when it reaches its peak. “If someone wants that their zuljanah becomes part of the pir, they are assigned one of the last rows, albeit after the payment of a fee,” explains Asim Mirza.

“People have their own ways of showing religious attachment, so they decorate their zuljanah accordingly. But the way I set my adornments is different; it is heavier,” says Naeem Mirza, while decorating his zuljanah, which is to be become part of the Muharram 7 procession in Tando Agha.

“A chador is spread over the horse’s body. Then other items are arranged, including decorative items that cover the horse from head to mouth. We keep belts around the zuljanah’s neck and a rein for holding it. Its tail is covered through a doomchhi (a coloured piece of cloth),” he says. A symbolic sword and shield are also placed on the horse.

Mirza Fateh Baig, however, doesn’t approve of the logic of making the zuljanah work for over 36 hours at a stretch. “The horse gets tired, like any human would. We can sit and rest, but the horse can’t in its particular state. After all, it is not a fair ... it is mourning for Imam Hussain. We have proposed to organisers of Jamatiyon Ka Pir to use pairs of zuljanah in the Muharram 7 procession,” he says.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, November 16th, 2014