By: Kimberly Ramkhalawan
August 9, 2022
Colourful tadjahs took to the streets of St James, a town within the capital city of Port of Spain, Trinidad as well as in its south-western village of Cedros on Monday night, the final night in commemoration of the deaths of two Islamic martyrs, Hussein and Abbas.
It is seen as the Caribbean version or manifestation of Shia muslim practices which is the Mourning or Remembrance of Muharram and marks the anniversary of the Battle of Karbala, AD 680/AH 61, when Imam Hussain ibn Ali, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad, was martyred by the forces of Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, on the orders of Yazid I. The commemoration of this event during the yearly mourning season, with the Day of Ashura as the focal date, serves to define Shia Muslim community identity.
In Trinidad, multi-coloured model mausoleums or mosque-shaped model tombs known as ‘tadjahs’ are used to display the symbolic part of this commemoration. They are built and paraded, then ritually taken to the sea on last day of observance, for discarding into the water. However, this has now been changed to more environmentally conscious disposals, with the tadjahs returned to the yard, where materials are now recycled and set aside for reuse in future celebrations.
While the local community is clear that it is not a festival, but a commemoration, it had been dubbed “Coolie Carnival” or “Indian Carnival” by British rulers in the 19th century. Celebrated by the indentured labourers since 1854, British colonial authorities became increasingly concerned about public gatherings, and in 1884 issued an ordinance to prevent the public Hosay commemorations.
This resulted in thousands of workers, both muslim and hindu joining in petitioning the government to allow the observance per their agreement with the Governor, who was visiting London during this episode. Their appeals were ignored by the Protector of Immigrants, through ignorance of the new July 1884 prohibition. By defiance, the tadjahs which they spent all year constructing, were taken onto the streets and their processions were continued. However, it would be on Thursday, October 30th of that same year, an attack would be made on participants in the southern parts of Trinidad, Mon Repos estate, where shots were fired into crowds of women, children and men, resulting in 22 “Indians” killed, and 120 injured, with many others fleeing and hiding in the cane fields from police officers. Since then, the day has also been remembered in Trinidad history as the Hosay Riots or Muhurram Massacre by Indians.
Hosay usually lasts for ten days and is observed in accordance with the Islamic lunar calendar and in line with ten days of Ashura commemorated by Shia Muslims throughout the world. The last four days are the most popular as the first six days are days of fasting. This year, Friday marked the Flag Night, Saturday was Little Hosay, Sunday was Big Hosay Night, and Monday was Big Hosay Day.
Critical to the tajahs are the appearances and depictions of two large moons, five tadjahs which depict mosque-shaped tombs, flags and of course the procession done to the beat of commemorative tassa drumming. As customary in the remembrance in the practice of Islam, is that 40 days after, a commemoration is held with the depiction of a black, green and silver coloured moon.
In Trinidad, the religious event attracts quite a crowd in both St James and Cedros village, with many locals in attendance observing and participating in the procession, with many invited to take pictures of the bright and shiny built miniature versions of mosques often carried by men of the faith.
This year sees a return of Hosay to the streets following the pandemic. While its not an official holiday in Trinidad, it often sees visitors not only from across the island, but from near and far, as it has been deemed one of the largest observances in the Caribbean, though versions vary where the Indian diaspora have settled across the region.