Chamari is a special mourning tradition that is upheld in Lorestan, Kermanshah, and Ilam provinces.
The ceremony is such that after washing and shrouding the deceased, they place the body in the green branches of the willow tree next to the grave where most of the time the burial site is located near a spring. At this time, men and women are mourning. Chamari has its own poetry. This tradition was nationally registered in 2018 in Kermanshah, Iran.
Chamari is one of the oldest maintained traditions. So far, historians, mythologists, religious scholars, and others have not been able to get a common opinion about it and the meaning of this ancient word remains hidden from everyone.
In rural and tribal areas of Ilam province, "Chamar" is a sad condolence for the mourning of dead loved ones. The ceremony is held on three occasions: during the war, burial, and mourning. This is a special ritual for men and well-known families.
They have set up a place known as "Chamarga" for the ceremony. It begins with sunrise and the blowing of trumpets and drums. After that, the “verse singers” and the “hunters” begin to recite the Chamari in a breathless voice.
Participants go to the Chamarga in black clothes and each brings some ceremonial supplies, mostly food. The Chamari ceremony consists of several sections, such as the women's and men's sections, the verse singers, the hunters, and the musicians, each of whom must stand in their own place.
Alireza Asadi writes about the Chamari ceremony in the Malikshahi tribe: One of the oldest sympathetic and resilient mourning traditions for the people of the
Malikshahi tribe is the Chamari ceremony, which is commonly upheld for prominent people and the elderly. The general tribes of the province are often invited to this ceremony, and groups of poets write poems to praise the departed elders and their good personalities. During one part of the ceremony, the deceased person's weapons, cameras, hunting tools, clothing, etc. are placed on a beautiful Maryam decorated with colorful clothes.
