Burial Customs of the Dead in Dakme or Temporary Graves (A Case Study of the Sadat Husseini Family in Dehdasht)

• Main Authors: Mostafa Nadim, Parvindokht Jahan Kohan, Ali Kamrani Moghadam
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shiraz University of Medical Sciences 2021-02-01
• Series: Journal of Research on History of Medicine
• Subjects: dakme; temporary grave; sadat husseini; the dead; dehdasht; religion; humans; iran
• Online Access: https://rhm.sums.ac.ir/article_47332_45b667f4b74a464941cd944b0a4c0c75.pdf

After the establishment and spread of the Shiite religion, the sanctity of the tombs of Imams and Imamzadehs in the holy shrines of Aliaat, Mashhad, Qom, Rey, etc. increased in the Shiite community of Iran. This issue was very popular among the affluent and the sadat. The desire to be buried next to these tombs turned into a spiritual and social value for these people. However, the transfer of the deceased bodies to the desired location was tough, mainly due to the distance and transportation problems. This article, following the descriptive-analytical method and through conducting interview (oral history), seeks to answer the following questions: 1) what difficulties did Sadat Husseini face in Dehdasht to transfer the body of the deceased to the tomb?2) what measures were taken to overcome the problem? According to the findings of research, this family did their best to transfer the body to the holy shrines to show their deep and sincere beliefs. They put the corpse in dakme (Temporary grave) and while observing religious customs, care was taken to protect the corpse against decomposition. Dakme was not architecturally beautiful and was only used to keep the corpse for a certain period of time.