UNESCO-inscribed Qalishuyan ritual in Iran's Ardehal

‘Qalishuyan’ (Carpet Washing) ritual in Mashhad Ardehal Village in the western part of Iran’s Kashan City is an intangible cultural heritage inscribed in UNESCO’s list in 2012.  

This ancient ritual is held every year on the second Friday of the month of Mehr according to Iranian calendar (which is approximately the end of September and beginning of October) at the holy shrine of Imamzadeh Sultan Ali bin Muhammad Baqir (AS) in Ardehal.  

The local people refer to this day as ‘Jomeh Qali’ meaning ‘Carpet Friday’.

This traditional religious event is the only Islamic ritual that Muslims hold according to the solar calendar in Iran. All the other Islamic rituals are based on the lunar calendar.  

‘Qalishuyan’ is a symbolic display of the funeral and burial of Hazrat Sultan Ali, the son of Imam Muhammad Baqir (AS).

Simultaneously with the performance of this traditional ritual, a mourning ceremony is also held in the courtyard of Sultan Ali's shrine.

The participants “carry one of the carpets of his holy shrine to a spring which is 150 meters away from the place. This carpet is the symbol of the carpet in which the dead body of Soltan Ali was wrapped in. Here the mourners practice such tradition as a sign of washing the blood of Soltan Ali from the carpet.

Another group symbolically fight against the murderers of Soltan Ali by hurling wooden clubs up in the air. They follow the first group of carpet washers. Before the first group enters the shrine and tries to return the carpet to the place it belongs, they’ll meet with the second group,” according to visitiran.ir.

The ritual is of interest to foreign tourists as well. Every year, around 2000 people participate in Qalischuyan Ardehal ceremony.

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