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In southern Iraq, at least 67 people have been killed in attacks by Sunni militants during this year's pilgrimage to observe Arbaeen. Arbaeen marks the end of the annual 40-day mourning period for the death of Imam Hussein, the revered 7th-century Shiite saint.
Each year, millions of Shiites make a pilgrimage to his burial site in Karbala. In addition to the ceremonies there, small groups of Shiites observe Arbaeen in other parts of Iraq.
NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro was with a group of Iraqi women gathered for the occasion in Baghdad.
(Soundbite of people chanting)
LOURDES GARCIA-NAVARRO: The small living room is dark and pungent with sweat. Dozens of women draped in black ritually beat their chests as they chant. In the center of the room, the true devotees sway and jump in a frenzy. Tears wet many faces.
(Soundbite of people chanting)
GARCIA-NAVARRO: In the corner, Umm Mohammed leads the prayers, her voice reverberating through a loudspeaker. The chanting goes on for at least an hour.
Afterwards, the women are given refreshments and have time to talk.
Umm Mohammed says that while they are here for the love of Imam Hussein, this women's ceremony also commemorates the roles of the imam's mother, Zainab, and his sister, Zahra.
Ms. UMM MOHAMMED: (Through translator) It is in the memory of holy Imam Hussein and the ordeal of his holy mother and sister that we do this. Women wish to be here to receive a blessing, to ask for mercy and for help
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And today's event marking the 40 days of ritual mourning for Imam Hussein has added significance, says Umm Mohammed.
Ms. MOHAMMED: (Through translator) During Saddam's time, we were doing this secretly. Ba'ath Party members were tracking us all the time. Later, after Saddam, we became afraid of terrorism.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Since the U.S. invasion, sectarian violence and the tenuous security situation has meant that few women wanted to gather together in large numbers for an obviously Shiite commemoration.
There is a kind of mystical element to this ritual, too. Women will come and tie a knot in Umm Mohammed's robe to make a wish. She is considered by some to be holy because of a vision that led her to her role as "mullayeh," a female mullah.
Ms. MOHAMMED: (Through translator) For three years, in my dreams I saw the mother and sister of Imam Hussein. They told me in the dream that I had to take part in a condolence ceremony for Imam Hussein. My voice is beautiful but I was too shy at first to do the chants.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: For some of the women here, this funeral ceremony has a deeply personal meaning.
Twenty-four-year-old Noor's husband has been missing for a year and a half. He was kidnapped near the Syrian border. She is sure he is dead, but it doesn't stop her from asking a fortune teller present at the ceremony if she will find him again.
During the chanting, she was sobbing.
NOOR: (Through translator) Imam Hussein was thirsty when he was killed, and so was my husband. He was fasting when he was killed. So whenever the story of the killing of Imam Hussein is read, I remember my husband. My ordeal is that I haven't only lost a husband but a friend, a lover. He meant everything to me.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: She says she beats her chest and chants to find release from her pain. But it hasn't helped.
NOOR: (Through translator) On the contrary, my pain increases. I feel my heart will break; I remember him. Sometimes I want to keep away from all the memories, so I lock myself in a room. But after this session, his memory is brought back to life and it hurts me.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: The women around her nod in sympathy. Nearby, one bares her chest to breastfeed her newborn.
The Arbaeen ceremonies in Karbala are mainly male affairs, where the faithful beat themselves with chains and cut themselves with razors, knives and swords. No men are allowed in the house while this ritual is taking place, and so, briefly, these women feel safe to share both their joys and their sorrows.
(Soundbite of people chanting)
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Lourdes Garcia-Navarro, NPR News, Baghdad.
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