Commemoration as Culture: Dukhrana and Shahra Rituals in Assyrian Tradition

By Eve Sada

The following Research Reflection, by Eve Sada, Postdoctoral Fellow, is part of an ongoing series spotlighting the academic study of religions.

The ancient symbols, festivals, and rites of Assyrians, whose origins and continuous presence are rooted in the land of northern Iraq, were not erased by first-century CE conversion to Christianity but instead were reinterpreted through Christian frameworks. Connections between ancient and modern Assyrian practices remain underexplored because current scholarship does not account for Assyrian rituals and cultural traditions practiced today.

In my role as ethnomusicologist and dramaturg for Gilgamesh, an opera production in development, I have been researching music, dance, and rituals in ancient Mesopotamian temple hymns. Ritual life in ancient Mesopotamia was marked by sacrifices, feasts, and celebrations held on specific days dedicated to their deities. I found continuities among Assyrians today, though these elements are expressed through Christian liturgical themes. I was inspired to document these practices and explore the Church-oriented rituals of dukhrana, and their related communal celebrations called shahra/shara.

Dukhrana in the Assyrian language means “a commemoration”; it is a liturgical rite in the Church of the East tradition. Holy Mass includes prayers, Bible readings, and “sanctuary hymns” known as onyatha d-qanke assigned for each dukhrana. Some dukhraneh (pl.) commemorate saints and apostles such as Mart Maryam, Mar Youkhana, or Mar Addai (Thaddeus); or to honor martyrs like Mar Shimon Bar Sabbae or Mar Gewargis; others are dedicated to theologians such as Mar Aprim. Dukhrana commemorations often continue outside the sanctuary after Mass with a communal meal.

Shahra in the Assyrian language means “to keep awake” or “to celebrate.” Shahra is a communal celebration held in specific villages in conjunction with the dukhrana of certain saints, martyrs, or Church fathers after whom a local church is named. This should not be confused with the related word shharta, referring to an all-night vigil held to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus.

For shahra, the community gathers after Holy Mass, typically in open village spaces away from church grounds. Unlike dukhrana, shahra includes secular elements around feasting, music, and dances. Neither the thanksgiving offering of a sheep on dukhrana nor the extended Shahra celebrations are explicitly prescribed in the Church liturgy. Rather, these are longstanding Assyrian cultural traditions.

During spring and summer times, dukhrana feasts in the Assyrian villages of northern Iraq are held outdoors near the church. Men and women of the village cook traditional Assyrian dishes with lamb meat in large pots in communal outdoor spaces. Celebrants bring or prepare food as offerings of thanksgiving for healing, protection, or answered prayer requests. The priest blesses the dukhrana food, and then people gather around rows of tables filled with generous portions, eat, and reconnect joyfully with all participants and visitors from other villages.

In the village celebrating shahra, the gathering continues after the meal with celebrants singing zmara (from the Akkadian word zamaru), accompanied by ancient traditional musical instruments such as the ṭawla/dawla (a large double-headed drum), the zurna (a reed woodwind), and the ṭanbor (a long-necked lute). Celebrants also perform different dances riqde, (Akkadian riqadu), forming traditional folk circle dances called khagga, but the word also means pilgrimage in the Assyrian language.

Contemporary practices bear striking continuity with ancient Mesopotamian sacred observances of communal feasting, music, and dance. Akkadian texts use words such as raqadu, shuaru “to dance and rejoice” or saru “to circle or dance” to describe movements expressing exultation and supplication. Special days of the month were dedicated to honoring gods and goddesses like Ishtar or Enlil, like the dukhrana dates in Christian liturgy. During worship, religious rituals including music, chant, offerings, and dances were performed in temples dedicated to the honored deities. Some dances also occurred outside temple environs, such as in courtyards or along processional routes, like shahra celebrations today.

Shahra is a festive gathering that carries out the dukhrana sacred feast outside the church, with even more feasting, music, and dance. Thus, the joy expressed through shahra may be understood as an extension of the spiritual experience associated with the liturgical rituals of the Mass commemorating the saints. This union of liturgy and celebration echoes pre-Christian rituals once practiced in temples of the ancient Assyrian cities of Ashur, Nineveh, and Arbela (modern-day Erbil).

Assyrians in the diaspora observe the dukhrana rite in their local Assyrian churches, in accordance with the Church liturgy. They also recreate the village atmosphere of shahra practices in public parks by sharing meals, music, and dancing khagga to foster solidarity through shared memories. This combined experience of sacred observances and secular celebrations deepens the sense of belonging and community.

For many years, shahra celebrations in Iraq were curtailed by wars, ethnic tensions, and political instability, particularly through the loss of young men to conflict and the displacement of Assyrians from their villages. Yet the shahra endures as a communal and spiritual testimony, reflecting the Assyrian traditions of joy in response to the Church’s liturgical rituals and echoing ancient Mesopotamian celebrations through the language of memory, joy, and devotion to traditions that transcend time and hardship.