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Zurkhane or Zurkhaneh in the traditional sense is referred to as the sports club of Iran. During the time when the Persian Empire in Iran was on a low, the Iranian athletes and body builders could not participate explicitly in the traditional sports. Since they did not want to refrain themselves from participating in their traditional sporting activities. As a result of this, Iranian athletes and body builders decided to form small groups and carry out their normal exercises in private homes. Later they moved to a closed structure better known as the Zurkhane.Zurkhane is usually a covered structure which has only one opening near the ceiling. At its center, there is a circular or an octagonal pit which measures almost 4 feet in depth and 30-40 feet in diameter. The main events are organized in these pits, which are just below the audience level.
The Iranian festival of Zurkhane incorporates many rituals that were aimed at imitating the customs and traditions of Sufi saints and orders prevalent in different localities. Commonly used Sufi terminology like murshed, pish kesvat, taj and faqr were less used in these Zurkhanes. However, ethical orientation of this festival lies in the same line with religious sufi orders. All the participants of this festival upon entering the sports pit must bend and kiss the floor. During the time when exercise is on, smoking, drinking, talking and laughing are strictly prohibited.
Membership to such Zurkhanes is usually provided with respect to rank, the lowest rank being the nowcheh. It refers to an individual who is under training from a designated champion. The next higher rank is that of the nowkhasteh. This refers to a person who has shown substantial signs of improvement under the training of a champion. The next ranked players are the Palavans. These are the individuals who have emerged victorious in the near past. Next come the Pahlavan-i-pahlavanan. He is the person responsible for organizing exercise schedules. The Zurkhane also has a trainer who is better known by the name of Murubbi.
The festival of Zurkhane also consists of special uniforms for all the participants. The typical clothing in most of the cases, consist of a loin cloth. However, pants are also used in some instances. The pants, if used at all, are found to be beautifully decorated with embroidery works. The typical exercises of this festival consists of wielding the Indian club, pulling iron weights which are Bow shaped, weight lifting, push ups and other gyration activities. But whatever may the exercise be, they are always accompanied by prayers to the noble prophets and the Imams.
For more information on other important festivals in this part of the world, make it a point to scroll down the pages of .
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