Tameh is a village located in the south of Natanz City, Isfahan Province. This village is located at the foot of the Karkas Mountains and at the edge of the desert. It has a cold mountain climate.
The Jaljalani ritual, which was registered as part of Iran’s intangible heritage, is performed every year in the whole village from January 8th to January 10th at nights.
There is a custom according to which young people gather in different groups.
Then, each group burns bushes, thorns and firewood, that they have already gathered, on the highlands of the village so that the flames light up the whole village.
They believe that if the light reaches the trees, they will produce more fruits that year, and pests will be eliminated.
With the intention that the trees will bear more fruits, some villagers go to the cemetery. They gather small and large stones and hang them from tree branches.
They return to the village when the fires die down, and it gets dark.
Then, one of them takes a big basket, and they go from house to house in a group.
Someone sings special songs of the Jaljalani ceremony, and others in the group say “hoo” in answer.
If there is a child in that house, and s/he wants to bring trail mix for them, the leader of the group will sing aloud (assuming that the child’s name is Ali, and as we know, the weather is very cold in January): “Are you Ali? / Come out of the flower garden / Wear your gown so you don’t catch a cold!”
When the ritual ends, if the householders don’t have any child, they pray God to bless them with a child, and the leader recites Surah Ash-Shams, and the rest of the group answers at the end of each verse.
Finally, these gifts and snacks are distributed among the people present at the ceremony.
