ABSTRACT
This ethnographic chapter describes Muḥarram celebrations in Pune city, focussing on the cultural politics of modern Tazia design and processions among Sunni Muslims, compared to Shia matam. Hindus, Sunnis, and Shias are interconnected by a hydraulic model, in which the Tazia replaces the difference of the Muslim body in Hindu-dominated Pune by replicating Peshwa-Maratha style temple architecture almost exactly in terms of its design. While the Tazia performs the Marathi heritage and identity of Sunni Muslims, this is challenged by Shias, who set themselves apart from Sunnis through demonstrations of excessive, and violent matam.
