History Of Ashura

In these days when the week of Ashura is coming and the recipes are being researched, I wanted to talk about the history of Ashura. What does Ashura mean? What is the origin of Ashura and its place in history?

In these days when the week of Ashura is coming and the recipes are being researched, I wanted to talk about the history of Ashura. I have compiled information about the history of ashura from various sources for you.
When we look at the history of Ashura, we see that the starting point is that the ship Noah embarked on settled on today’s Mount Judi when the great flood ended and the waters receded, and that the survivors cooked “salvation soup” with the food left on the ship.
Ashura, which starts its celebrations on the 10th day of Muharram every year and has a great connection with the belief in fertility , is not only in our country; albeit in different ways, it has found its place in many different societies. It has even been instrumental in the creation of a sharing environment in many cultures.

Information on the History of Ashura from Different Sources

Ashura is described in Priscilla Mary Isin’s Ottoman Culinary Dictionary with the following words:
Ashure is a dessert made from boiled wheat grains. The origin of Ashura goes back to the first period of agriculture. This sacred food has a close connection with beliefs about fertility.
Ashura spread from Mesopotamia with the wheat culture. That’s why in many countries of the world, from China to England, there are feasts or New Year’s dishes similar to ashura.
Ashura, the tenth day of Muharram, the first month of the year, was considered sacred before Islam and gave its name to the wheat meal eaten that day. With the emergence of Islam, Ashura acquired new meanings. Shiites make ashura as a mourning meal for Hussein, who was killed in Karbala, and Sunnis based on various events such as the acceptance of Adam’s repentance, Abraham’s escape from the fire, Jacob’s meeting with his son Yusuf, and Noah’s ship landing on Mount Judi. They continued the tradition.

In Turkey, Ashura is made with a variety of grains, pulses and nuts other than wheat. Although it is usually made as a dessert, meaty or salty varieties are also found in some regions. Distributing Ashura is an important tradition in every part of society.

In Şemsettin Sami’s book titled Kâmûs-ı Türkî;

1- The tenth day of Muharram, which was also an official day of kable’l Islam. (It was a known and celebrated day even before Islam.)
2- It is a well-known dessert that is customarily cooked and distributed in the aforementioned day (the tenth day of Muharram, a dessert that is customary to be cooked and distributed), pounded wheat, fruit and vegetables. Ashure has found its place in the form of “It is made by mixing a little of each of the huhubat”.

It would not be wrong to say that ashura, which is made with different materials and different methods in every house, has a feature that brings people together. Ashura, which is made with the materials at hand, is believed to bring abundance and is shared in bowls; It is a flavor that has survived in different cultures in different geographies.”

Wikipedia contains the following information about the recipe and its recipe:

“Aşura is a dessert made on the tenth day of Muharram according to the Hijri calendar. According to Islamic belief, on the tenth day of Muharram, when Prophet Noah set foot on land after the Great Flood, he made this dessert with the last ingredients in his hands. It is basically made using water, wheat, chickpeas, granulated sugar, beans, rice. Nuts, fruits and spices such as walnuts, pine nuts, almonds, pomegranates, sesame and cinnamon are used for decoration.

Ashura comes from the Arabic word “ashu:re”. There are also Armenian and Greek cultures. While Armenians were making “anoush-abur” on January 6; The Greeks distribute the “koliva” made with wheat, raisins and honey at the church door and place it at the head of the grave with a plate in the middle of which they plant a candle.

In Alevi culture, a connection is made between cooking ashura on the day Hüseyin was killed in the Battle of Karbala and the fact that it does not contain any animal products, and it is expressed that violence is generally protested. Ashura recipe is vegan as it does not contain any animal products. Alawites realize that all kinds of killing (including animals slaughtered for food) is violence by fasting for 12 days in Muharram, when they cook their ashura every year and share it with their neighbor.

So what does ‘asure’ mean?

“Aşura (Aşura) derives from the Arabic word “aşara” meaning 10. The word is thought to be a common word among Semitic languages. Also, the word (and day) is used in the Jewish faith for the Great Day of Atonement.

Apart from this, there are some religiously important rumors that are believed to take place on the Day of Ashura. These;
– Acceptance of Adam’s repentance after his sin,
– Idris being raised alive,
– Noah’s ark being saved from the flood,
– Abraham’s not being burned in the fire,
– Jacob’s reunion with his son Yusuf,
– Ayyub’s illness Healing,
– Moses crossing the Red Sea and saving the Israelites from Pharaoh,
– Jonah’
It is the birth of Jesus and his salvation from death and his ascension into the sky.

These events are mentioned in almost all respected hadith books. It is believed that Jews also spend this day fasting, that the Prophet of Islam Muhammad bin Abdullah recommends fasting today as well, and that fasting should be kept by adding the day of Ashura and the day before or the day after, in order not to resemble Jews.

Ashura Recipes from Different Historical Sources

Muharrem Ashura- Tatlıcıbaşı Hadiye Fahriye (1924)

“It is customary to add seven or eight kinds of grains to the ashura in Muharram. For this reason, he should prepare mortars such as beans, chickpeas, broad beans and rice and then start cooking.

In the first place, the half-crushed wheat should be put in a large pot, filled with three ounces of water, and then put on the fire. Usually, they put the wheat on the fire in the evening and then leave it until the morning. The wheat, which starts to boil in the first fire, continues to cook slowly as the fire turns to ashes, and it is perfectly cooked until the morning. Wheat water is tehmil, the grains crack and become mushy.

In the second, you should soak the chickpeas, broad beans and beans in water overnight, remove their shells in the morning, and cook the almonds separately until they become soft. Then, take the cooked wheat into another bowl, add water as necessary and mix it to dilute it. Badehu should place the rice and sugar on the fire by putting some razaki and a few dried dates. When it comes to a boil, the other mortars should be cooked by adding broad beans, chickpeas, beans and mixing. When the ashura starts to become helmed and like marrow, ten or fifteen dirhams of starch should be crushed in warm water and poured into it, depending on the amount of the ashura, and then it should be boiled again while stirring. At that time, something like rose oil, musk, rose water should be added and removed from the fire. It should be dispensed into bowls and plates and put on top of things like hazelnuts, pistachios, almonds, walnuts and currants.”