Functional Patterns in the Spaces of Hosseiniehs of Taft

The structure of public spaces, particularly, the religious sites of Iran in the Islamic era follow the teachings and principles of Islam. Hosseinieh buildings are among the most significant of this type of public spaces whose function is related to one of the most significant religious communal rituals, i.e., mourning for the Third Shi‘a Imam. The main purpose of this study is to identify functional patterns in space by observing the behaviors performed in communal rituals in hosseiniehs of Taft. For this purpose, twelve hosseiniehs of Taft were studied according to a descriptive-survey research method with data collected from field surveys as well as documentary and library studies. After sampling, the physical conditions of selected buildings were drawn through field surveys. Next, during a specific timeframe (the first ten days of the month of Muharram), activities and behaviors of mourners were recorded through non-interventional techniques such as photography, note-taking, as well as the types and locations where certain behaviors occured without awareness of participants. Subsequently, the recorded behaviors were converted to graphs based on graph theory. By analyzing the graphs, common features were determined and then, the final patterns of behavior was produced. The findings of the investigation illustrate that establishing a “relation between behavioral patterns of communal rituals with the spaces in a hosseinieh” contributes to making shared collective memories, a sense of belonging to space, and an opportunity for social interactions. Accordingly, it leads to the interaction between the physicality of the building and the content of the rituals.