The tenth day

• Prize
• Photographer
  Raffaele Tuzio, Italy
• Studio
  Raffaele Tuzio
• Website
  http://www.raffaeletuzio.com
• Instagram
  https://www.instagram.com/raffaeletuzio/

This reportage was shot in october 2015 during the
commemorations of Ashura in Tehran, particularly in the
popular districts of the south-west of the capital that spreads
around Imamzade Abdullah street. The objective was to
investigate the relationship of the population with one of the
most important commemoration of the Shi'a world away from
big official gatherings. The Ashura (the tenth day literally)
commemorates the martyrdom of the third prophet Husayn in
the plain of Karbala (today's Iraq) by Umayyad tribe, occurrence
that marks the schism from Sunni Islamism. Generally Western
iconography is focusing on the Ashura rituals of self-flagellation
giving an idea of fanaticism and cultural backwardness. In fact
the practice of self-flagellation have been banned in Iran, and
the commemorations of the martyrdom occur only with
representations and simulations. The underlying sense of the
event, especially in Iran, is to strengthen the bonds of the
community under the sign

Raffaele Tuzio is a photographer based in Rome. He was born in Benevento and his passion for fotography began in 1981. In 1988 he went to Rome where he was involved in travel photography. During these years he travelled all around the world. In 1990 he started a collaboration with the italian tour operator sentieri di nuove esperienze, a company specialised in cultural tourism. Raffaele is consultant for tours planning and he directs a long term project to increase the company image.