Wound and narrative: An anthropology of memory, trauma, and representation in the Ramadan war

Mirzaei, Hossein

doi:10.22035/jicr.2026.3755.3943

Wound and narrative: An anthropology of memory, trauma, and representation in the Ramadan war

Document Type : Scientific Research Manuscript

Author

Hossein Mirzaei

Assistant Professor, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

10.22035/jicr.2026.3755.3943

Abstract

This article employs an ethnographic approach to analyze the representation of trauma during the Ramadan War (March 2025–September 2026) and examines the transformation of "wound" into "narrative" and "mourning" into "epic." The primary objective is to understand how collective trauma is converted into collective memory and historical self-awareness within the Iranian-Islamic cultural context. Data were collected through continuous presence in Tehran's squares and neighborhoods (over 200 nights), in-depth interviews with 76 participants, visual ethnography, and analysis of artistic and media documents. They were organized using thematic analysis through three stages of open, axial, and selective coding. The conceptual framework integrates Halbwachs' collective memory, Alexander's cultural trauma, Turner's ritual and liminality, and visual representation theories. Findings are presented in four interconnected levels: 1) physical trauma and personal mourning; 2) psychosocial trauma and the "invisible wound"; 3) ritual representation of trauma in public space (epic mourning, visual symbolization, sonic regime, the narrative of the nation's resurrection); and 4) artistic and media representation (photography, literature, cinema, music, the war of narratives). Findings indicate that in the absence of formal institutions, self-organized social infrastructures and nocturnal rituals transformed trauma into collective memory and historical self-awareness, creating an indigenous model of "epic mourning." This model is rooted in Shiite historical memory and turns "suffering" into "civilizational resistance." The article emphasizes the necessity of protecting hot social capital, recognizing popular agency in trauma representation, and designing supportive policies for the post-war era.Keywords: keword1, keyword2and … do not capitalized keywords. Only capitalize proper nouns. See the example below:

Keywords

trauma

collective memory

representation

Ramadan war

snthropology of war

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