The Shi‘i Islamic tradition of Nazri—votive food offered during religious ceremonies, particularly in the holy month of Muharram—has long served as an expression of devotion to the martyred Imams, whose lives are commemorated through communal meals. During the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–21), restrictions on public gatherings forced many Shi‘i organizations that traditionally held Nazri ceremonies in physical spaces to move their practices online. Drawing on fieldwork and interviews, this paper examines the emergence of the digital votive in the context of pandemic-era Shi‘i Iran, where meaning-making, meal consumption, and prayer became intertwined with virtual space, transforming food offerings into a blend of symbolic and imaginative practices.
This study explores two key dimensions of the digital votive. First, it examines how digital spaces, particularly social media, both constrain and create new possibilities for shared sacred eating, reshaping communal religious experiences. Second, it investigates interactive apps that function as proxies for traditional offerings, fostering an ephemeral online religious community of mourning. This shift is particularly significant during Muharram, when Shi‘i Muslims commemorate the Battle of Karbala and the martyrdom of the Prophet’s grandson, Hussain, through votive meals. A central focus of the paper is the concept of supplemental eating, in which one devotee symbolically eats on behalf of another, creating a virtual replication of votive consumption across online and offline spaces.
Ultimately, this paper argues that while digital votive practices lack the physicality and immediacy of in-person rituals, they extend and reimagine the votive meal in ways that reshape participation in a community of remembrance. In this evolving landscape, the digital become both an alternative and a distinct form of religious practice, reflecting the possibilities--and limitations- of contemporary religious experiences.
The Shi‘i Islamic tradition of Nazri—votive food offered during religious ceremonies, particularly in Muharram—has long been an expression of devotion to the martyred Imams, commemorated through communal meals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions on gatherings led many Shi‘i organizations to shift their Nazri practices online. Drawing on fieldwork and interviews, this paper examines the emergence of the digital votive in pandemic-era Shi‘i Iran, where meaning-making, meal consumption, and prayer intertwined with virtual space.
This study explores how digital platforms, particularly social media and interactive apps, both constrained and redefined communal sacred eating, fostering an ephemeral online religious community of mourning. It also examines supplemental eating, where one devotee symbolically eats on behalf of another, replicating votive consumption across digital and physical realms. Ultimately, this paper argues that while digital votive practices lack physical immediacy, they extend and reimagine the votive meal, shaping new forms of participation in religious remembrance.