In Persian Gulf's maritime culture, Ushar ritual has these meanings:
- Launching any kind of vessel and cargo ship (in Bushehr)
- A Lenj boat that has been made and is ready for being launched (in Kong port)
Actually, Ushar ritual is consisted of a series of actions that residents of Persian Gulf did from the starting point of building a ship till it's end, in order to celebrate the launching of the new ship and to remove evil force from this ship and it's passengers.
How is the Ushar ritual performed?
در گذشته، زمانیکه مردان مشغول ساختن جهاز جدیدی بودند کسی را شبانه روز به نگهبانی از جهاز می گذاشتند تا زنی از روی چوب اصلی وسط لنج عبور نکند. چراکه این مردمان اعتقاد داشتند این کار با خود نحسی به همراه دارد و بدین ترتیب، هرسال چند تن از خدمه جهاز خواهند مرد! پس از اتمام ساخت جهاز، صد تا دویست نفر از مردان، جهاز را به پهلو حمل می کردند و طی مراسمی به دریا می انداختند. برای این کار از قرقره هایی یه نام “گافیه”، استوانه های چوبی و حصیرهای بافته شده از برگ نخل استفاده می شده.
حمل جهاز به سوی دریا و به آب انداختن آن بین سه تا چهار هفته طول می کشیده و در روز آخر که جهاز را به آب می انداختند، مردم با خوشحالی به طرف صاحب جهاز یا ناخدا می رفتند و او را روی دست بلند می کردند و به دریا می انداختند. وقتی همه چیز برای حرکت آماده می شد، مردم آوازی به نام “صلی” سرمیدادند و صاحب جهاز حیوانی را قربانی می کرد و پوست آن را به بدنه ی جهاز می چسباند.
Singing "Sala"
The Sala song is a special song that a leader will sing and others will answer him with tuned words or small sentences. The content of this song is Arabic; and it is sung in praise of God and Mohammad, the Prophet of Muslims. Reciting Salah continues until the ship reached the water, and like Yamal Khani, the people who were carrying the device adjust and coordinate their movement with the sound of the Sala song. In this way, the movement is once on the chest and once to the back; and in this way the ship is taken to the sea in a zigzag path.
The importance of Ushar ritual lies in giving ritual value to the newly built ship; because there was no device with that name until now. And also, when the device is being built, it is located in the east-west direction and has no connection to the sea, and only on the day of the Ushar ceremony, it changes it's direction towards the sea (south), and it is as if the device is connected to the sea with the Ushar ceremony. In addition to giving meaning to the newly built system, Ushar ritual also helps to create social solidarity. Unfortunately, this ceremony has been forgotten and is no longer performed due to the lack of construction of large Lenj boats such as Boom, and the decline of maritime trade in the traditional way.