Maddah (religious singer)

Maddah (Persian: مداح), literally means eulogist or panegyrist;[1][2] and it is attributed to religious singer.[3] There is a kind of religious singer(s) in Islamic culture who are called Maddah that often participate in --anniversary-- funeral ceremonies of Muslims, particularly for the famous characters among the Islamic prophet Muhammad and twelve Imams of Shia; and they recite or sing in Islamic/sad manner for people (as a type of mourning).[4][5][6]

A group of Iranian Maddahs, in a gathering

The root of the word "Maddah" is "Madh" which means expressing the excellent traits of a character or a thing.[7]

Maddah (or Dhakir)[8] is an individual who mentions/praises the great characters and religious education in (religious) gatherings; and its performance ought to be mostly full of Eulogy/Marsiya; besides, Maddahi doesn't have special gender, age, group or elegy.[9]

Idiomatically, Maddah means a dhakir or panegyrist who (often) stands beside the pulpit, and praises or turns into poetry about Ahlul-Bayt[10][11][12][13] (and the Islamic prophet, Muhammad)[14][15] and their tragedy, particularly regarding the disasters/tragedy of battle of Karbala, and Husayn ibn Ali's manner of martyrdom who was killed there with his companions by the enemies.[16][17]