What is the origin of the ritual of Ashura? (part 7)

So, what is the origin of flagellation or tatbir?

According to the paper, the earliest accounts of travelers and Shii sources points to the Caucasus and Azerbaijan as the place of origin for flagellation (tatbir). The middle-east travelers (of European descent) have also noted places where tatbir was performed and where it wasn't

In the southern cities such as Isfahan and Shiraz, the travellers Della Valle, Thevenot, Tavernier, and Le Brun (whom Masse considered noteworthy for their precision) did not mention any shedding of blood. In contrast, in the frontier-like, Turkish-speaking regions of the Caucasus and Azerbaijan in northern Iran, the travelers Kakasch, Olearius, and Struys wrote that devotees struck their heads with swords.

Another traveler, Evliya Chelebi, who visited Tabriz in 1640 and attended the observances of the tenth of Muharram in that city narrated his experience

(Note: Only relevant parts are reproduced here)

Some hundred men mingle in the crowd with razors, with which they cut the arms and breasts of all loving believers, who desire to shed their blood on this day in remembrance of the blood shed by the imam; they make such deep incisions and scars, that the ground appears as if it was blooming with tulips. Some thousands brand the marks and names of Hasan and Husayn on their heads, arms, and breasts. They then carry Husayn's body (Note: a model or replica of a human being) away from the ground with much pomp, and finish the ceremony with great howling.

Please continue reading part 8.