Taarof is a pervasive Iranian ritual of mutual verbal deference and self-deprecation

Evidence

Nowhere was this more evident at camp than in the Taarof Tournament, a popular annual activity that literally made sport of a pervasive Iranian custom known in Persian as taarof. Described as “the great national trait [of] exaggerated politesse, modesty, and self-deprecation that Iranians seem to be born with,” taarof is a widespread ritual of verbal and nonverbal communication in which Iranian social actors perform mutual deference. In practice taarof is the enactment of “hyper-politeness”: [ Taarof ] involves both parties insisting they are not worthy of the other [and] is in constant play in Iranian society—people refuse to walk through a door first, cabdrivers refuse to accept payment as passengers beg them to, hosts must offer pastries even if guests don’t want them, and guests must say they don’t want them even if they do. — Neda Maghbouleh, The Limits of Whiteness, 494

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clear operating definition of taarof with concrete everyday examples that make the practice vivid.