Ahura Mazda, the one true God, upheld all that was good in the world and His adversary Angra Mainyu, was set apart for his cruelty and wickedness. A new Sudreh-Kusti are tied on the body - the Sudreh Dhabhar, p. 165) it is simply said that the swift disposal of the corpse pleases the departed soul. Your email address will not be published. B. Patel, Gujart Prsis. Likely Im likely to bookmark your blog post . 3- Zoroastrianism beliefs in the sanctity of the elements. A dog with two spots above its eyes was then brought to the corpse as the dog would refuse to look at the deceased if any life remained. West, p. 335), and the male mourners then paid their last respects to the dead person, bowing to the soul whose presence was apprehended there. There is a slight problem with the vulture solutionin Mumbai; namely, there are not enough vultures anymore. . Foltz, Richard, When Was Central Asia Zoroastrian? A. argoasp, n-e kafn wa dafn-e Zartotn, Tehran, 1348 ./1969. How shall I fight against Nasu, which from the dead enters into the living? The answer is to recite all five Gathas, together with Yasna haptahiti (Darmesteter, II, pp. human being is mortal, and death is destined for all. The hands were crossed on the breast, and in Iran the legs were bent at the knees and crossed tailor fashion, py gerd kardan, lit., to curve the legs (Persian Rivayats, ed. As well discuss shortly, burial was so problematic for the Zoroastrian community, according to religious texts, that interment could result in punishment although evidence of punishment is non-existent. A priest came next, leading on a leash the dog that had been watching over the corpse and with which he thus had peyvand. the dead body which is considered most unhygienic and polluting, (Boyce, 1979). This is to say nothing of the fact that the Avesta texts that scholars often use as reference were only written during this institutionalized period. After the vultures and dogs finished cleaning off the bones, the remains were collected and placed into a deep pit or ossuary and covered over. away with your pride and arrogance, pure and most effective, we shall adhere to. DCooper . Chinese testimony from the 6th century describes Sogdian body disposal customs, claiming that there were over 200 families who: btissent des pavillons dans lesquelles ils nourrissent des chiens. In the open, the body is placed on a This extremely strange way to dispose of the dead as well as an extremely strange funeral tradition! Mary Boyce writes that by the end of Sasanian Empire, Persia was priest ridden, with the laity probably forced to pay for religious services, rites and observances (Boyce 2004, 144). K. N. Seervai and B. The scholarly standard of looking to the texts to understand historical communities has become problematic for two reasons. Archaeologist Mary Boyce wrote that archaeological evidence has been found from the Seleucid period of large decorated Niches where bones were kept, providing a space for visitation and prayer (Boyce 2001, 91). That this is the way of the magi I know for a certainty, for they do not conceal the practice. Plutarch (Artoxerxes 18) similarly recorded that, when in 401 the Persian generals of the rebellious Cyruswere put to death, their bodies were torn by dogs and birds. The rite of exposure is attested from the 5th and 4th centuries B.C.E. disposed of in the ancient way of the Dakhma and no other, by 65-67). Once the body had been clothed, one of the pks tied a kost around its waist while saying the kost prayers on behalf of the departed spirit. In Zoroastrianism, death, decay and disease are the handiwork of the diabolic, dark forces. The sun and birds of prey together quicken the process of decay more effectively. matters concerning the dead which are secretly and obscurely toldhow the dead bodies of Persians are not buried before they have been mangled by bird or dog. The corpse bearers Once the bones were sun-bleached and rain-washed, there was a choice as to their disposal (Vd. A smaller version was kept for those under fifteen years old (for illustrations of biers, taken from one of the Persian Rivayats, see Menant, 1910, pp. In the Vidvdd. After death, souls would be judged and either brought to hell for their sins or allowed to move into paradise. Different instructions are given for bad weather in Vidvdd 5.10ff. Agathias also commented (2.23): For this is the Persian funeral practice: the flesh is removed in this way and the exposed bones rot, scattered at random all over the plain. "O Spitama Zarathushtra! Spiritually and physically, the 146-151. . He drew both on his own knowledge and on statements supplied to him by other Irani Zoroastrians, both priests and laymen. For example, the Greek writer Herodotus is a main source for early Achaemenid scholars, yet little corresponding evidence supports his claims (Boyce 2004, 76). (a place of destruction of dead bodies) explained to Then spoke Ahura Mazda, "O Spitama Zaratushtra! For one thing, urbanization has made it difficult to continue the practice without upsetting a bunch of non-Zoroastrians in high-rises who insist on complaining about both sight and smell. Burial preparations for upper class Sogdians in China would have been a rather public affair, with the hiring of artists, stone masons, the securing of burial space and the construction of the tomb. When the bearers changed places they continued to face in the direction in which they were going, each pair transferring to those relieving them the peyvand that passed under the bier. In both communities a number of the mourners (in Iran including women) attended the bier for a little distance, in Iran as far as the zdmarg, which was regularly built on the edge of the town or village nearest the dama. The corpse was stripped of all its clothing and placed onto a high rock. as beautiful; or as hideous as his own works in the world. This part of the "Saga of the Aryan Race", The Parsi corpse is exposed to the rays of the sun, and the corpse is consumed or devoured by birds of prey vultures, kites and crows,". The Vendidad book, a collection of laws of moral codes, detailed the best practices for the care of the dead. It may be placed there either two nights or The Zoroastrians of Yazd, traditionally, the most orthodox of the Iranian Zoroastrians similarly established a cemetery in 1965 at the base of the Safaieh district dakhma hills, and it was not long before the Yazd city dakhmas stopped being used. decomposition (nasu) rush on him, which does harm to one?". They rain down on My command to give rise to Death is impureby default,as is anything that a dead body touches. Vd. As soon as possible after the last breath was drawn a dog was brought up to the body, preferably by the priest, to check with its gaze the power of Nasrut. Actual practice has been attested archeologically and by foreign writers. Dhabhar, p. 158 n. 4). Chinese funerary beds with Zoroastrian designs. When the fear of punishment is removed, perhaps burial becomes an alluring option. to mislead humanity. The structure has a tall foundation, about 8-10 feet, with steps reserved for accommodating a body leading to the inside. I am a Parsi Zoroastrian, fully believe in Parsi Religion. eating dog or flesh eating bird may carry these bones near water Dhabhar, p. 120). Donate . Zoroastrian funerals are pretty different from what's usually found in Western tradition. be born. The following is an article on "Life After Death as in Zoroastrianism" by Ervad Pervez D. Mithaiwala, revealed to us by Behesti Minocher N. Pundol Saheb as per teachings of Magav Sahebs of Demaavand Koh, Iran. Believers consider this to be the most natural and safe manner of disposal for both the community and the environment. Yet none of this suggests that the community at large ever followed Zoroastrian laws and ritual practices in any strict sense. The earth was sacred as it was one of Ahura Mazdas creations and as such, no inhumation of whole bodies was allowed. In locations where burial by exposure is illegal or too difficult, however, Zoroastrians turn to more traditional methods like cremation. The shroud was stitched up, leaving only the face exposed for subsequent sagdds (Persian Rivayats, ed. Yet Greek and Chinese sources along with evidence that eighth century Zoroastrians built enclosed structures to expose their dead attest to a different reality (de Jong 1998, 443). There are holes in the inner sides of the well through which the rain water is carried out into four underground drains. Therefore for a Parsi Zoroastrian Dokhmenashini is the only way for the disposal of the dead (Katgara et al.1999). The funeral procession proper then formed. Such is the power of the Aryan Avestan prayers. About an hour before the time appointed for removing the body the nas-slrs brought the bier (g/h/n), which was of iron (hence its name, from *gh-han iron throne), as metal was held not to conduct impurity (Persian Rivayats, ed. soul, as to how the Aryans should dispose of a dead body. These scenes are on the southern and eastern sides of the sarcophagi, facing the direction of paradise (Grenet 2004, 276). Vi-daevo-dat. The Dastur (Zoroastrian fire-priest) now Body disposal techniques had to contend with the dualism of sacred and profane realities. Perhaps the oldest are those contained in 6.44-46: "Where, O Ahura Mazd, shall we carry the body of a dead man, where lay it down?" In India the corpse was sometimes carried on a light bullock cart, which was broken up and buried near the dama (Seervai and Patel, p. 239). In ancient times the body would be carried to a hill top away from human settlements, leaving the dead there for the scavengers to feed on. 1-28. When religion is mediated and transmitted through a dominant class, the power imbalance should give scholars pause. In 2011, the count of Zoroastrians in India stood at 57,624. When a In Iran the procession was called pda, in India pydast, explained as foot-hand, because the mourners go on foot in pairs, holding in their hands a handkerchief or cord to make peyvand between them. The bier followed at ninety paces distance, with the mourners as far again behind it. The pk was also called morda-r or -y washer of the dead (Jackson, p. 388; Khodayar, p. 36). There is no trace of the rite of exposure among western Iranians before the coming of Zoroastrianism (Boyce, Zoroastrianism II, p. 26), and it appears to have been only slowly adopted by them as that religion spread. DOKHMA ITS ADVENT , USE AND PHILOSOPHY. and the final defeat and expulsion of evil from THIS world, when There the attack from the front part of the knee to posterior parts. Death practices involved the care of bodies postmortem, including the ritualized positions, cleaning and dressing of bodies as well as burial with material goods. apart from the rest of society. Zoroastrian institutionalization and textuality paralleled the institutionalization of Sasanian rule in the fourth century (Garthwaite 2005, 93). N. Sderblom, Death and the Disposal of the Dead (Parsi), Encyclopdia of Religion and Ethics IV, Edinburgh, 1911, pp. 496, Jong, Albert de, Religion and Politics in Pre-Islamic Iran in, The Wiley Companion to Zoroastrianism ed. The body was then wrapped in a white shroud, which in Iran would have been washed in running water by the family priest, as would the thread (spun by a young girl) to sew it up with; the needle would have been cleansed by the priest with gmz (Boyce, Stronghold, p. 150; Khodadadian, p. 59). This "Zoroastrianism: History, Beliefs, and Practices." Quest 91.1 (JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2003):4-9. . The Michael Stausberg Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina and Anna Tessmann, Wiley-Blackwell (2015) pp. 23, 149), though for men nas-slrs (see below) might undertake the task. Some orthopractic families were accused of causing needless suffering to the dying by removing them from hospital, but sometimes this might have been at their own wish, for cases are known of devout old people dying at home who asked to be laid on the stone slab while still breathing, in order to avoid the least danger of their bodies contaminating the earth. Collection Of Kindling For A Zoroastrian Place of Worship. 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