The Morning herald., 1877-10-08
4 MYSTERY AT THE TOWERS OF
SILENCE.

SILENCE
A sensation has been caused in the Par
see community by the disclosure OF rumors,
which have been circulating in Bombay for
the past three weeks, with regard to certain |
mysterious circumstances that took place at !!
the Tow ers of Silence on June 23. Early
on the morning of the 23d Parsee died,
and three hours afterward his body was
exposed to the vultures in Tower No. l, To- 1
cally known as Kapis Khao's Dokhma "a
tower). In the afternoon another body was
taken to the towers, and 1t was decided to
expose it in Kapis Khao's tower also. The
funeral procession proceeded thither and
had taken the formal farewell of the dead,
which is customary, while the corpse-bearers
(nassasalars) were opening the iron doors
of the towers. The nassasalars pushed the
door open, looked in, saw something an
usual, and then closed the door again. De-
scending the steps, they told the mourners
that the corpse could not be exposed there,
but must be carried to an another tower.
They were questioned about their singular
proceedings but choose only to give evaslVe
md rude answers. The procession was
formed again and moved on with the body
to Tower No. 2, where it was duly exposed.
One of the mourners suspected that all was
not right, and he went to the Sigree or
prayer-house and watched the corpse
/ bearers. He saw them re-enter Tower NO.
1, where they remained for about half an
hour The suspicion dawned upon the
watchers that the corpse-bearers had OBJ
served some one alive presumably the
Parsee who had been exposed that morning)
| in Tower No. /, and had returned thlther
| to murder him, in accordance with well
known Zoroastrian superstition, that no one
| should be allowed to return into the world
from Tower of Silence, otherwise he will
be the cause of dreadful plaques. He COM
municated his suspicious to number OF
people, and soon knowledge of the affair
spread throughout the Parsee. community.
Although it was exciting the Parsees to the
yery core-whole sections believing that the
nassasalarss had committed the dreadful
crime of which they were suspected-sln'
gularly enough the native press studlously
observed silence upon the subject, and 1t
was not until the gist of anonymous letters,
which had reached Bombay paper, were
put into shape that the conduct of the mas
sasalars were openly discussed.
1t has been pointed out on behalf of the
Panchayet Give individuals who are the
recognized heads of the Parsce community,
that the whole story has arisen from thf
insolence of the corpse-bearers, in refusing
to give prompt explanation of the reason
why they had opened No. Tower and the1
shut it up again. Had they said at first thai
body had fallen against the door, ane
, they did not like to push open the dool
further lest the mourners should be shocked
by seeing the mutilated corpse, the excite
ment that has since arisen would, the Pan
chayet believe, never have taken place
This explanation pleases some of the Parse
community, and merely excites the rldlcul
, of others, who will have it that the stor.
, told by the corpse-bearers was only an after
thought, invented to save them from the con
sequences of their guilt. The Panchaye
: have pointed out that chains are hung aroun'
y the inside of the towers, to enable persons VIII
may come to life again to escape; but a
the same, young and enlightened Parseelsm
> as distinguished from orthodox Zoroastrlan
ism, believe that the corpse-bearers stl
. have instructions to let no one escape auV
from the Towers of Silence.