The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1881-08-18
How the Parsees Of India Dispose Of
Their Dead. a--- @

What Beacon Hill is to Boston, Muir |
ray Hill to New York, Mob Hill to San
Francisco, Malabar Hill is to Bombay,
for its aristocratic summit is closely dot
ted with the palaces and bungalows of
native princes and aff1uent Anglo-In- |
dians; but the borders of Malabar Hill
fall just upon the outskirts of the native
city on the one side and are Tapped by
the lazy ripples of the Indian Ocean on
the other. The climb up the hill from
the esplanade is picturesque to de-
gree, and the well-kept lawns, the
broad, cool verandas inclosed with We
netians peep out at one from unexpect-
ed perches on the side of the hill, with
q ssTiftness of change Suggestive of the
tricks of the irrepressible Fakir. But
leaving them all below us we ut last
reach the vicinity of "the towers OF
silence"
From the midst of grove of palms
rise two circular towers, near which
stands q large building looking not un-
like some public institution in any we'll
to-do city in America, but which is in
truth one of the temples which seem so
necessary to every Indian landscape.
The "towers of silence'Iwhat does
not the fancy picture when the name is
heard for the first time? A religious
retreat, where one wearied with the din
and turmoil of the city below may find
peace and rest. Or perhaps it is de-
signed as place of punishment, and
| persons caught in crime are brought
here to wear out in silence their term of
sentence, which will last till life hickers
feebly and hope dies, Away runs imag-
ination; but a talkative swallah," or,
literally speaking, fellow, who is our
guide, soon brings back wandering
| fancy by the announcement that the
towers are in truth the Parsee cemetery,
or mortuary. ,5-i ei Ets-7cr ,,.i-.55sa
Directly Parsee dies he is brought to
the temple, and then after the other rites
are performed the. body is disrobed,
anointed with sacred oils; after that tits
taken to the towers, which are about 20
feet in diameter and entirely open at the
top, and then placed upon an iron graf
ing for the vultures to come and devour
the flesh. In every direction one can see
the majestic palms bending low with
their burdens of vultures and kites wait
ing for new prey; the air resounds with
their hungry cawing, while it is also
laden with the sickening odor of decay
ing flesh. While a body is being placed
in position the edge of the tower is filed
with cawing, chattering spectators hum
CRY to make the first plunge upon the
victim. With one accord they dash down
out of sight, and one knows by the
change from tumult to quiet that the
Parsee interment is taking place. That
which but short time ago was human
being, with hopes and fears and aspira-
tions such as still animate us who gaze
transfixed with horror, is being torn
shred by shred and carried into the air,
to be dropped and picked up and quar-
relied over, or else to. be consumed with
genuine satisfaction. No sooner does a
sated bird fly on lazy wing to some far
! off tree top to sleep off the effects of his
gluttony than fresh one arrives upon
the scene to carry on the hideous work
Others swoop down upon us, the living
and brush our very faces with theil
noisome wings. Beside US stand some
.Parsees, who watch the circling bird,
! with loving interest, and one English
/, , speaking guide tells us that they fre
. quently stand and watch them till they
! know their deadto have been consumed
As soon as the birds have cleaned all the
, flesh from the bones, they are dropped
into well at the bottom of the towers
where they are covered with quick lime
: and consumed. The tower is then flooded
I and deodorized, and so, it is claimed
there is no taint in the air; but any one
: having the sense of smell unblunted feel.
, that that boast is not founded upoI
truth.
: Night, which in India treads upon tn,
heels of day too closely for one to eve
taste a twilight, drove us down the hill
and back into the thronged streets o
the city before we had watched as Ion.
, as we wished, but we had seen enough
, to turn with siekening soul from tn
7 religion which makes this awful custom
2 necessity. We had stood beside tn
I Ganges and watched the Hindoo
) sprinkling the ashes of their lately ere
: mated dead upon its sacred bosom. Th
{ grooming tone, the quiet hour, the intens
3 earnestness, had melted our cold West
, ern hearts and we had wept from sym
pathy. The Hindoo and the Parse
l had each shown us how superior thei
customs were to those practicyd b
. "Christian dogs" and we had by 81
} lence at least given consent to thei
I form of interment; but we came bacl
, to our own belief in the grave and tn
: worm with renewed devotion, for we re
: membered that it was not from tn
Q sacred bosom of the Ganges, neither wa
4 it from the birds of the air, that we re
ceived our Savior, but it was from tn
' grave that he came forth our risen Lord
: Cor. Springfield (Aass.) Republican