The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-08-09
TIE TOWERS OF SILENCE,
Til" Parsess Neither Burn nor Bury their
bend, hut Dry them.

The Parsees will not, like the lIi.loos,
burn their dead, inr fire is too pure to be
polluted by the touch of death. They
will not, like the rest of mankind, bury
in the ground for earth il the mother OF
mankind, and they will no, dclile it by
putting Il corpse in its bosom. So, with
nnIlber cremation nor burial, what are
they To do with the remains of their
dead? On Malabar hill, The hiyhes,
ground in the suburbs of Bombay, sur
rounded by lofty wall, and Carefully
guarded. is the larscc cemetery or NOR
tnnry. Lenviny the city we climbed, the
hill by winding road leading through n
charming grove Of palms and past beau
tlful bungalows and villas, with an en-
chanting view OF city, island and Sea be
hind US. AT length we reached the abode
of death. Over the great gs,eway in
large letters we read, None but Parsees
can enter here" For 200 years no Ei
ropean had ever set foot within that en-
closure.
But few yenr, since the Prince of
Wales unsealed the entrance, and now by
proper influence travellers can obtain Il
pass. Thus we were privileged to enter
the strange place. Entering the mysle.
rlous enclosure, Oh our right were the
temples where the dead are brought to
be disrobed and anointcd with oil Pass
ing these VIC followed our guide up a
grand pathway until we were stopped by
another sign on which we read the warn.
ing notice, "Stop here!' We we're with.
in fifty yards OF the tower now in use,
Looking around we counted five great
round stone towers known as "Towrrs of
Silence" These circular structures are
built of large white stone, are perfectly
plain on the outside. They vary in di.
ameter from 30 to 60 feet, aud are from
% to 80 feet high. The oldest is 200
years old, and is in good repair. They
cost about 100000 apiece. Each tower
has an iron door i'll the side, from which
flight of steps on the inside leads To
The top. On tho top are three circles of
grooves or open stone rcceptacIes for the
dead, the outer one for men, the middle
one for women and the inner one for
children. In tho centre of the tower is
deep well or pit reaching from top to
below the bottom. Around the outer
edge of the top is u stone parapet, which
gives greater seclusion to the dead.
at the gate OF the cemetery the funeral
professions are met by the priests. who
take the remains first to the temple, then
10 the tower. The bodies of the dead
are placed in the stone grooves on the
top OF the tower, and left, without par.
ticle Of clothing, to be devoured by the
great fiocks of hungry vultures and other
carnivorous birds, which sit perched ON
the towers and trees waiting for feast.
The moment the priests leave the remain,
the g'uttnnous birds swoop down upon
their victim, screaming and quarelling ,is
they tear it TO pieces. Within an hour
every particle Of flesh is torn from tho
skeleton, and the Parsce interment is
complete. The naked bones are left to
dry and bleach in tho sun and wind for a
few days. then they are carefully gather.
ell up and thrown into the deep we'll in
the centre Of the tower. We entered the
cemetery about 0 o'clock 10 the morning.
Already three bodies had been placed in
the tower, and half hundred greedy
vaitures had gorged themselves with hm
man flesh, and were sitting stupid and
satiated, lazily waiting for another ghast.
~ meal. The Parsees defend this mode
o. disposing Of the dead on sanitary
grounds, especially in large cities, and
look with disgust on other customs Blu,
give lis the Bible method of burial, and
the grave for our departed, with the dear
old formula, Earth to earth, ashes TO
ashes. dust to dust" Following our
Saviour into the tomb we have the glad
hope of glorious resurrection.
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