The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1888-07-14
Fireworship and Petroleum
From Leisure Hour.

From Leisure Hour.
"On the Caspian sea, twelve versts from
Baku," says Mr. Arthur Arnold, NJ. P. for
Stafford, 1--WE came upon one of the oldest
affairs in the world, erect, and flaming with
its natural burnt offering to this day.
Surakhani is the ancient seat of probably
one of the most ancient forms of worship.
For unnumbered ages the gas which is
generated by the subterranean store of Pc
troleum has escaped from the assures in
the limestone crag, and the fire of this gas
has lighted the prayers of generations of
priests as it blazed and fiared away to the
heavens. Fireworship in Persia, of which
until the eighteenth century Baku formed
a part, is older than history. 1t may be
that the fire in this temple at Surakhani
has been unextinguished for a period ex-
tending from before the time of Cyrus
(about B. c. 600), the fire worshipping
period being older than Cyrus" The pc
uinsula of Apsheron, upon which Baku is
situated, seems beyond doubt to have been
held as sacred soil by the old fire worship
pers, the followers Of Zoroaster, and it is
said that their modern representatives, the
Parsees, still make their pilgrimages to the
fre-breathing rocks and plains Of the Cas-
plan shore. Given religious belief in the
deity of fire, the peculiarly sacred character
of such locality must be inevitable, and
nobody need be greatly surprised at the
poor benighted inhabitants of Persia bowling
down in awful worship on such spots as
have been described by travellers in this
part of the world"
''The earth" says Jonas Hanway, the
heroic London merchant who first ventured
to go abroad in the city with an umbrella
over his head, "for above two miles has
this surprising property, that by taking up
two or three inches of the surface and ap-
plying live coal, the part which is SO un-
covered Immediately takes fre-almost be-
fore the coal touches the earth; the flame
makes the soil hot, but does not consume
it, nor affect what is near to it with any
degree of heat. IF a cane or tube, even of
paper, be set about two inches in the
ground, confined and closed with earth
below, and the top Of it touched with a
live coal and blown upon, Immediately a
flame issues without hurting either the
cane or paper, provided the edges be COW
cred with clay; and this method they use
for light in their houses, which have only
the earth for the floor. Three or four Of
these lighted canes will boil water in a pot,
and thus they dress their victuals."
This same sagacious observer, writing
some hundred and thirty years ago, refers
to temple, probably the one which Mr..
Arnold visited within the past few years.
There are several of them, he says, built
with stone, supposed to have been all ded-
icated to fire. Amongst others is little
temple at which the Indians still worship.
There are generally forty or fifty of these
poor devotees, who come on a pilgrimage
from their own country. A little way from
The temple is low cleft of rock, in which
here is horizontal gap two feet from the
ground, nearly six long, and about three
broad, out of which issues a constant fame,
N color and gentleness not unlike lamp
hat burns with spirits, only more pure.
When the wind blows it rises sometimes
light feet high, but much lower in still
Weather. They do not perceive that the
lame makes any impression on the rock.
This also the Indians worship, and say it
,annot be resisted. hnt &c Axtinonished win
ise in another place"