The Black range. (Robinson, Socorro County, N.M.) 1882-1897, 1889-02-22
FOOD FOR yULTURES.
A Msthodist Missionary Describes
n Strange Burial Rite.
Has the r.r~-~- ni.pa-e - IN. nssise. ef
Their Dead f1a~~r- fsr the Earth and
ltan~s Esr the Ar The iisu.e of
Prayer and the Priests.

Z
years ago sailed fuaa thess shpr,s fur
luslia says ihe philadelphia P,r-.. rhe
other day be visited Laurel Mn. and there.
amaur the monuments and graves. he ttll
abuut the saercd burlalplaoc u the rarseo
isad sI,on the heights uf aalabar Hill some
distaneg uu. Of Bombay.
e hal heard - much uhout the Towers
uf Silence. be- said. that my curiosuN
was araascd 90 know what il was like. Eut
l saon found that Il was impossible Tor unr
pat follower Of the great prophet q
raastCr 10 ever gain admitiancc inside ol
thcsc towers.
This strange sect. the Parsees." be con.
tiuucd. "arc ~ scrupuous In their rcrc
munials and customs, aud ~ strict In the
observance 81 their rites. that yor can
readily see how reluctant they would b. 20
allow nn outsider, especially one who was
teaching the doctrines of Christ TO observe
the ritual they practice.
Il had been the means Of rendering
favor 10 nm intelligent aud wcll-cducatcd
Pursee gentleman living In BOMBAY, be-
tween whom and myself there sprung up
quite feeling Of friendship. When !
thought could safely make INV request
made known 10 hun my desire 10 Wait he
Towers lie said he would see whether
he could Obtain permission Tor me from thc
priests who guarded the sacred portals
There the matter dropped. | did not hear
frnm him for some weeks. until one day he
came To me saying that permission had
been granted. and that we must be ready 10
start the next morning.
II shall never forget continued he. ''thc
hot, cloudless day that we drove ~ our
closely curtaincd vehicle nr gharry, out of
the dusty. noisy streets Of Bombay 10 the
cool aud shaded and silent place OF Maahar
Hill The whole place seemed vcriiablc
garden of the dead Here jasmine crimson
hyhiseus and beautiful roses were spread In
hcwidcriug profusion about the walks
I lcadiag Ia the entrance. The heavy,
languid air was filled with the most
fragrant odors and the sweetest per
fumes. | could hardly believe that |
was In n buryiugRround After alig.Iting
FROM the gharry we ascendcd the low. stone
, sicrn. which led Ia n cksed iron gate. My
friend showed our permission la the old and
venerable Parsec, who threw open the ;'atc.
and within a lew moments we were within
A t,lc sacred precincts Onc Of the first THINGS
tina, noticed as ! gazed around was some
five ar six solid.looking circular buildings,
perhaps eighteen or twenty feet in he ght
The walls of these structures were built II
heavy blocks of stone aud covered will, q
kind Of white cement or plaster. The build.
ings themselves stood in n shallow mOat.
surrounded by tall palm trees, heavy bushes
of various kinds, and herbngc growing wild
aud uncutivatcd. These, then, were the
famous Towers OF Silence Truly. they
were well named. Save for the clicking of
our shoes on the smooth stone, the iitful
swayng TO and fro OF the branches of the
tail palms, aud the occasional ilapping of
wings by crows aud yulturcs on the trees.
not II sound was heard In the lnngud breath.
less ar. The hot tropical sun beat hcayily
down on the bare white walls, and every.
where stiffness and silence rcgncd su.
prcmc.'
''H0w do the parsees bury their dcadi'
when you reach the top Of the Tower
you will find that the entire circular surface
Is divided into three smaller circles. and be
tween each circle Is n narrow pathway. The
circles are again divided into great number
Of small shallow spaces, or reccptaccs. as
my friend called them, also separated by
narrow pathways for the bearers oft body
to pass. The top OF the Tower Is sur,
rounded by sort OF parapct, which hides
the surface from outside view. Now comes
the strange part Of the Parsee burial Gus
tom. II was the teaching OF our great
prophet aud MASTER said my companion
that the dead should not dchlo the Garth
Accordingly no dead Parscc is laid In the
earth, but his body is exposed to all the
fowls Of the air, 10 more quickly return "a
the dust and the elements from which il
came Here In the center of our Tower
you see a deep well. down which we put To
gclhcr the dry bones OF all the dend-mcn
women aud children, rich and poor, great
aud small. For the dead there can only be
equality
"Wc next went 10 what Ia known as the
House Of Praycr--a low, stone -archcd build
ing with coonnades all around. This is the
house where the friends OF the deceased re
main while the body is placed on the Tow
err 1t is hore that the sacred fire burns
day and night, year in and year out always
watched by faithful priest whose duty il
to feed the flames with precious woods. III,
mir in this House Of Prayer is thus rcdolcni
with the pungcnt aroma Of sandal wood
The corpsc-bcarcrs live separate from Tn,
outcr residence, and after each funeral they
~ to the bathlag-hOusc, change their gar
meats, and purify themselves from the dc
Element Of having touched the dead. Jus
as we were on the point OF taking our leave
saw small procession OF whtc-robcd Zig
urcs marching over the narrow stone bridg,
= to one of the Towers and disappear IN the
: small square opening in the wall
My companion must pave seen the pro
ccssion, for | noticed thnt his whole de
mcanor perceptibly changed rs with bowc,
head he told inc that burial would iais,
place only at sunrise or ut sunset. Sudden
ly tho place seemed to be astir with life
and motion The tall palms shook as under
a rust of wind. The blnck bodies ON th,