Telegram-herald., 1890-02-28
THE BAB00 OF BENGAL
T-E CHASTITY TOWERS or SILENCE
WHERE TF4e DEAD ARE PLACED.

6rEHE ire DE%D AXE PLACED.
The Psrsss II his ae<ae-A study Of the
zsr>-~srt@a Thssry Of kslisiS.-A L0ax
s@rvfs.l-rS~srs whkea Have ssssd rws
H21.a<eS Years
Thsy looked 50 human with their gen
de eyss. - Like other people, y heshsE they
talked GazersG ~ English. whether one
saw them In the market place or az .
meet, that it ~as dixflcult u believe this
horror Of them Yet it was true, for
there were the facts and statistics in .
httle hand book in the reading room OF
the hotel. facts and statistics OF Yesterday
and today and not Of any remote period
OF snti-ciyilization- This as to time: and
as 10 pLace-nos three miles from where
We saI, on the topmOst point of Malabar
hill, an eminencs which also hore the
residence OF Lord Reay. governor OF the
Bombay presidency. We asked the hotel
manager, who was Parsee. if he had
ever visited the spot He shook his head
and shrugged his shoulders ju<t as ali
Englisbman might have DOPE talking of
the ehurchyard or the family vaults.
:" "Parsees go only once" he said. land
then they are carried" But he advised
US to go; all tourists did, he said; and no
knew the secretary, he would get Us
tickets.
on THE HILL
30 we arranged 10 drive the next morn
ing very early, 10 see the Towers OF ST.
lence on Malabar hill, whittier the Parsee
living bear the Parsee dead, bidding them
q more utter farewell than is conceived
by any other people of any other creed on
earth Two native soldiers stood in the
queens uniform at the gate, and looked
al Us with surprise. II was late in the
season and early in the day for people
who wanted To see the century old sight
they protected from the over curious.
Louis went up 10 one of them with in
trepidity and showed him our passes. He
shook his head and said something in his
own tongue. Neither of us understood
1t in the very least. produced a phrase
which / had carefully concocted on the
way from Handbook of Hindustanee"
purchased in Calcutta, and which in
tended TO mean I'VE wish to see the Tow
ers of Silence" But the man only looked
at his fellow and grinned. / tried an
other phrase and yet another, but COM
prehension did not come Then reflect
ed that perhaps the language of the Baboo
of Bengal was not necessarily that of the
native Tommy" of Bombay, and later
investigation proved this to be the case.
Finally one of the men pointed with his
gun 70 small house near by, and nodded
his head violently as Louis made as if she
would knock. So she knocked loudly
and presently there appeared, in blink
ing undress, very short, stout old Par
see, who instantly retfeated again. We
then sat down beneath mango tree and
awaited events.
The old Parsee was not long in reap
pearing, tall red cap and gown, and CIR
die and all. In his hand he carried a
large key, with which he beckoned to us
to follow him. He went up the steps,
unlocked the gate and let us in. The
road still assembled before us through the
outskirts of tropical garden, and we
climbed to another iron gate, which the
old Parsee unlocked. There we stood in
the dead calm of early morning, with
the yellow light in the eastern sky threat
ening every moment to break into flame.
IN a strange place. Flowers bloomed
around us, those crimson and purple
flowers of the tropics that are all sense
and no soul. Bordered paths led in diff.
ferent directions, neatly kept, and clumps
of trees did their best to give the spot
shadow and sentiment We were not
looking at the flowers, but at five strange.
round, white structures that rose at a
little distance, divided from us by a wall,
IN the midst of heavy masses of trees.
The Oldest of them had been there 200
years, with never a proclamation of its
name or office-a tower Of silence all |
that time. The others had been added as
they were needed. They were not vaults
and they were not cemeteries, yet their |
business was with the dead.
BY ORDER OF zORoAsTER.
They first arose 5000 years ago bv
Of Zoroaster, as you doubtless |
know, thus: The clements. said Zoroas-
ter, are sacred as symbols of the deity,
therefore should never be contaminated |
or defiled. Neither earth nor fire nor
water should serve a Parsee after death |
had made him corrupt thing. His body
should be placed on a tower. high above |
all human habitations, that living men |
should not be polluted by it. and no foot /
enter there but those of its bearers, who |
should leave 1t and come away. And |
the towers Of ZoroasteT's thought, 1000 |
years ago, were the towers with the
attest sanitary Improvements, that stood |
before us in the year Of grace 1889, which /
gives one an idea of the real meaning of |
We saw a model of the structures !
shown in the garden, and understood it
with the help Of the hotel hand book.
They are built Of solid black granite. and
covered with white cheenam. Inside is
! circular platform divided into three
shallow receptacles with f0otpaths be-
tween. the outer row for males. the next
Tor females and the inner for children.
Three is the notable number Of the fol-
overs Of Zoroaster, reminding them al
Vays Of the cardinal precepts Of their re-
igiOn good thoughts. good words
good deeds. Every Parsee wears a
white woolen girdIe OF triple coil for its
lady suggestion and he carries out the
dea % the last. The corpse bearers are
! separate class. prepared by certain re-