The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-11-11
PARssE OR MoHAMMEDAN.
The difference in Belief OF the TIVE
Glasses.

The Difference In Belief OF the Two
Glasses.
as DERAMoRE. Nov. I0.-Editor Morn
ing Necs: In your issue OF to-day OBJ.
serve an account Of the crew of the steamer
Iran. in which account the writer say,
that forty-nine men Of them are "Parsees.
This is evidently a mistake, as the heading
zreaks of her Mohammedan crew. aud the
acc1unt given there Of such crew is gen.
orally correct Iran OF Eran-so pro
..oulced-(old Persian Aryana, that is land
NJ Aryans), the name given by the ancient
p.rsians to their native land and still used
liz the modern Perslans, though it is also
ernployed in a wider sense to designate the
whole Of the country from the Indus to the
Tigris.
mos ly Mohammedaus. Islam Is the name
given in Arabic to the religion originated
by 3lohammed, or more correctly, Muham-
med. the fundamental doctrine Of which is
,.xuressed in the formula: There is no
Cod but God. and Muhammed is his
prophet"
as passengers. received their name, or was
the name given to the fire. ~ orshiping fol-
lowers OF Zoroaster, who emigrated 20
India in the seventh century from Persia.
Omar. The majority of the Persians (Zoro-
astrans) embraced Islamism, but those that
did not we're called Guebres or infdels, and
wee 50 prosecuted that they left their ma
tive land for India. principally locating
themselves at Bombay. Those that re-
manned, and still held the old faith. now
only number about 1900, who inhaoit the
cities Of Yezd, Kurman aud the adjoining
villages.
~, TrIf ri
settled in Bombay and Surat, are among
the most successful Of the merchants there,
They are well educated. of high intelli-
gence, ability and probity. leading men in
the municipality of those cities; aud in all
works Of charity they are the most Jealous.
They have a great reverence for fire in all
its forms, hence their name fire worshipers.
but do not revere it except as a symbol of
the deity. In their temples they feed the
affairs with perpetual fire. Benevolence is
the chief practical precept OF their religion
and their practice Of this finds its evidence
in the many charitable institutions of Bonn
bay Surat and elsewhere. One of the most
curious OF their customs is the disposal Of
their dead. For this they erect what are
called "tOwers Of silence,n a most appropri-
ate name, which most travellers to Bombay
have seen. The dead are exposed on iron
grating in these towers, that their flesh NAV
be eaten by Vultur6S, after which the bones
rop from the iron grating in the tower to
O pit below.
In 1881, the Parsees in India numbered
about 62.O00 Their supreme duty is Ahur-
amanda or Armuzd, the principal lights
and source of all good, the one God, or
creator Of all, under another name. The
opposite Is Ahrimar, the evil principle: our
old friend in the Arabian Nights" They
believe, as Christians do, IN the existence Of
heaven and hell. are very devout, temper.
ate and chaste. Their women rarely, il
ever, go astray. They contract no mar
riages with those of other creeds, and in
this they are the very opposite to the Mo-
hammedans; formerly they did not eat of
food cooked by other creeds, but now their
extreme views are greatly modified, princi-
palIy, believe by contact with the Anglo
Saxon race. Many of the young men finish
their education in England, though the
large cities of Hindoostan q. e. India), con-
tain most admirable colleges, with able
professors from Oxford, etc. The Parsees
are the most loyal subjects Great Britain
possesses in the East Indies, but they are
not fighting race. ]. G. GREIG,
Master Steamship Deramore.