The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1898-03-05
YHE TOWERS OF SILENCE.
HOW THE PARSEES OF INDIA DIS
POSE OF THEIR DEAD.

Central weIl-Strange Burial Services.
Less is known by the masses OF the
occident OF the Zoroastrians or Parsees
and their religion than Of any other
oriental religious community; and al-
though their Dakhmas, or towers Of
silence, at Bombay, India, have been
more or less specifically described by
travellers, the architectural details of
these peculiar structures have rarely,
if ever, appeared in q European OF
American publication.
The most unique and impressive
feature Of Zoroastrian customs, says
the Washington Star, is their method
of disposing Of the dead. According
to their religion, earth, fire and water
ore sacred elements, useful to man.
kind, and hence not to be polluted in
any way. They are strictly en- Joined
that dead bodies shall not be thrown
into the SEQ, burned in fire nor be
buried in the earth. Therefore, the
only practical course open to them is
to expose the naked bodies of their
dead in the open air, so that they may
decay and disintegrate under the ordi-
nary action of the elements or be de-
voured by birds Or beasts. This ex-
posture, however, is made with the
confident expectation that the corpse
will be speedily eaten by vultures,
which are numerous and yoracious in
oriental countries, and especially so in
the vicinity Of o tower Of silence.
These towers are not as numerous
as is generally supposed Outside of
Persia and Russia the only ones in use
at present are those in Bombay and
one or two in China. Those in
Bombay are located on the summit Of
Malabar hill, picturesque elevation
on the eastern boundary Of the city,
from which magnificent view Of the
surrounding country can be had. The
Parsees own about fifteen acres of the
hill, and have transformed the place
into q veritable paradise. There is
nothing suggestive Of death about the
place. 1t is luxurious garden of
flowers, ornaments, shrubbery, palms,
Expresses, bamboo and other tropical
trees, laid out with smooth, well-kept
gravel walks. There are comforta-
bic benches in shady hooks, secluded
trysting places and fragrant copses,
where birds of brilliant plumage sing
md mate. Vigorous, exuberant life
is manifest everywhere, while oil
nature seems to deprecate funeral
thoughts and to encourage dreams of
earthly joy and beauty. But these
dreams are, in o measure, dispelled
when one sees tower of silence nest
ling among the trees and recalls the
purpose for which these round, white
washed piles Of solid masonry were
built.
There are six OF these towers loca-
ted within less than 100 yards Of each
other, and partially hidden by the over
hanging foliage Of palms and cypress
ses. Five are used for the exposure
of the bodies Of Parsees in good
standing in the community, while
the sixth receives the bodies of crimi-
malls and outcasts. The first was built
in 1869 and the second in 1855.
Each tower is about thirty feet high,
$50 feet in circumference and con-
structed Of blocks of trap rock and
sandstone cemented closely and Gov
cred smoothly on the outside by
heavy coating Of chunam Or stucco. A
stone parapet about three feet high
rises above the three concentric cir
cles of corpse receptacles which slope
sharply toward the central we'll and
seem to be hewn out of solid rock.
Every feature Of the structure repre-
sents Zoroastrian principle or tenet.
There are seventy-two receptacles
representing the seventy-two chapters
OF the Yasna, ofZoroaster, portion of
the Zend Avesta.
The central well, where the bones of
the dead are finally thrown, is about
ninety feet in circumference, and the
sides and bottom are paved with stone
slabs. There are holes in the sides Of
this well, near the bottom, through
which the rain water flows into the
four underground drains at the base
Of the tower. These drains connect
with the underground wells, the
bottoms of which are covered with
thick layer Of sand. Pieces of sand
stone and charcoal, placed at the end
of each drain and renewed at intervals,
filter and purify the rain water which
passes over the bones in the central
we'll before it enters the ground, thus
observing the tenet: Mother Earth
shall not be defiled."
When o death occurs the body is
wrapped in white sheet and placed
on an iron bier. Within twelve hours
thereafter it is taken in charge by
official corpse bearers, called khandias,
and procession is formed, headed by
one or more mobeds, or Parsee priests,
followed by the mourning relatives
and friends of the deceased in couples,
each couple holding the opposite ends