Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-23
Four Men Struck by Wabash Train.
TOWERS OF SILENCE.
Where the Dead of India Are Exposed
to Vultures.

FROM the National Geographic Magazine.
Mr.. John Fryer, who arrived IN Bombay
In the year 1911. says In his book of travels:
on the other side of the great inlet to the
sea is great point abutting Old wemen's
Island and is called Malabar hill; a rocky,
woody mountain. yet sends forth long grass.
At the top of ali is a Parsy tomb, lately
reared. On its decIivity, toward the sea,
the remains of stupendous pagod, near q
tank of fresh water. which the Malabars
visit mainly for This "Parsy tomb" Of
dokma," as ii Is called In the vernacular,
still exists on Malabar hill.
In accordance with religious injunctlons,
the the Parsees build their towers of silence
on the tops of hills, IL available. No ex-
pense is spared in constructing them of the
hardest and best materials. with a view that
they may last for centuries, without the
possibility of polluting the earth or con-
terminating any living beings dwelling
thereon.
On MaIabar hill, a long. prominent, rocky
ridge. paraileling and overlooking the Ara
bian sea, are built the Towers of Silence"
They are five in number, the one mentioned
by DR.. Fryer now more than 23e years old;
another for the use of suicides only and
three others.
They are surrounded by about sixteen
acres of ground, artisticaIly laid out and
planted with beautiful flowers and tropical
plants. Just inside the entrance gate is a
peculiarly constructed building. set apart
for fire temple and a house of prayer.
These Dokmas," or Towers of Silence"
are built upon one plan. but their size may
and does vary. The largest of them meas
ures 276 feet in circumference, or about 90
feet in diameter. surrounded by circular
wall 20 to 30 feet in height. built of the
hardest stone and faced with chunam or
white plaster. There is an opening or door
just above the ground level, through which
the dead bodies are carried by professional
corpse bearers. who have gone through GER
IRON 1ofnta ay,a hrn ofs
privileged to carry the corpses into the
tower. No one else can enter or touch them.
Insidesthe tower is a circular platform
about go feet in circumference and entirely
paved with large stone slabs and divided
into three rows, called paws" for the
bodies of the dead AS there are the same
number of paws in each concentric row,
they diminish in size from the outer to the
inner ring.
The outside row Is used for the bodies Of
males, the next for those of females and the
third or inner row for those of children.
These receptacles or paws are separated
from each other by ridges called "dandas"
which are about an inch in height above
the level of the paws, and channels are cut
into the paws for the purpose of conveying
all the liquid matter flowing from tho
corpses and rainwater into a "bhandar,'' or
deep hollow, in the form of pitt the bot
tom of which is paved with stone slabs
This pit forms the center of the tower.
When the corpse has been completely
stripped of its flesh by the vultures which
Is generally accomplished within an hour
at the outside, and when the bones of the
denuded skeleton are perfectly dried by the
powerful heat of tropical sun and other
atmospheric influences, they are thrown
into this pit where they crumble into dust
the rich and poor thus meeting together
after death In one common level of equality
-Four drains are constructed leading from
the bottom of the pit. They commence
from the surrounding wall of the bhandar
and pass beyond the outside of the tower
into four wells sunk in the ground at equal
distances. At the mouth of each drain
charcoal and sandstones are placed for puri-
flying the fluid before it enters the ground,
roasttrian religion that ''The mother earth
shall not be defiled." The wells have a
permeable bottom, which is covered with
sand to a height of five to seven feet
However distant may be the house of
deceased person. whether rich or poor, high
or low in rank, he has always walking
funeral. His body is carried to the Towers
of Silence on an iron bier by official corpse
bearers and Is followed in procession by
the mourners male relatives and friends,
dressed in white flowing full-dress robes.
walking behind in pairs, and each couple
Joined hand in hand by holding a white
handkerchief between them In sympathetic
grief.
This mode Of disposing of the dead which
the Parsees have practiced for countless
generations, is repulsve to the sentiment of
nations accustomed to bury their dead in
the ground, but II Is thoroughly sanitary
and clears away most effectually one of the
greatest difficulties encumbering the path
of sanitary reformers in great cities.