The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1905-12-14
NO CREMATION FOR PARsEE3.
Expose the Bodies of Their Dead 10
Hc DcyOurcd by NuiturCs.

duce them TO dispose of their deal
by cremation instead of eN9o.i *
them to be dcvoured by vulHr'a on
their towers C., silence" Thoy ere
not prepared to abandon a custom
which is hallowcd to them by hoary
antiquity and associated with their
most solemn religious rites.
Though in European minds the
thought of allowing feathered scav-
engers to feast on the bodies Of their
beloved dead would excite the deep
est feelings of repugnance and dis
gust, as practiced by the Parsees
this method of getting rid of the
feshly tenement is far from being so
horrible as is generally imagined.
Indeed. to the Parsees themselves
and they are the most cultivated and
intelligent OF all the sects found In
India-it seems far preferable to
burying the dead as practiced by
Christians.
Your people," said Parsce, put
your dead underground, where they
provide a banquet for worms We
put ours above ground, where their
flesh is eaten by vultures. The ul-
Innate result Is the same. The bones
are left. But there is a great differ
ence In what takes place before the
skeleton stage is reached, and that
method. Before consignlng the bod
les of your dead to the earth you in
close them In collins. You dare not
allow your imaginations to picture
the horrible changes that there
takes place before Nature recovers
what she gave. We do not seek to
retard the process The yultures do
their work expeditiously. There Is
no putrefaction. Christian burial
grounds, so | have read, are often
sources of disease; Parsee dokhmas.
or towers of silence as you poeti-
cally call them, are never such.
From a sanitary point of view they
are incOmparably superior to your
cemeteries, and with us they are
equally sacred"
But" 1t was suggested, fire
would do the work even better than
vultures."
"Or worms" said the Parsee.
"When you Christians take to Gre
nation we Parsees may possibly fol-
low your excellent example. There
are far weightier reasons why Gre
nation should take the place of bu-
rial than can be urged In favor OF
Its substitution for our towers of
silence"
The towers of silence crown the
summit Of Malabar Hill, near Bonn
bay, and are situated in the midst
of beautiful garden whose tropical
trees swarm with vultures. They
are built of stone and are about
twenty-five feet high. A small door
is provided for the entrance of the
body. When a Parsee dies, after the
performance of solemn and impos-
ing funeral rites. the body is borne
upon an iron bier to the towers, fol-
lowed by procession of relatives
and friends of the dead, headed by
a number of priests. Upon arrival at
the garden the bier IS laid down and
prayers are said at the "sagri" or
house of prayer near the entrance
to the garden. The attendants then
carry the body to the towers of ST.
lence, lay It on its stony bed and re-
tire. Then the vultures gather about
and do their gruesome work unseen
The bones are soon denuded of flesh
and fall through an iron grating into
pit beneath, from which they are
afterward removed by a subterra-
mean cavern.
On the third day after the death
friends and relatives again assem-
BILE at the house where the dead man
lived and thence proceed to the
temple of fire" Standing before
the urns in which the celestial
fires" are kept burning, priests re-
cite prayers for the soul of the de-
parted. His son, or adopted son,
kneels before the high priest and
promises due performance of all re-
ligious rites and obsequies to the
dead. Friends and relatives then
hand the priest list of contribu-
ton to various charities which have
been subscribed as a memorial offer
ing. This concludes the ceremony of
rising from mourning" or the res
direction of the dead" On each re-
curing anniversary of the death OF
a Parsee memorial funeral cere.
monies are performed An iron
framework Is erected in the house,
In which shrubs and flowers are cul-
tivated, thus literally keeping the
memory of the dead man green. Be-
fore these iron frames prayers are
said two or more times during twenty
four hours.
The Parsees are a small sect.
They number altogether about ST.
600, of'whom $4,000 live in or near
Bombay. Most of the remaining
10000 are found in Persia. AS a
people they are remarkably iutelll-
gent and Trustworthy. with great
genius for business, They are highly
prosperous, much given to charity.
and beggars are unknown among
them.
Coffin nc q, IfFt