The Elbert County tribune., 1905-08-10

: Food for Vultures
E5-.ar--->--vs--.-yt----
(speelal correspondencel

High above Bombay. on the freest
and most airy spot OF the city. and
800 feet above the level of the sea. is
situated the most peculiar cemetery
in the world-the burial place of the
Parsees. It Is called the Tower of
Silence"
The Parsees or Persians, came to
India centuries ago. They number
about S0,000-14. 900 OF whom reside
in the city of Bombay, where they
form a marked aristocracy among the
colored population, and enjoy a social
standing equal to that of Europeans
At almost every step one is brought
face to face with death, in Bombay.
The pest which never sleeps: the still
breathing bodies near the walls-mute
evidences of the terrible suffering;
the four ragged coolies. passing hur-
riedly round the corner with the nude
body to the crematory of the Hindoos
everywhere death presents itself in
most hideous form.
Bat in the midst OF this variegated
throng, that evidences of misery in all
its forms. appears a peculiar process
sion. A crowd of women and chill
dren arrayed in white, and with a
wreath of flowers over their should
ers. follow bier. The body OF the
corpse is covered, with white linen,
on the top of which are placed highly
fragrant Bengal roses.
DIgnitied and solemn. the procession
follows. two by two, each cy,e holding
the end of some white fabric-the
symbol of unity. Silently 1t moves
through the main streets OF the city,
up to the nearby elevation. 1t is the
walk of an hour from the ce.ter OF the
city to the last resting-plaee OF the
Parsee-The Tower of Silence.
In Pathway of Beauty.
The procession enters splendid
garden of palms. On either side of
the grand walk is a luxury OF tropical
flowers "a veritable many-colored
natural carpet, shaded by the giant
palms. The procession halts at
place where walk turns of to the
side. and through the foliage white
wall becomes visible. Here one reads.
in Persian and in English, the signif-
icant words:
PLEASE STOP HERE
The priests-nassasalors the
bier upon the ground and repeat
short prayer, after which four of the
lower priests. khandias, carry the
corpse toward the white wall, disap-
pearing behind the mighty palms.
Two by two the white.robed procession
leaves the garden, still holding be-
tween them the white cloth.
In about fifteen minutes we hear the
sound of powerful wings. These are
the yultures. which now appear from
their hiding place among the palms;
they circle over the Tower OF Silence,
swoop down and disappear.
An hour later these vultures may be
seen on the wall of the tower. They
are drowsy, and as quiet as though
they were hewn In stone by some
sculptor. Close together they sit, wing
to wing. Finally they begin to circle
around the tower. first one by one,
then great numbers together, until at
last they disappear under the palms.
No human eyes except the khandias
have looked upon the dead Parsee,
after he has disappeared through the
door of the Tower of Silence.
The khandias are a separate caste,
more rigidly segregated from all 9TH
ers than any caste in India. When
| the son of a khandia reaches the age
of 10 he visits the Tower of Silence
for the first time. Only the son of a
khandia can become a khandia, and
he can marry only the daughter of a
khandia.
Teaching of Zoroaster.
According to the teaching of Zorro
aster fire air water and Garth ara