Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1907-09-29
DISTINGUISHED pARsEE.
First Woman to Break Sex Bonds in
India.

NEW 1Ofth, sept. Zi.--Mnle.
Dassibal Cawasjee Jussawalia, sun
and fire worshiper, and head of one
of the oldest and most distinguished.
Parsee families in Bombay, India,
was in New York City with her two
sons, Dadabhoy and Jamshedji.
With the precious and unique cap,
eXquisitely decorated with gold and
pearls, which Minis. Dassibai will pre-
sent to Queen Alexandra, the three
interesting disciples of Zoroaster
sailed for London
Despite her seyenty-three years,
the devotee shaped and fashioned the
beautiful cap, perfecting each detail
of the intricate piece of handiwork
unaided.
Nine. Dassibai came to New York
by way of Hong Kong and San Fran
cisco. The briefness of her stay in
this city is due to her impotence to
greet the king and queen of England,
and deliver the priceless cap.
Hire chief regret is that the short
ness of her stay prevents her from
calling upon President Roosevelt to
tell him of the success she had in
the task of freeing the Parsee women
of Bombay from the shackles relig-
ious convention had thrown around
them
Although this is the first visit OF
Nine. Dassibai to this country, she
has Travelled through Europe twice
before. On one of these occasions
she had an audience with the pope,
and on the other she was presented
with medal at the Paris exposition
of 1873 for her greet courage in dar-
ing to make a hazardous ascent in a
balloon. She also was entertained by
Lady Legion, lady-in- waiting to thu
queen of England
Nine. Dassibai and her two stall
wart sons had Just completed their
peculiar form of worship when a re
porter called at the Hotel Bradford
Standing with arms outstretched to-
ward the sun, they breathed there
fervent prayers in pleasing cadences
Nine. Dassibai readily consented
to talk of herself and of her journey
from Bombay across the American
continent to London. She was the
first Parsee woman to break into
freedom from the darkened cham
bers in which the women of her caste
were secluded. When Is years Of
age she was placed in an English
school in Bombay by her mother. th,
pioneer woman suffragist of the Par
see people
| The excitement ran high among
the Zoroastians at what was consid
cred as an affront to the race. For
time it looked as though the Dassi
| bal family would be broken and scat
tered and their home confiscated.
The support of influential sun wor
shippers, and especially of the Eng
| fish officials, was secured, and grad
ually the traditions of the Parsee.
were dissolved, with the result tina
many members of other families
came out from seclusion to mingl
with the English speaking race.
The religion she inherited from
her ancestors Nine. Dassibai has no
forsaken. She has accepted all of tn
instruction the English-speaking PEG
! pie have acquired, but there has beeI
nothing she has learned that ha
tended to change her faith in tn
teachings of Zoroaster, the prophe
who came out of Persia 5000 year
ago, fleeing from persecution, an,
founded the religion of fire worship
| The flowing black robe and quain
ornaments of the Parsee women ar
worn by Nine. Dassibai Her sons
while dressed in English costume
wear close to the body the linen sun
| dra or kusti garments always wori
/ by the true believer.
The worship of the sun Nine. Das
sibai explained, was purely symbol
cal, the sun being accepted as th
master work of creation. On the al
tars of the temples the finest sanda
wood is burned in chalices OF pures
gold, and the worship of fire is lik
the worship of the sun, directly sym
Ebolical in its nature. In bathing tn
true Parsee goes through a ceremon
that has not varied in thousands O
years.
Wherever she goes, Nine. Dass
bal carries small fortune in pearl
and antique jewelry. One locket Q
dazzling, milk white pearls, curiousl
constructed by native Indian work
men is valued at $4,000. A watcf
upon one side of which is engraved
miniature of dead daughter and 0
the other side her late husband, is
perfect specimen of Indian workman
ship There are scores of other pre-,