Tower of Silence
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A dakhma (
Ritual exposure by Iranian peoples
Zoroastrian
Writing on the culture of the Persians, Herodotus reports on the Persian burial customs performed by the magi, again, kept secret, according to his account. However, he writes that he knows they expose the body of male dead to dogs and birds of prey, then they cover the corpse in wax, and then it is buried.[5] The Achaemenid custom for the dead is recorded in the regions of Bactria, Sogdia, and Hyrcania, but not in Western Iran.[6][7]
The discovery of
The Byzantine historian Agathias has described the Zoroastrian burial of the Sasanian general Mihr-Mihroe: "the attendants of Mermeroes took up his body and removed it to a place outside the city and laid it there as it was, alone and uncovered according to their traditional custom, as refuse for dogs and horrible carrion".[6][9]
Towers are a much later invention and are first documented in the early 9th century CE.
One of the earliest literary descriptions of such a building appears in the late 9th-century
Rationale
The doctrinal rationale for exposure is to avoid contact with earth, water, or fire, all three of which are considered sacred in the Zoroastrian religion.[2][3]
Zoroastrian tradition considers human
To preclude the pollution of the sacred elements: earth (
In current times
Structure and process
Modern-day towers, which are fairly uniform in their construction, have an almost flat roof, with the perimeter being slightly higher than the centre. The roof is divided into three concentric rings: the bodies of men are arranged around the outer ring, women in the second ring, and children in the innermost ring. The ritual precinct may be entered only by a special class of
Once the bones have been bleached by the sun and wind, which can take as long as a year, they are collected in an ossuary pit at the centre of the tower, where—assisted by lime—they gradually disintegrate, and the remaining material, along with rainwater run-off, seeps through multiple coal and sand filters before being eventually washed out to sea.[13][14]
Iran
In the Iranian Zoroastrian tradition, the towers were built atop hills or low mountains in locations distant from population centres. In the early 20th century, Iranian Zoroastrians gradually discontinued their use and began to favour burial or cremation.[15]
The decision to change the system was accelerated by three considerations: the first problem arose with the establishment of the
India
Following the rapid expansion of the Indian cities, the squat buildings are today in or near population centres, but separated from the metropolitan bustle by gardens or forests. In
In the late 20th century and early 21st century the vulture population on the Indian subcontinent declined (see Indian vulture crisis) by over 97% as of 2008, primarily due to diclofenac poisoning of the birds following the introduction of that drug for livestock in the 1990s,[17][18] until banned for cattle by the Government of India in 2006. The few surviving birds are often unable to fully consume the bodies.[19] In 2001, Parsi communities in India were evaluating captive breeding of vultures and the use of "solar concentrators" (which are essentially large mirrors) to accelerate decomposition.[20] Some have been forced to resort to burial, as the solar collectors work only in clear weather. Vultures used to dispose of a body in minutes, and no other method has proved fully effective.
The right to use the Towers of Silence is a much-debated issue among the Parsi community. The facilities are usually managed by the anjumans, the predominantly conservative local Zoroastrian associations. These usually having five priests on a nine-member board. In accordance with Indian statutes, these associations have domestic authority over trust properties and have the right to grant or restrict entry and use, with the result that the associations frequently prohibit the use by the offspring of a "mixed marriage", that is, where one parent is a Parsi and the other is not.[21]
The towers remain in use as sacred locations for the Parsi community,[22] though non-members may not enter them.[23] In Mumbai visitors are shown a model of a tower. Organized tours can be taken to the site.[24][25]
Architectural and functional features
- The towers are uniform in their construction.
- The roof of the tower is lower in the middle than the outer and is divided into three concentric circles.
- The dead bodies are placed on stone beds on the roof of the tower and there is a central ossuary pit, into which the bodies fall after being eaten by vultures.
- The bodies disintegrate naturally assisted with lime and the remaining is washed off by rainwater into multiple filters of coal and sand, finally reaching the sea.
See also
- Burial tree
- Disposal of human corpses – Burial methods
- Fire temple, Zoroastrian place of worship
- Seth Modi Hirji Vachha, builder of the first (Mumbai) dakhma (1672)
- Sky burial
- Vāyu-Vāta, air (vāyu) as a sacred element; the Zoroastrian divinity of wind
- Natural Burial
References
- ^ from the original on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
- ^ LCCN 2003055913.
- ^ LCCN 2012049271.
- ISBN 978-3170171206.
- ^ "Herodotus iii. Defining the Persians". Encyclopaedia Iranica (online ed.). Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
- ^ Encyclopaedia Iranica, edited by Ehsan Yar-Shater, Routledge & Kegan Paul Volume 6, Parts 1–3, p. 281a.
- ^ Grenet, Frantz (January 2000). "BURIAL ii. Remnants of Burial Practices in Ancient Iran". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. IV. pp. 559–561. Fasc. 5–6.
- S2CID 146512196
- ^ Boyce, Mary (October 31, 2011) [First published 15 December 1993]. "CORPSE, disposal of, in Zoroastrianism". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. VI. pp. 279–286. Fasc. 3.
Agathias described at second hand the disposal of the body of the Persian general Mihr-Mihrōē, who died in 555: 'Then the attendants of Mihr-Mihrōē took up his body and removed it to a place outside the city and laid it there as it was, alone and uncovered according to their traditional custom, as refuse for dogs and horrible carrion birds'
- ^ ISBN 9789004294004.
- ISBN 978-0-88489-725-5.
- ^ Modi, Jivanji Jamshedji Modi (1928), The Funeral Ceremonies of the Parsees, Anthropological Society of Mumbai, archived from the original on 2005-02-07, retrieved 2005-09-09
- Here, Modi is quoting from a "short description of the tower with a plan as given by Mr. Nusserwanjee Byrawjee, the late energetic Secretary of the public charity funds and properties of the Parsi community."
- ^ Sunavala, Nergish (28 October 2014). "Defunct Tower of Silence lives on in the heart of an Andheri residential colony". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ Modi, Jivanji Jamshedji Modi (1928), The Funeral Ceremonies of the Parsees, Anthropological Society of Mumbai, archived from the original on 2005-02-07, retrieved 2005-09-09
- ^ a b c Boyce, Mary (1979), Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, London: Routledge, pp. 221–222
- PMID 23908718.
- ^ Tait, Malcolm (10 October 2004). "India's vulture population is facing catastrophic collapse and with it the sacrosanct corporeal passing of the Parsi dead". The Ecologist. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
- ^ Adam, David (31 January 2006). "Cattle drug blamed as India's vultures near extinction". The Guardian.
- PMID 16435886.
- ^ Srivastava, Sanjeev (18 July 2001), "Parsis turn to solar power", BBC News South Asia, archived from the original on 30 June 2006, retrieved 9 September 2005
- ISBN 9789004491274.
- ^ "My Visit To The Tower Of Silence Helped Me Come To Terms With Death". Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
- ^ Tower of Silence, Sky Burial and Birds of Prey
- ^ "Citizen groups oppose heritage tour of Parsi Tower of Silence". Hindustan Times. New Delhi, India: HT Digital Streams Ltd. 10 December 2016.
- ^ "Protests don't hinder heritage walk at Tower of Silence". Hindustan Times. 12 December 2016.
Further reading
- Vendidad Fargard 5, Purity Laws, as translated by James Darmesteter
- Wadia, Azmi (2002), "Evolution of the Towers of Silence and their Significance", in Godrej, Pheroza J.; Mistree, Firoza Punthakey (eds.), A Zoroastrian Tapestry, New York: Mapin
- Excerpted in "A Zoroastrian Tapestry (book extract)". The Hindu - Sunday Magazine. 21 July 2002. Archived from the original on 7 January 2003.
- Modi, Jivanji Jamshedji (2011) [Reprint of 2nd edition (1937), originally published by Jehangir B. Karani's Sons: Bombay]. Peterson, Joseph H. (ed.). The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Parsees (PDF). Kasson, Minnesota, US: Avesta.org.
- Lucarelli, Fosco (February 9, 2012). "Towers of Silence: Zoroastrian Architectures for the Ritual of Death", Socks-Studio
- Kotwal, Firoze M.; Mistree, Khojeste P. (2002), "Protecting the Physical World", in Godrej, Pheroza J.; Mistree, Firoza Punthakey (eds.), A Zoroastrian Tapestry, New York: Mapin, pp. 337–365
- منصور خواجه پور [Khajepour, Mansour]; زینب رئوفی [Raoufi, Zeinab] (June 2018). "راهبردی نظری برای باززندهسازی دخمههای زرتشتیان در ایران (نمونۀ موردی : دخمۀ زرتشتیان کرمان)" [A Theoretical Approach to Restoration of Zoroastrians' Tower of Silence (Dakhma) in Iran (A Case study of tower of silence of Kerman)]. ماهنامه علمی پژوهشی باغ نظر [Bagh-e-Nazar: The Scientific Journal of NAZAR research center for Art, Architecture & Urbanism] (in Persian and English). 15 (61): 57–70. .
- Harris, Gardiner (29 November 2012). "Giving New Life to Vultures to Restore a Human Ritual of Death", The New York Times
- Dunning, Brian (August 14, 2012). "Skeptoid #323: 8 Spooky Places, and Why They're Like That". Skeptoid.
1. Zoroastrian Towers of Silence
- Boyce, Mary (1979), Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, London: Routledge, pp. 156–162
- Boyce, Mary (1996), "Death among Zoroastrians", Encyclopædia Iranica, vol. 7, Cosa Mesa: Mazda, archived from the original on 2007-11-06, retrieved 2007-08-15