Towering disquiet

When the Zoroastrians began to migrate to India from Iran between the 8th and 10th centuries, they adopted the Gujarati language and some Indian traditions but they still maintained their separate ethnic identity. Sky burial or exposure of the dead to the elements is used by Zoroastrians who have access to a ‘dakhma’ or Tower of Silence.  Zoroastrians are perhaps the earliest Environmental Warriors. Great care was taken since the last 3,500 years not to pollute the four elements of fire, air, earth and water. This is why traditional Zoroastrians prefer to consign their dead to the Tower of Silence. A dead body is considered to be unclean and hence a major source of contamination. The Vendidad or book of laws prohibits cremation for a Zoroastrian. Fire is venerated as the greatest purifier. Earth was not to be defiled by placing a corpse in it, nor was water to be corrupted by burial at sea.

In ancient Persia, these sky burial places were built on accessible mountains or hills. They are called towers as they are circular structures built on higher ground and are open to the sky. Three concentric circular rings in the tower had bodies of men in the outermost circle placed on flat platform, followed by bodies of women in the middle ring and those of children in the innermost circle. Vultures would pick off the flesh and the bones would be bleached by the sun and collected in the central pit to disintegrate, sometimes with the help of lime. Rainwater, sand and charcoal would ensure that the smallest fragments were broken down and returned to nature. The practice of exposing the dead to the elements continued for centuries but has been discontinued in Iran for the last four decades in favour of burial as this Zoroastrian ritual was expressly forbidden by law in Iran. All through the 20th century, Zoroastrians in Iran who wanted to be buried, either out of fear that their towers would be repeatedly broken into by non-Zoroastrians, or because they found the system outdated, would be taken to a cemetery close to Tehran. Their graves are lined with rocks and well-plastered to avoid direct contact and hence pollution of the Earth.

There are such burial grounds in Delhi, Shimla and Nainital for Parsis. All over North India, or in places like Chennai and Ootacamund in the Nilgiris where the Parsis were too few to build and maintain a Tower of Silence, such burial grounds have been present. Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw is buried at the Parsi cemetery in Ooty. Nagpur has an ‘Aramgarh’ or Parsi burial ground which is more than 150 years old.

Hyderabad has a population of over 1,200 Parsis and has two dakhmas in nearby Secunderabad. In Secunderabad as well as in many other cities, because of the dwindling numbers of vultures, solar concentrators use heat to hasten the process of disposal. Omim Maneckshaw Debara, a social activist from Hyderabad says, “A person has the right to choose the way he would like his mortal remains to be dealt with. Although our religion tells us that we should not contaminate Air, Water, Fire and Earth by disposing our body by burial or cremation, burial is the only option all over North India. A Zoroastrian dying abroad has no other option but to be buried or cremated. No fuss is made in reciting their funeral prayers so why should we insist that only the Tower of Silence be used wherever available otherwise the four days prayers would not be said. It should be left to the discretion of an individual priest to decide whether he would like to recite the four days prayers of individuals who go for cremation or burial.” 

The city of Bangalore has both a Tower of Silence as well as a Parsi cemetery. The dakhma system is more widespread in Western India, especially in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Even a small town like Aurangabad, which has a microscopic Parsi population, has its own dakhma.

Some Zoroastrians do prefer cremation or burial. There is a 3,700-square-foot prayer hall with an electric crematorium built near it in Worli especially for those Zoroastrians who may prefer an alternate means of disposing of their dead or children from mixed marriages. Reformist Zoroastrian priests will recite all the Zoroastrian prayers and follow the post death rituals, including the four-day prayers, according to the Zoroastrian faith. Traditionalists have been against these being performed near the Tower of Silence in Mumbai. Jehangir Patel, editor of Parsiana magazine feels, “Everyone should have the right to decide how their body is to be disposed. Freedom of choice is an inherent principle of Zoroastrianism. The funerary prayers should be performed in accordance with the wishes of the deceased. No priest should be victimised for performing obsequious ceremonies for those opting for cremation or burial, even if a functioning dakhma or Tower of Silence is in the vicinity.” The Worli prayer hall now offers a real alternative to those who may wish to be buried or cremated but also have their Zoroastrian prayers said even in a city like Mumbai where a Tower of Silence exists. The hall can also be used by members of other faiths but has been built by the Parsi community members with an endowment from the AH Wadia Trust on land provided by the BMC.

Farzaan Pudumjee, a master mariner living in Mumbai says, “Everything about the Zoroastrian religion is to prevent defilation of nature’s elements, even in death, hence the exposure of the dead in the Tower of Silence was considered to be the most eco-friendly disposal of the dead. In the absence of vultures the system has basically failed and its purpose of being eco-friendly is lost. The pressing issue now is whether we continue with this system or do we adapt to changing times. The more practical approach is to use the electric cremation technique. In this manner the dead body will be disposed of quickly.” 

Most Zoroastrians when asked about their views seemed surprised. Most felt that while Hindus cremate their deceased and Muslims and Christians bury their dead, Zoroastrians tend to use their Towers of Silence in cities where they exist. Many pointed out that Tibetans too, use sky burial. All insisted that this was a very personal choice. 

The author is a writer