The Encyclopedia of World Religions

490 S Zoroastrianism

In recent decades this practice has been the subject of some discussion within Zoroastrian communities. Those who live in areas where there is not a large concentration of Zoroastrians find it difficult to maintain the tradition. Some bury the dead. Others advocate electric cremation as a via ble alternative to exposure. ORGANIZATION One can be a Zoroastrian only if one’s father is a Zoroastrian. The community does not accept converts. Parsees say that they had to agree not to accept converts in order to gain permission to live in India. A man may become a priest if his father was a priest. He receives special instruction, traditionally from his father. He also undergoes special RITUALS to invest him with the office of the priesthood. SIGNIFICANCE The number of Zoroastrians in the world is not large, perhaps 150,000. Nevertheless, Zoroastrian ism is a major and ancient religion. In addition, significant elements of J UDAISM , C HRISTIANITY , and I SLAM may be of Zoroastrian origin. These elements include beliefs in ANGELS , in the devil, in a final judgment, and in a RESURRECTION of the dead. Further reading: Mary Boyce, Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (London and New York: Routledge, 2001); Peter Clark, Zoroastrianism: An Introduction to an Ancient Faith (Portland, Ore.: Sussex Academic Press, 1998); Sooni Taraporevala, Parsis: The Zoroastrians of India: A Photographic Journey (London: Overlook Duckworth, 2004).

wide. He or she crosses easily and enters the pres ence of Ahura Mazda. But if the deceased has fol lowed the Lie, the Bridge becomes as narrow as a razor’s edge, and he or she falls into the abyss. PRACTICES The most common symbol of Zoroastrianism is fire, for Zoroastrians think that fire is supremely pure. Indeed, Zoroastrian temples are known as fire tem ples. They contain fires that burn continuously in large metal vessels. Five times a day priests tend the fires. They add fuel and recite prayers from the Avesta. Observant Zoroastrians bathe ritually for pur poses of purity. Their daily life is also divided into five different PRAYER periods. The most important Zoroastrian festival is New Year’s. Known as No Ruz or “New Day,” it is a joyous celebration held around the time of the spring equinox. At the age of seven for Parsees, 10 for Gabars, boys and girls become members of the community through a ritual known as navjot, “new birth.” On this occasion they receive a white shirt and a sacred thread. They wear them for the rest of their lives. The Zoroastrian practice best known to outsid ers is probably the funeral, although it is simply one facet of a rich religious life. Zoroastrians believe that it is wrong to pollute any of the four elements, earth, air, fire, or water. Therefore, they have traditionally not buried or cremated their dead. Instead, they have placed the corpses in specially constructed wells known as “towers of silence.” Relatively quickly, vultures eat the fleshy parts of the corpse. The bones are then dried by the sun and gathered into special holding areas or ossuaries.