look news india
There are countless traditions and customs around the world regarding the cremation of human remains, where depending on the religion and culture the dead are dedicated to the fire or buried underground. But amidst all this, there is one such ancient and special community of the world whose funeral method is far away from all these prevalent methods and is extremely surprising. We are talking about the followers of the Parsi community i.e. Zoroastrian religion, who neither burn the bodies of their dead loved ones in fire nor bury them underground. A very secret and unique tradition has been going on in this community for centuries, which is known as ‘Tower of Silence’ or ‘Dakhma’. Behind this practice lies a deep philosophical and religious belief, under which the body is completely dedicated to nature. In this era of modernity, where the world is changing rapidly, this mysterious tradition of the Parsi community still remains a subject of great curiosity and astonishment among the people, about which everyone wants to know in detail.
What is the ‘Tower of Silence’ of Parsi religion and the philosophical basis behind it?
According to the religious texts and beliefs of the Parsi community, these three elements, earth, water and fire, are considered extremely sacred and it is the ultimate duty of every follower to protect them from any kind of impurity. They strongly believe that when a person dies, his body becomes impure and the dead body begins to decompose. If this impure body is buried in the ground, it will defile the sacred earth, and if it is burnt in fire, the sacred fire will become impure. Due to this religious and environmental sensitivity, he came up with a unique way of disposal of dead bodies which completely matches with the cycle of nature. ‘Tower of Silence’ is a high, round shaped tower made of marble or stone with an open roof, which is built on a quiet hill or a secluded place, far away from the noise and population of the city, so that there is no access for the common people at all.
The complete secret and traditional process of placing the dead body on the roof of the tower
When a person dies in the Parsi community, a special and extremely strict religious procedure is followed for his last rites, in which only a select few trained people called ‘Nasasalar’ are allowed to attend. First of all the body of the deceased is purified with special prayers and chanting of mantras and it is wrapped in white cotton clothes. After this, the dead body is placed on a traditional bier and taken to the premises of ‘Tower of Silence’ in a very confidential manner. Only those special people are allowed to enter this tower who handle the dead bodies, and other family members or relatives offer their prayers only from a certain distance. After reaching inside the tower, the dead body is kept in special grooves made on the open roof according to its structure, from where it comes directly under the sky and in contact with the open environment of nature.
The role of vultures and the major challenges faced by this tradition in modern times.
In this entire ritual of Parsi tradition, the role of birds, especially vultures, was considered to be the most central and important, because these birds used to do the work of naturally cleaning the dead bodies kept on the roof of the Tower of Silence. Within a few hours or days, the vultures would completely clean away the flesh of that dead body and only dry bones would remain, which were then dropped into the well in the middle of the tower after drying in the sun, merging into nature. But due to the drastic changes in the environment in the last few decades and mainly due to the huge decline in the number of vultures across the country, the Parsi community is facing a big crisis in carrying on this ancient tradition. The near extinction of vultures has made it very difficult for bodies to be decomposed naturally, due to which alternatives to this system are now being considered in Mumbai and other major Parsi dominated areas, although efforts are still underway to preserve its original religious form.
The changing world with time and the unbroken existence of this ancient culture
The Parsi community may be a very small minority in the world in terms of numbers, but their cultural values, philanthropy and history are highly respected throughout the world. His unique tradition like ‘Tower of Silence’ may seem a bit strange or mysterious to the listener for the first time in today’s modern scientific era, but behind it lies his immense love for nature and respect for its resources. This practice teaches us how ancient cultures struck a balance between their religion and the environment that is still a topic of consideration today. In this era of modernity, where every tradition is questioned, the Parsi community still preserves its unique heritage as a symbol of its faith, which remains a very precious and unheard part of the diverse cultural fabric of human history.