Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

In The Towers Of Silence, An Ancient Ritual Of Death Comes Under Threat
The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 9-12-2006 | Peter Foster

Posted on 09/11/2006 8:20:59 PM PDT by blam

In the Towers of Silence, an ancient ritual of death comes under threat

By Peter Foster in New Delhi

(Filed: 12/09/2006)

The viability of the centuries-old Zoroastrian custom of allowing vultures to consume the corpses of its devotees has been called into question after a relative of one of the dead discovered piles of rotting bodies lying almost untouched by the birds.

Dhun Baria, a member of Bombay's Zoroastrian community, known as Parsis, was shocked to be told that the body of her mother had lain untouched for nine months after she was laid to rest at the Towers of Silence, a stone well in Bombay where the dead are laid out for the vultures.

The Parsi community has been facing mounting difficulties over how to cope with their dead — about 1,000 a year — since India's vulture population suffered a catastrophic decline in the 1990s.

Graphic new photographs from inside the Towers — which according to strict rules only Khandiyas, or pall bearers, are allowed to enter — has led to liberal Parsis questioning whether the community should now cremate or bury its dead.

The pictures show piles of rotting corpses, some with the eyes gouged out by crows and other scavengers.

According to the tenets of the religion founded in ancient Persia by the prophet Zarathustra in the 7th century BC, the bodies should be picked clean in four days in order to release the spirit of the deceased.

Mrs Baria, a 65-year-old social worker, has been branded a blasphemer by orthodox Parsis for distributing the pictures in leaflets given to worshippers entering Zoroastrian fire temples in Bombay.

"The pall bearers told me that my mother's body was still inside, nothing had changed. They said she was going to be there for years," she said.

"If your wife, who you sleep with, or your son who you have lived with, were to die tomorrow, would you be able to bear it if they were in that state?"

The introduction of solar panels to speed up the desiccation and decomposition of the bodies has only partially solved the problem, as during the long monsoon months there is insufficient sunshine for them to be effective.

The fall in vulture numbers has been linked to the widespread use of a bovine painkiller, diclofenac, which poisons the birds when they feed on the carcasses of fallen livestock.

Despite the furore caused by Mrs Baria's pictures and other campaigns, traditionalists have firmly rejected calls for a change to the burial rites.

"We Parsis are a conservative lot," said Minoo Shroff, the chairman of the Parsi Panchayat, or governing council, in Bombay. "In spite of our education and eminence in public life, we cannot accept change in our customs so quickly. It must take time."

But the deteriorating situation — and what some argue to be a growing health risk — has caused some reformist Parsis to call for changes that reflect modern realities.

"The system has failed miserably and people are getting upset," said Jehangir Patel, the editor of Parsiana magazine. "More people are asking questions about bodies lying and rotting and left there."

Homi Mehta, a 32-year-old Parsi architect, said his faith in the funeral rites has been shaken by the dispute.

"If someone I loved died during the monsoon, I wouldn't want them to be left hanging there," he said.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ancient; comes; death; diclofenac; excarnation; godsgravesglyphs; india; iran; ritual; silence; threat; towerofsilence; towers; under; vultures; zoroastrianism; zoroastrians
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-38 next last

1 posted on 09/11/2006 8:21:02 PM PDT by blam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

GGG Ping?


2 posted on 09/11/2006 8:21:34 PM PDT by blam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam

I've asked to be cremated. But if this is cheaper . . . . .


3 posted on 09/11/2006 8:25:57 PM PDT by BipolarBob (I get homesick when I look up in the skies and see my home planet.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam
Put them towers in, Arkansas. Of course every vulture is needed to clean the highways.
4 posted on 09/11/2006 8:37:19 PM PDT by the_daug
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BipolarBob

Some entrepreneur somewhere is thinking about how this opens up new possibilities for condor conservation in the Southwest.


5 posted on 09/11/2006 8:37:46 PM PDT by pierrem15 (Charles Martel: past and future of France)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: blam

"The pictures show piles of rotting corpses, some with the eyes gouged out by crows and other scavengers. "

i assume eyes are among the first things eaten by scavengers, including vultures, so at least the job is getting partly done.


6 posted on 09/11/2006 8:39:13 PM PDT by WoofDog123
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pierrem15
You could kill save two birds with one stoned.
7 posted on 09/11/2006 8:40:05 PM PDT by BipolarBob (I get homesick when I look up in the skies and see my home planet.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: blam

Perhaps they should look to new scavengers? Introduce something else into the towers.

Maybe Hyenas.


8 posted on 09/11/2006 8:43:25 PM PDT by Dreagon
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam

They're short of vultures? Send 1/10 of our lawyers over there - that should take care of it. (Heck - send them all).


9 posted on 09/11/2006 8:43:27 PM PDT by geopyg (If the carrot doesn't work, use the stick. Don't wish for peace, pray for Victory.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam

Haven't these folks ever heard of how to use lime?


10 posted on 09/11/2006 8:44:58 PM PDT by 308MBR (Milkin' and a churnin', pickin' cotton, raising "heck" and balin' hay!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BipolarBob
I've asked to be cremated. But if this is cheaper . . . . .

To each his own. In My case just dig a hole, throw me in it, cover it back up and everybody go back to business as usual.
My life has been rather unremarkable and my passing should be equally unremarkable.
To maintain balance you understand.

11 posted on 09/11/2006 8:57:43 PM PDT by Fiddlstix (Warning! This Is A Subliminal Tagline! Read it at your own risk!(Presented by TagLines R US))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: blam

we have plenty of vultures in Cooke Co.


12 posted on 09/11/2006 8:57:47 PM PDT by rahbert
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam
Very interesting. This reminded me of something I was reading just the other day on Tibetan Buddhism:

Stupa burial and cremation are reserved for high lamas who are being honored in death. Sky burial is the usual means for disposing of the corpses of commoners. Sky burial is not considered suitable for children who are less than 18, pregnant women, or those who have died of infectious disease or accident. The origin of sky burial remains largely hidden in Tibetan mystery.

Sky burial is a ritual that has great religious meaning. Tibetans are encouraged to witness this ritual, to confront death openly and to feel the impermanence of life. Tibetans believe that the corpse is nothing more than an empty vessel. The spirit, or the soul, of the deceased has exited the body to be reincarnated into another circle of life. It is believed that the Drigung Kagyu order of Tibetan Buddhism established the tradition in this land of snow, although there are other versions of its origin.

The corpse is offered to the vultures. It is believed that the vultures are Dakinis. Dakinis are the Tibetan equivalent of angels. In Tibetan, Dakini means "sky dancer". Dakinis will take the soul into the heavens, which is understood to be a windy place where souls await reincarnation into their next lives. This donation of human flesh to the vultures is considered virtuous because it saves the lives of small animals that the vultures might otherwise capture for food. Sakyamuni, one of the Buddhas, demonstrated this virtue. To save a pigeon, he once fed a hawk with his own flesh.

After death, the deceased will be left untouched for three days. Monks will chant around the corpse. Before the day of sky burial, the corpse will be cleaned and wrapped in white cloth. The corpse will be positioned in a fetal position, the same position in which the person had been born. The ritual of sky burial usually begins before dawn. Lamas lead a ritual procession to the charnel ground, chanting to guide the soul. There are few charnel grounds in Tibet. They are usually located near monasteries. Few people would visit charnel grounds except to witness sky burials. Few would want to visit these places.

After the chanting, the body breakers prepare the body for consumption by the vultures. The body is unwrapped and the first cut is made on the back. Hatchets and cleavers are used to quickly cut the body up, in a definite and precise way. Flesh is cut into chunks of meat. The internal organs are cut into pieces. Bones are smashed into splinters and then mixed with tsampa, roasted barley flour.

As the body breakers begin, juniper incense is burned to summon the vultures for their tasks, to eat breakfast and to be Dakinis. During the process of breaking up the body, those ugly and enormous birds circle overhead, awaiting their feast. They are waved away by the funeral party, usually consisting of the friends of the deceased, until the body breakers have completed their task. After the body has been totally separated, the pulverized bone mixture is scattered on the ground. The birds land and hop about, grabbing for food. To assure ascent of the soul, the entire body of the deceased should be eaten. After the bone mixture, the organs are served next, and then the flesh.

This mystical tradition arouses curiosity among those who are not Tibetan. However, Tibetans strongly object to visits by the merely curious. Only the funeral party will be present at the ritual. Photography is strictly forbidden. Tibetans believe that photographing the ritual might negatively affect the ascent of the soul.

You have to wonder about the connection and communication. This was found at this web site

13 posted on 09/11/2006 9:09:01 PM PDT by JimSEA ( "The purpose of diplomacy is to prolong a crisis." Spock)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: blam

Gators will do it!


14 posted on 09/11/2006 9:20:18 PM PDT by SWAMPSNIPER (MAY I DIE ON MY FEET IN MY SWAMP, BUAIDH NO BAS)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: JimSEA
"You have to wonder about the connection and communication."

Yup. Very interesting...we're all connected, some how.

15 posted on 09/11/2006 9:22:20 PM PDT by blam
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: JimSEA

"This mystical tradition arouses curiosity among those who are not Tibetan. However, Tibetans strongly object to visits by the merely curious. Only the funeral party will be present at the ritual. Photography is strictly forbidden. Tibetans believe that photographing the ritual might negatively affect the ascent of the soul.

In other words, the Tibetans don't want the world to know of their savage rituals.


16 posted on 09/11/2006 9:40:41 PM PDT by stultorum
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: stultorum
In other words, the Tibetans don't want the world to know of their savage rituals.

I must have missed the savage part, but it sounds more natural to me than pumping the body full of preservatives and sealing it in an airtight box.

17 posted on 09/11/2006 9:49:11 PM PDT by cryptical (Wretched excess is just barely enough.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: cryptical

http://www.forestofmemories.org/


18 posted on 09/11/2006 9:54:54 PM PDT by Salamander (And don't forget my Dog; fixed and consequent.........)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Fiddlstix

"A man said to the universe..."


19 posted on 09/11/2006 10:15:36 PM PDT by Calvin Locke
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: blam

At least the bodies in the towers are out of sight. The bodies washed up on the riverbank behind the Taj Mahal are in plain sight.


20 posted on 09/11/2006 10:44:13 PM PDT by mugs99 (Don't take life too seriously, you won't get out alive.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-38 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson