User:Cerin5/sandbox/Parsi Community

=Parsi Community=

The Parsis are Persians that left Iran around the tenth century CE to escape persecution from the Iranians. Parsis are members of the religion Zoroastrianism [], which is often called the middle ground between Western and Eastern religions. Zoroastrianism is believed to be the oldest religion containing a prophet. Zoroaster [] sometimes referred to as Zarathustra, he was a priest that claimed he had seen Ahura Mazda (God)[].

Origins
Zoroaster taught that good and evil were opposite forces and that it was the duty of the person to make the choice between the two. The two paths are asa the path of righteousness, or druj the lie. An interesting note is that there was never a distinguishing factor of sex. Males as well as females would be judged equally based on their adherences to these two paths. The good is represented through Ahura Mazda, and the evil being Angra Mainyu (The Evil Destructive Spirit). A hymn of the teachings are in the language Gathic Avestan [], it is closely related to Vedic Sanskrit. The Zoroastrian hymn is their holy book named Avesta. It was written around approximately 5 century CE; however the ritualistic practices that accompany it are from a much earlier period.

The Parsis fled to India for a land where they could find religious freedom. The Qissa-I Sanjan [] is the tale of their journey to India from Iran. They were allowed to settle in India because of a local Hindi prince. However, they were given certain rules which they had to live by. These rules consisted of: speaking the local language, follow local marriage customs, and not carrying any weapons. These rules were accepted by the community for they were not forced to make any major changes to their lives or religion. After showing the many similarities of the two religions, they were even granted a plot of land on which to build a temple.

Parsi Religious Practice
Parsis are generally not very concerned with the theological study aspect of their religion. Most Parsis know their religion because it is tied into their identity, and know very little about the formal teachings. The main components of Zoroastrianism and the Parsi community is the concept of purity and pollution, initiation, daily prayers, temple worship, marriage, funerals, and general worship.

Purity and Pollution
The balance between good and evil is correlated to the idea of purity and pollution. Purity is a part of the very essence of godliness. Pollution's very point is to destroy the purity through the death of a human. In order to adhere to purity it is their duty to continue to preserve purity within their body as God created them. A priest in Zoroastrianism is spending their entire life dedicated to following a holy life.

Initiation
In Zoroastrianism one is initiated into the faith. However, the person is not initiated as an infant like christening, and they are old enough to choose to enter into the faith. The initiation begins with a ritual bath, then a spiritual cleansing prayer, and the child changes into white pajama pants, shawl, and a small cap. There are introductory prayers, and then they are given the sacred items that are associated with Zoroastrianism. They include: sacred shirt and cord, sudre, and kusti. The child then faces the main priest and fire is brought in to represent God. Once the priest finishes with the prayers, the child’s initiation is finished and they are now a part of the community and religion.

Marriage
Marriage is very important to the members of the Parsi community. In order to continue the expansion of God’s kingdom, they must procreate. Up until the mid-nineteenth century child marriages were common. However the idea of child marriage is not a part of the religious doctrine. Consequently when social reform started happening in India, the Parsi community discontinued the practice of child marriages. There are however rising problems over the availability of brides to marry. More and more women in the Parsi community are becoming well educated, and are therefore either delaying marriage, or not partaking at all. Women within the Parsi community in India are ninety-seven percent literate, and forty-two percent completed high school or college, and twenty-nine percent have an occupation in which they gain a substantial amount of money. The wedding ceremony begins much like the initiation with cleansing bath. They then travel to the wedding in florally decorated cars. The priests from both families facilitate the wedding. The couple begins facing one another with a sheet to block their view of one another. Wool is passed over the two seven times binding them together. The two are then supposed to throw rice to their partner symbolizing dominance. The religious element comes in next when the two sit side by side to face the priest.

Funerals
The pollution that is associated with death has to be handled carefully. There is a separate part of the home designated to house the corpse for funeral proceedings before being taken away. The priest comes to say prayers that are for cleansing of sins and to affirm the faith of the deceased. Fire is brought to the room and prayers are begun. The body is washed and placed in clean in a sudre and kusti. The ceremony then begins and a circle is drawn around the body in which only the bearers may enter. As they proceed to the cemetery they walk in pairs and are connected by white fabric. A dog is essential in the funeral process because it is able to see death. The body is taken to the tower of death where the vultures take care of it. Once the bones are bleached by the sun the bones are pushed into the circular opening in the center. The mourning process is four days long, and rather than creating graves for the dead, they make charities in honor of the person. The reason for the Tower of Silence is to contain the pollution. Since anything associated with death is considered impure they wish to contain it within the Tower of Silence.

Temples
Zoroastrianism festivals were originally held out in the open air, temples were not common until later into the religious ceremonies. Most of the temples were built by wealthier Parsis, who needed centers that housed purity. As stated before fire is considered to represent the presence of god, and there are two distinct differences for the types of fire for the different temples. The first type of temple is the Atss Bahram, which is the highest level of fire. The fire is prepared for an entire year before in can be installed, once it is it is cared for to the highest possible degree. There are only eight temples such as these located within India. The second type of fire temple is called a Dar-i Mihr, and the process for the preparation is not as intense, and there are about 160 located throughout India.