Vol. XVI, No. 12 WASHINGTON December, 1905 



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THE PARSEES AND THE TOWERS OF 

 SILENCE AT BOMBAY, INDIA 



By William Thomas Fee, U. S. Consul General, Bombay 



The following story of the Parsee people and the description of the Towers of Silence 

 at Bombay were written at the United States Consulate largely during hours in the 

 night-time \ at seasons when the excessive heat of India prevented Dame Nature from 

 performing her part of the ' ' sweet restorer. ' ' 



It is not claimed that anything new has been told, though it is hoped that some of 

 the old may have been stated in a new light. It is mainly descriptive and written 

 solely for the pleasure and profit of my fellow-countrymen, who of late years have found 

 much of interest in the traditions and customs of the people of India. 



I am under great obligations to many Parsees for considerable data and help given 

 me, but especially to my friend, the late Dossabhai Framjee Karaka, the historian. 



The drawi?ig and photographic feature is made use of to illustrate the development 

 and individual attai?iments of members of this remarkable rpce. 



WM. THOS. FEE. 



THOUGH comparatively small in 

 point of numbers, the Parsees 

 occupy one of the foremost 

 places among Indian nationalities. 

 Their social position, peculiar customs, 

 manners, and foreign designation are 

 impressively striking to a stranger on 

 his first visit to Bombay. Their story 

 is a romantic tale of a people whose 

 ancestry appeared at the very dawn of 

 history, and who occupied Persia when 

 Abraham was a nomadic wanderer, tend- 

 ing his flocks on the sandy plains beyond 

 the Euphrates. They claim that their 



ancestral race was the foremost Asiatic 

 nation of their time, whose grandeur, 

 magnificence, and glory were unsur- 

 passed; that their kings were the most 

 powerful and wisest of monarchs, whose 

 armies were renowned for courage and 

 military prowess ; that they were valor- 

 ous and energetic, bringing up their 

 youth to ' ' ride, draw the bow, and speak 

 the truth ; ' ' that their heroes were as 

 humane as they were courageous; that 

 their women were as brave as they were 

 fair, and as celebrated for the freedom 

 allowed them as for their modesty. 



