The Parsees of India 



533 



the head uncovered, either by day or 

 night ; hence a Parsee is never without 

 his skull cap or a woman without her 

 " mathabana." The latter is a thin 

 white linen of the size of a small hand- 

 kerchief. 



CUSTOMS AND MANNERS 



As a separate community the Parsees 

 have not only their peculiar religion, but 

 also their own moral code, and as a civil 

 body they are not only permitted, but 

 also aided by the state, in inforcing 

 their own laws of marriage and divorce. 

 Their ancient custom governing inherit- 

 ance and succession has been enacted for 

 them, on their petition, into the form of 

 a legal statute by the empire. They 

 enjoy full religious freedom, and their 

 peculiar customs and manners are fully 

 protected by the liberality of the British 

 rule in India. 



For a number of years after they 

 came to India they adhered to the use 

 of their native Persian language ; but 

 as time rolled on they gave it up for 

 Gujerati, the language of the Hindoos, 

 among whom they dwelt. Gujerati 

 now forms their vernacular. They are 

 taught English from earliest childhood, 

 and they study in the schools Persian 

 and Sanskrit as classics. They all 

 speak Hindustani, and many of them 

 are fluent in the Persian tongue, in 

 which they keep up communication 

 with their brethren in Persia. 



Their worship in the course of time 

 became tainted by many Hindoo prac- 

 tices, and the reverence for the fire and 

 sun, as emblems of the glory of "Or- 

 muzd, ' ' naturally degenerated into idol- 

 atrous practices. However, the wor- 

 ship in recent years has been restored to 

 its pristine purity, and the sacred fire 

 which Zoroaster is said to have brought 

 down from heaven is kept burning in 

 consecrated spots and temples are built 

 over subterranean fires. 



They have a priesthood which, 

 strange to say, are not educators or 



teachers of the people, as is usually the 

 case in other religious systems, nor are 

 they themselves necessarily educated, 

 but are simply a class of men who per- 

 form the ceremonial rites of the religion 

 at marriages and funerals, tend the fires 

 on the temple altars, burn incense, chant 

 hyms, and say prayers. 



The Parsee is imbued with a spirit of 

 toleration and is most respectful toward 

 the religions of others. Besides their 

 own sacred days, they observe many of 

 those of the Hindoos. In Bombay they 

 celebrate the holidays of the English 

 and close their shops and places of 

 business on the Christian Sabbath. 



There is now a marked desire on the 

 part of the Parsees to adapt themselves 

 to the manners and customs of the Euro- 

 peans. The Parsee mode of life may 

 be described as an eclectic ensemble, 

 half European and half Hindoo. As 

 they advance every year in civilization 

 and enlightenment, they copy more 

 closely European manners and modes 

 of living, adopting the bad with the 

 good — regretfully too much of the for- 

 mer. A Greek historian has remarked 

 that of all nations the ancient Persians 

 were most distinguished by their readi- 

 ness in imitating foreign manners and 

 customs. This peculiarity their de- 

 scendants have retained to the present 

 day. 



During their sojourn in Guzerat they 

 willingly adopted the language, dress, 

 and other social customs of that country , 

 and they now have taken as completely 

 to English manners and customs, so 

 much so that when they speak of ' ' going 

 home ' ' they mean to England. The 

 educated and influential classes have al- 

 ready adopted in their domestic life the 

 comforts, conveniences, elegancies, and, 

 we may also add, the costliness of the 

 European style. 



The domestic arrangements of their 

 houses have also undergone, of late, vast 

 changes. Their houses are generally 

 built in good taste, upon well-conceived 



