The Parsees of India 



55 1 



When the ceremony has been con- 

 cluded the bridegroom, accompanied 

 by his friends, retires to his own house, 

 where they all sit down to a banquet. 

 The bride's party are entertained by her 

 father. The ladies are first served, and 

 when they have left the table it is pre- 

 pared for the gentlemen. 



The Parsees, from their earliest so- 

 journ in India, have refrained from eat- 

 . ing meat on the day of marriage, to avoid 

 giving offense to the feelings of the 

 Hindoos. The viands, therefore, con- 

 sist of fish, vegetables, sweetmeats, 

 fruits, preserves, and similar articles. 

 Wines are drunk freely, and several 

 toasts are proposed by the company, inr 

 eluding the health of the wedded pair, 

 their parents, and the chief men of the 

 assembly. After dinner the ladies retire 

 to their own houses, but the gentlemen 

 sit till a late hour enjoying the pleasures 

 of a ' ' natch, " or of a band that follows. 

 A repetition of the nuptial benediction 

 is also performed by the priests after 

 midnight before a few select friends and 

 relatives. 



As the couple are invariably young, 

 separate accommodation is seldom al- 

 lotted them after their marriage, nor 

 even when they have attained adult age 

 do they leave the parental roof. They 

 live in the same house with the other 

 members of the family. 



Though a father has six or seven sons 

 they all reside, with their wives and 

 children, in the house of their sire, and 

 the gray-headed old man is often able 

 to look with pride and pleasure upon 

 the group of children and grandchildren 

 around him. 



THE TOWERS OF SILENCE 



Mr John Fryer, who arrived in Bom- 

 bay in the year 1671, says in his book 

 of travels : 4 ' On the other side of the 

 great inlet to the sea is a great point 

 abutting Old Women's Island, and is 

 called Malabar Hill ; a rocky, woody 

 mountain, yet sends forth long grass. 



At the top of all is a Parsy tomb, lately 

 reared. On its declivity, towards the 

 sea, the remains of a stupendous pagod, 

 near a tank of fresh water, which the 

 Malabars visit it mainly for." This 

 " Parsy tomb," or "dokma," as it is 

 called in the vernacular, still exists on 

 Malabar Hill. 



In accordance with religious injunc- 

 tions, the Parsees build their Towers of 

 Silence on the tops of hills, if available. 

 No expense is spared in constructing 

 them of the hardest and best materials, 

 with a view that they may last for cen- 

 turies, without the possibility of pol- 

 luting the earth or contaminating any 

 living beings dwelling thereon. 



On Malabar Hill, a long, prominent, 

 rocky ridge, paralleling and overlook- 

 ing the Arabian Sea, are built the 

 ' ' Towers of Silence. ' ' They are five in 

 number, the one mentioned by Dr Fryer 

 now more than 230 years old ; another 

 for the use of suicides only, and three 

 others. 



They are surrounded by about six- 

 teen acres of ground, artistically laid 

 out and planted with beautiful flowers 

 and tropical plants. Just inside the 

 entrance gate is a peculiarly constructed 

 building, set apart for a fire temple and 

 a house of prayer. These " Dokinas," 

 or "Towers of Silence," are built upon 

 one plan, but their size may and does 

 vary. The largest of them measures 

 276 feet in circumference, or about 90 

 feet in diameter, surrounded by a cir- 

 cular wall, 20 to 30 feet in height, built 

 of the hardest stone, and faced with 

 chunam or white plaster. There is an 

 opening or door just above the ground 

 level, through which the dead bodies are 

 carried by professional corpse-bearers, 

 who have gone through certain religious 

 ceremonies and who are alone privileged 

 to carry the corpses into the tower. No 

 one else can enter or touch them. 



That an intelligent idea may be given 

 I have annexed hereto a ground plan 

 of a tower of silence. Inside the tower 



