Voices from Zoroastrian Iran: Oral Texts and Testimony. Vol. 1: Urban Centres (Gottinger Orientforschungen, III. Reihe: Iranica) 3447111291, 9783447111294

Citation preview

Sarah Stewart

Voices from Zoroastrian Iran Oral Texts and Testimony Vol. 1: Urban Centres In collaboration with Mandana Moavenat

GÖTTINGER ORIENTFORSCHUNGEN

IRANICA Neue Folge  17

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-11129-4 ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19812-7

G Ö T T I N G E R   O R I E N T F O R S C H U N G E N I I I.  R E I H E:  I R A N I C A Neue Folge 17 Herausgegeben von Philip G. Kreyenbroek

2018

Harrassowitz Verlag · Wiesbaden

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-11129-4 ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19812-7

Sarah Stewart

Voices from Zoroastrian Iran Oral Texts and Testimony Vol. 1: Urban Centres In collaboration with Mandana Moavenat

2018

Harrassowitz Verlag · Wiesbaden

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-11129-4 ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19812-7

Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.dnb.de abrufbar. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.

For further information about our publishing program consult our website http://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de © Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden 2018 This work, including all of its parts, is protected by copyright. Any use beyond the limits of copyright law without the permission of the publisher is forbidden and subject to penalty. This applies particularly to reproductions, translations, microfilms and storage and processing in electronic systems. Printed on permanent/durable paper. Printing and binding: Rosch-Buch Druckerei GmbH, Scheßlitz Printed in Germany ISSN 0340-6334 ISBN 978-3-447-11129-4 eISBN 978-3-447-19812-7

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-11129-4 ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19812-7

Dedicated to the memory of Gohar PourbahrƗmi

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-11129-4 ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19812-7

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-11129-4 ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19812-7

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-11129-4 ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19812-7

Isfahan 200

Ahvaz 97

Shiraz 300

Kerman 1,500

Yazd 2,000

Karaj 400+

Tehran 20,000 +

Estimated Zoroastrian Population of Iran (2017)

Map of Iran

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Contents Map of Iran ...................................................................................................... VII Preface and Acknowledgements ....................................................................... XIII Introduction ..................................................................................................... Oral Texts and Their Role in the Zoroastrian Tradition ................................ Oral Testimony ........................................................................................... The Interviews ............................................................................................

1 3 4 5

Chapter 1 Background and Context: Religion ................................................... 1.1 Revelation/Divine Inspiration ................................................................ 1.2 Doctrine and Teaching .......................................................................... 1.3 Ritual and the Priesthood....................................................................... 1.3.1 ‘Inner’Rituals ..................................................................................... 1.3.2 ‘Outer’ Rituals ...................................................................................

9 12 19 21 24 28

Chapter 2 Devotional Life: Customs and Observances ..................................... 2.1 The Religious Year ............................................................................... 2.1.1 The Old and New Calendars ............................................................... 2.1.2 Months............................................................................................... 2.1.3 Days .................................................................................................. 2.1.4 The Five *Ɨhs, or Watches of the Day................................................ 2.1.5 Nabor Days ........................................................................................ 2.2 Annual Festivals ................................................................................... 2.2.1 Nowruz .............................................................................................. ‘New’ Nowruz ................................................................................ 2.2.2 Sizdah be-dar (national holiday) ......................................................... 2.2.3 The Six *ƗKƗmbƗrs ........................................................................... 2.2.4 0ƗhiyƗneh Festivals........................................................................... FarvardinegƗn ................................................................................ MehregƗn ....................................................................................... TiregƗn ........................................................................................... 2.2.5 Other Annual Festivals ....................................................................... Sadeh.............................................................................................. HirombƗ ......................................................................................... Havzoru .......................................................................................... Death of Zarathustra ....................................................................... 2.2.6 Porseh HamegƗni............................................................................... 2.3 Daily Observances ................................................................................

29 32 32 32 32 33 33 33 33 34 35 35 36 36 37 37 38 38 38 39 39 39 39

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X

Contents

2.3.1 Early Morning .................................................................................... 2.3.2 At Mealtimes ...................................................................................... 2.4 Acts of Worship .................................................................................... 2.4.1 Visiting the Fire Temple ..................................................................... 2.4.2 ShƗhverahrƗm Izad ............................................................................. 2.4.3 Other Shrines/Pilgrimage Sites............................................................ 2.5 Rites of Passage..................................................................................... 2.5.1 Sedreh-pushi....................................................................................... 2.5.2 Weddings ........................................................................................... Nur o Sarv....................................................................................... NumzƗdi (engagement) .................................................................... Wedding Ceremony......................................................................... 2.5.3 Death Ceremonies .............................................................................. The Funeral Ceremony and the First Day ......................................... Rituals on the Third, Fourth, Tenth and Thirtieth Day After Death ... Porseh............................................................................................. Ruzeh (monthly ceremonies after death) ........................................... The First Anniversary after Death (6Ɨl)............................................ Later Ceremonies ............................................................................ 2.6 Popular Customs ................................................................................... 2.6.1 Sofreh................................................................................................. 2.6.2 ChƗk-o Duleh .....................................................................................

39 40 40 40 41 43 44 44 44 44 45 45 49 49 50 50 51 51 51 51 51 51

Chapter 3 Background and Context: Society ..................................................... 3.1 Historical Background ........................................................................... 3.1.1 Jadid al-EslƗm.................................................................................... 3.2 Internal Governance: Zoroastrian Anjomans and the TehrƗn Anjoman-e MowbedƗn (T.A.M.) .............................................................................. 3.2.1 The Zoroastrian Anjomans .................................................................. 3.2.2 KankƗsh-e MowbedƗn-e TehrƗn (TehrƗn Anjoman-e MowbedƗn) ........ 3.3 The Relationship with the State Following the Revolution of 1979 ......... 3.3.1 The Constitution ................................................................................. 3.3.2 The Civil Code ................................................................................... 3.3.3 The Penal Code .................................................................................. 3.3.4 Zoroastrian Personal Status ................................................................. 3.3.5 The Status of Women ......................................................................... 3.4 Identity Formation: What it Means to be Zoroastrian and Iranian ............ 3.4.1 Language............................................................................................ 3.4.2 Religious Education ............................................................................ 3.4.3 Literature and Poetry .......................................................................... 3.4.4 The Iran–Iraq War .............................................................................. 3.4.5 Conversion, Intermarriage and Emigration ..........................................

53 53 59

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61 62 67 73 75 78 79 80 81 84 85 85 90 94 97

Contents

XI

The Interviews .................................................................................................. 100

Chapter 4 KermƗn ............................................................................................ 4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 4.1.1 Anjoman and Other Associations........................................................ 4.1.2 Schools .............................................................................................. 4.1.3 Demographics .................................................................................... 4.2 KermƗn – Interviews ............................................................................. Mr EF ............................................................................................. Mr AZ ............................................................................................ Ms AK............................................................................................ Mr HF ............................................................................................ Mrs ZB, Mr SB & Mr Kh B ............................................................

100 100 104 105 105 107 107 122 139 150 157

Chapter 5 TehrƗn.............................................................................................. 5.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 5.2 TehrƗn – Interviews .............................................................................. Mr RY ............................................................................................ Mr BP............................................................................................. Mrs PKR ........................................................................................ Mr PM ............................................................................................ Mrs KK .......................................................................................... Mr BS............................................................................................. MMF .............................................................................................. Mrs PN ........................................................................................... Mr RS.............................................................................................

179 179 185 185 194 209 221 232 240 263 272 281

Chapter 6 AhvƗz, ShirƗz and EsfahƗn ............................................................... 6.1 AhvƗz – Introduction............................................................................. 6.1.1 The Zoroastrian Community............................................................... 6.2 AhvƗz – Interviews ............................................................................... KP .................................................................................................. MP ................................................................................................. Mr BJT ........................................................................................... 6.4 ShirƗz – Interviews................................................................................ Mr RK ............................................................................................ Mr FJK ........................................................................................... Ms FK ............................................................................................ 6.5 EsfahƗn – Introduction .......................................................................... 6.6 EsfahƗn – Interviews ............................................................................. Mr KT ............................................................................................ Dr SB .............................................................................................

298 298 299 302 302 308 317 325 325 332 337 340 345 345 349

Conclusions ..................................................................................................... 353

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XII

Contents

Bibliography .................................................................................................... 364 Word List ......................................................................................................... 372 Table of Interviewees ....................................................................................... 386 Appendices....................................................................................................... Appendix A – Articles from the Constitution, the Civil Code and the Penal Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran................................... Appendix B – Zoroastrian Personal Status Regulations .............................. Appendix C – On Cohabitation, tamkin ..................................................... Appendix D – Records from KermƗn.........................................................

395 395 399 411 415

Index ................................................................................................................ 423

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Preface and Acknowledgements The inspiration for this book came from fieldwork in Mumbai over 20 years ago. There I met Mrs Shehnaz Neville Munshi, a teacher of Zoroastrianism, who sparked my interest in the idea of orality as a valuable research tool. Together we conducted a number of interviews on the Zoroastrian religion with Parsis from all walks of life. Mrs Munshi went on to work on a number of important projects and we remained friends and colleagues until her untimely death in 2005. It had been her great desire to work on Zoroastrianism in Iran. I first went to Iran in 2006, under the auspices of the British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS), to assess the feasibility of undertaking an oral studies project with Iranian Zoroastrians. I stayed at BIPS in TehrƗn and worked with Ms MƗndƗQƗ MoƗvenat, a postgraduate student at SOAS. Her family were based in TehrƗn but the ancestral home was in the village of ZeinƗEƗd on the outskirts of the city of Yazd. As a result of their generous hospitality I was able to visit the towns and villages that would subsequently be the focus of my research and the subject of this book. I returned to Iran in 2007 to begin work on the project. Permission to conduct research was obtained from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance through the TehrƗn Zoroastrian Anjoman with the support of its then President, Mr AllahyƗr DaneshmƗnd. The majority of the interviews were carried out over a period of three years by a highly respected member of the Zoroastrian community in Yazd and a teacher of Zoroastrianism, Ms ShahnƗz ShahzƗdi. Ms ShahzƗdi was assisted by Mr Rashid Shohrat, then a student at the University of Yazd, and by Ms MoƗvenat, whose role as the London-based researcher and collaborator involved the translation of interviews and the collection of documentary material. In effect, I had the benefit of a team drawn from within the community, people who spoke Zoroastrian Dari as well as Persian. I decided to present the interviews included in this book as fully as possible, hence their overall number is small. Those left out are no less valuable so the full, unedited interviews in Dari and Persian have been made available online in digitised format (https://elar.soas.ac.uk/Collection/MPI1089462). The marker: […] in the text indicates where part of an interview has been omitted. The responsibility for any misrepresentation that may have occurred in the translation and editing process is mine alone.

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XIV

Preface and Acknowledgements

I have adopted a simplified version of the Persian-language system of transliteration used by the Encyclopaedia Iranica in which diacritical marks are not used for consonants and only for the long vowel ‘a’. The linking particle ezafe, used for proper names in spoken Persian, has been omitted. It has been my intention to maintain consistency in the spelling of names and Zoroastrian terms as much as possible and to distinguish between Persian and Dari words. ****************** I owe my first debt of thanks to all those who gave so generously of their time to talk about their religion and life in Iran. I am especially grateful to Ms ShahnƗz ShahzƗdi for conducting the interviews with sensitivity and humour, and for her dedication to this project. The MoƗvenat family was instrumental in the success of fieldwork in Iran. My thanks are due particularly to MƗndƗQƗ MoƗvenat for making our field trips so rewarding, for her diligence in gathering books, papers and material in Iran and for her patience in continuing to provide information throughout the time it has taken to produce this book. I am grateful to Mr KhodƗ\Ɨr MoƗvenat for his willingness to share his extensive knowledge about Zoroastrian institutions as well as the history of the community in TehrƗn. The late Mrs MoƗvenat, Gohar PourbahrƗmi, was extremely kind whenever I visited Iran and came with us on many of our excursions – a quiet and reassuring presence. This book is dedicated to her. I owe an immense debt of gratitude to Professor Philip Kreyenbroek, whose support and encouragement enabled me to focus on the book, despite numerous challenges. His close reading of the chapters, as they were written, as well as his scrutiny of all the Persian texts included in the book have proved invaluable. He has also translated into English many of the passages of Persian poetry recited by interviewees. In the village of NarsiƗEƗd, Yazd, I stayed in the family home of Dr Bahman MorƗdiƗn, who was to become MƗndƗna’s husband, and who took part in some of the interviews. I learned a great deal from Mr and Mrs MorƗdiƗn and am grateful for the warm welcome they extended to me. I am also grateful to Mr BehnƗm MorƗdiƗn, cousin to Bahman, who was at university at the time and whose research on Zoroastrian schools is included in Zoroastrian Voices, Part 2. Zoroastrian priestly rituals have diminished in Iran over the past 40 years and many have been adapted to suit changed circumstances. My thanks go to Mowbed MerhabƗn Firouzgary for corresponding with me about the performance of priestly ceremonies today. I am also grateful to Mr RƗmin ShahzƗdi and his wife, Mrs ParvƗneh NamirƗniƗn, for their help in checking information during the final stages of the book. My stay in KermƗn was most enjoyable thanks to the hospitality of Mr

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Preface and Acknowledgements

XV

HoumƗn FarvahƗri and Mrs Minu FarvahƗri who, together with Mr Ɩrash ZiƗ‘tabari, provided much useful information about the history of the Zoroastrian community in that city. The project included a number of young people in Yazd who were responsible for transcribing the recordings from Dari into Persian. I am grateful to all of them for their work. In addition, my thanks go to those who helped with the translation of documents and interviews into English. I am especially grateful to Ms Mariam Emamy, former Secretary of BIPS, who has devoted much of her own time to working on translations for me. Many delightful hours have been spent at her home in London. I also thank Dr Rastin Mehri, Mr Mohamed Mirbashiri and Mrs Shabnam Mirafzali. Discussions with friends and colleagues have been of great benefit to me at various stages of the project, in particular, Dr Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis, Mrs Firoza Punthakey Mistree, Ms Narguess Farzad – and my niece, Ms Clara Callís Lewis, who accompanied me on my first visit to Iran. I thank Dr Jenny Rose for her careful reading of the final text. I am grateful to the British Academy for providing a major grant that funded this project and to BIPS for sponsoring travel and accommodation in TehrƗn. I would like to express my gratitude to the publisher, Harrassowitz, for the production of this book. I am especially grateful to Mr Arif Biter for his exemplary work in formatting this volume and to Mrs Louise Hosking for her skilled proof reading of the book. Thanks are due to the team at the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR) at SOAS for undertaking the digitisation of the interviews. I am grateful in particular to Dr Alexandra Buhler for formatting and providing summaries of the interviews online. I also thank the Patron’s Fund for sponsoring this part of the project. In due course, all the interviews will be available in Persian and English thus providing an invaluable research tool for further studies as well as a resource for the future of Zoroastrian heritage. It remains for me to thank my family for their forbearance while this book has been in progress, especially my husband, Andrew Campbell-Tiech.

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Introduction It is over a thousand years since Zoroastrians from Iran began to migrate to India in significant numbers, although there had been trade between the two nations at least from Sasanian times. The religion of the Parsis, as they became known, took root on Indian soil and developed its own historical trajectory shaped by the social, religious and political context of the new environment. If you ask the Parsis of India about their co-religionists in Iran today, you may be told that Zoroastrians there have forgotten their traditions. The full ritual ceremonies of the religion are no longer performed. There are no madrassas for training priests. The Zoroastrian villages of the Yazdi plain are largely abandoned – some now reclaimed by the desert. Urban Zoroastrians have become reformist in their outlook and, given the opportunity, would welcome converts to the religion. Iranian Zoroastrians, on the other hand, may tell you that the Parsis maintain a strict orthodoxy for which there is no evidence in the *ƗthƗs of Zarathustra. They have adopted Hindu customs. Their priests recite the Avestan texts with a Gujarati accent. Despite these mutual misgivings, there remain strong ties between the two communities that go back to the time of their separation several hundred years after the Arab conquest of Iran. The Parsis maintain an unwavering view of Iran as the birthplace of their religion and have turned to it time and again as a source of authority over their thousand-year history in India. For their part, the Zoroastrians in Iran owe much to their Parsi co-religionists for their survival – and revival – particularly during the mid to late nineteenth century when numbers in Iran had dwindled to less than 10,000. It was at this time that some of the new-found wealth of Parsi entrepreneurs was channelled into the Iranian Zoroastrian community, its religious institutions and the welfare of its people. Until then contact between the two communities appears to have been intermittent, evidenced by such archaeological and textual sources as survived the long period of separation. There are no accounts of the Zoroastrian religion in the early phase of its development around 1200 BCE and it is thought that such religious texts as survived the Persian conquests of Alexander were transmitted orally until the compilation of the Sasanian Avesta perhaps in or around the fifth century CE. The prolific output of Zoroastrian religious literature in the ninth century CE formed the basis of what has become known, in western terminology, as the classical tradition. Religious texts were compiled, mainly by priests, with the purpose of reinforcing doctrine and belief while at the same time discouraging people from converting to Islam. The subject matter of these texts was largely doctrinal with little socio-religious content. Correspondence between Iranian priests and their co-religionists in India from the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries gives us glimpses of Iranian Zoroastrianism,

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2

Introduction

as do the reports by European travellers to Iran dating from the sixteenth century. But there is very little material concerning the day-to-day lives of Zoroastrians in Iran until the arrival of the Parsi agent Maneckji Limji Hataria in 1854.1 While much has been written about the Parsis in India since that time, for various reasons the Zoroastrian tradition in Iran has not been as accessible. In the past century, academic work by Iranian scholars of Zoroastrianism, both Muslim and Zoroastrian, has been published mainly in Persian, and is therefore less available to a western readership than the output of Parsi scholarly work, much of which is in English. Academic studies of Zoroastrianism undertaken by non-Iranian scholars have focused on specific locations rather than on Iran as a whole. Mary Boyce produced her seminal work, A Persian Stronghold of Zoroastrianism, in 1965, which was mainly the result of fieldwork in the village of SharifƗEƗd on the outskirts of Yazd. Boyce also published numerous articles on aspects of Zoroastrianism in the communities of Yazd and KermƗn. Michael Fischer’s work, Zoroastrianism in Iran, Between Myth and Praxis, which was published in 1973, drew predominantly on fieldwork undertaken in NarsiƗEƗd, another Yazdi village. The Islamic Revolution of 1979 hampered research on minority religious communities in Iran and today it remains difficult for foreigners to obtain permission to work in rural areas. Studies that have been undertaken since the Revolution have focused on the TehrƗn Zoroastrian community, notably Zoroastrians of Iran: Conversion, Assimilation or Persistence (1990) by Janet Kerstenberg Amighi and, most recently, Navid Fozi’s Reclaiming the Faravahar, Zoroastrian Survival in Contemporary Iran (2014).2 Michael Stausberg is the only scholar to have published an in-depth account of Zoroastrian ritual practice in modern Iran, in his Zoroastrian Rituals in Context (2004). Zoroastrians’ understanding of their religion in modern Iran has derived, to a large extent, from the translations and interpretations of religious texts by Iranian scholars and scholar–priests, among whom EbrƗhim PurdƗvud (1885–1968), Firuz Ɩzargoshasp (1912–96) and Rostam ShahzƗdi (1912–2000) were particularly notable. They, in turn, were influenced, at different times in history, by the work of Parsi scholars living in India and of scholars based in western academic institutions. The work of Iranian scholars and priests is significant because it sheds light on the views expressed in interviews, which often reflect a metaphoric journey from Iran to India and back again, decades if not centuries later. Other useful materials include religious studies textbooks used in schools, as well as prayer books and texts that are usually available in fire temples. There are also the Anjoman (Zoroastrian Council) 1

2

Maneckji Limji Hataria was the first agent to go to Iran on behalf of the newly established ‘Society for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Zoroastrians in Persia’ or, as it was known in Iran, Anjoman-e AkƗber-e PƗrsiƗn-e HindustƗn, ‘Society of Parsi Nobles’. See RezƗ ZiaEbrƗhimi (2010): 382. See also: Jamsheed Choksy (2006): 161–84, which discusses the impact of the Revolution on the Zoroastrian community, and of the new government and its constitution.

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Oral Texts and Their Role in the Zoroastrian Tradition

3

archives and legal documents, such as the Articles of Association of the Anjomans3 – including the Anjoman-e MowbedƗn (Council of Priests) – as well as documents relating to Zoroastrian political representation in the majles (the Iranian Parliament) and legislative documents that are in the public domain. Largely absent from both categories of source material is the personal testimony that encompasses memory, lived experience, devotional life and religious views. This book is an attempt to fill that gap; through the medium of over 300 interviews, it aims to give a voice to ordinary people, as well as to some of those who have achieved a high profile within the community, both today and within living memory. The use of oral testimony as a research tool in the study of Zoroastrianism is a relatively recent development, which has added a new dimension to the way in which we can study the living faith.4 It also raises questions as to how the living faith has been interpreted in the past. For example, how have Zoroastrians and outsiders alike made sense of a religion derived from a corpus of texts that was uniquely preserved in oral transmission for many centuries before being written down? Is there a relationship between religious texts and oral testimony? If so, what is it? In the following pages, the role of orality in the Zoroastrian textual tradition will be described in brief. Aspects of oral testimony, based on theoretical insights and experience gained while doing fieldwork for this book, will also be discussed. The discussion will be followed by an outline of the methodology employed for this project with respect to interviews.

Oral Texts and Their Role in the Zoroastrian Tradition The corpus of extant Zoroastrian literature from the early period of the faith is small, and has been subject not only to a long period of oral transmission but also to numerous redactions and translations. By the time the sacred canon was finally committed to writing, in a script developed for the purpose, the Avestan language was likely to have been understood only by priests. The preservation of religious texts, in a language that became obsolete over time, thus depended upon the rigours of memory and correct recitation. Oral texts, which by definition are dependent upon memorisation for their survival, often bear the hallmarks of oral transmission in both their content and structure. The Yashts – ancient hymns addressed to Zoroastrian and pre-Zoroastrian deities – are an example of this phenomenon.5 It can be seen that the structure of the sections (karde) would have been fixed, while at the same time flexible enough to discard and incorporate new material as history evolved. 6 In this 3 4 5 6

These have been amended at least once since the Revolution. See Kreyenbroek (1996): 221–37; Kreyenbroek and Munshi (2001). See also Skjærvø (1994): 199–243. On the oral transmission of Zoroastrian texts, see Boyce (1968): 31–3. See, for example, Stewart (2007): 137–51.

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4

Introduction

way, the Yashts provided a vehicle for the stories and legends of ancient Iran while at the same time serving both ritual and devotional purposes as part of the Avestan corpus. Avestan texts continue to be used in the priestly rituals of inner liturgical services, the most significant being the Yasna ceremony, or priestly act of worship.7 In the shortened Yasna ceremony as performed currently in TehrƗn, some Avestan texts, for example the *ƗthƗs, are read in Persian translation. Others are still in the Avestan language and recited from memory.8 Avestan texts are among those recited at the outer liturgical services, such as those performed at weddings and funerals, and at JƗKƗmbƗrs,9 seasonal festivals, and festivals that are generally the result of a particular endowment or vaqf. The prayers learned by Zoroastrian children at an early age and recited by priests and laity on a daily basis also belong to this corpus. The concept of orality is thus firmly embedded in the Zoroastrian religious tradition, and the memorisation and correct recitation of texts continues to be of significance among Zoroastrians in Iran today: priests are required to learn and recite tracts of the Avesta in order to qualify as mowbeds; young people competing in the annual 0Ɨntra Avesta competition are tested for their knowledge of the language and ability to recite it with the correct intonation; children learn to memorise their prayers. In fire temples it is not unusual to see people reciting Avestan texts without reference to books. The ritual actions that accompanied the recitation of texts, in both the inner and outer liturgical services performed by priests, functioned traditionally as a mnemonic, as well as serving to represent aspects of religious doctrine. In both priestly and lay devotional observance today, ritual actions such as the tying and untying of the koshti serve to remind the worshipper of the doctrinal significance of the prayers he/she is reciting.10 Lay religious customs such as the sofreh ceremonies performed by women combine storytelling with ritual action and prayers.11

Oral Testimony Some of the characteristics of oral texts also appear in oral testimony. For example, the sense of temporality in oral texts is very different from that of literary texts,

7 ‘Inner liturgical services’ refers to those traditionally performed in the ritual precinct of the dare mehr, or fire temple. 8 The full Yasna ceremony is still performed in India today, and the liturgy recited from memory. 9 Sometimes spelled JƗKƗnbƗr. See Chapter 2 for the outer liturgical services. 10 The koshti (‘sacred’ cord), is worn by Zoroastrians together with a fine muslin shirt, the sedreh, from the time of their initiation to the faith. 11 The Sofreh-ye nokhud-e moshkel-goshƗ (‘the problem-solving sofreh ritual of the peas’) is a ceremony still performed in Iran today by Zoroastrian women (see below, p. 247), and by Parsi women in India. For the similarity between sofrehs performed by Zoroastrian and Muslim women, see Kalinock (2004): 531–46.

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The Interviews

5

where events can be plotted within an historical continuum and accounts are evaluated according to whether or not they can be substantiated by corroborative material. The reliability of a manuscript tradition can only be established if more than one manuscript is available. In oral texts, on the other hand, we find the assimilation of traditional stories into later contexts. The structural framework remains the same, but places and names are changed. Interviews in this book demonstrate how this characteristic is mirrored in oral testimony – for example, in the accounts people give of the founding of a JƗKƗmbƗr, or the history of a pir. The blurring of lines between material and supernatural worlds, mythology and history, is another phenomenon evident in texts that began in oral transmission, and also surfaces in the interviews. Eschatological ideas appear most vividly, for example, in accounts of dreams and visions, as well as alongside ideas expressed with reference to religious teachings.12 Oral testimony can encompass a number of different things. In his discussion on the techniques of interviewing, Robert Perks divides these into three categories: first, the lived experience – that is, the life history, the first-hand evidence; second, the oral tradition, which comprises the stories passed down from generation to generation and the testimony of the elders and third, storytelling, which is a combination of experience and oral tradition.13 The reader will find all three elements in many of the interviews that follow. Through anecdotes people introduce a range of experiences. Sometimes they bring together what we might call collective and private memory. In the Iranian context, for example, an interviewee recalling the Iran–Iraq War might interweave information from the public domain – what the newspapers, radio and television were reporting at the time – with private memories of their personal experience of the war, which may be anecdotal.

The Interviews Once permission had been granted to undertake research in Iran, the next step was to obtain agreement from the Zoroastrian Anjomans in the various cities, towns and villages where we wished to conduct interviews. In order for people to feel comfortable about being interviewed they needed to know that the Anjoman had confidence in the project and was willing to collaborate in the full knowledge that information would, in due course, be published. In some cases, for example in TehrƗn, Taft and KermƗn, a special meeting of the Anjoman was convened in order 12 Mary Boyce drew attention to the fact that the interpretation of dreams, as well as spells and divination, though not prominent in the Zoroastrian theology as preserved in the Middle Persian books, is, none the less, evident in Persian texts such as the ShƗhnƗmeh and Vis u RƗmin, which draw on Zoroastrian religious literature. See Boyce (1968): 51. 13 Notes taken from an oral studies training programme, National Sound Archive, London, 1994. See also Perks (1992): 12–14.

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6

Introduction

to discuss the project. While questions pertaining to history, culture and social customs were readily understood, it was difficult to convey the notion of ‘religion’ and what this entailed. As a result of these meetings, as well as discussions with Zoroastrians more generally, I arrived at a working definition of the term. It was important to ensure that questions were framed in such a way that both interviewers and interviewees understood the areas of religious belief and practice that formed the basis of the study. This definition divides the religion into five categories: revelation/divine inspiration, principles/teaching, ritual, observance and faith (see further below, p. 10). Most Zoroastrians belong to their local Anjoman. Some interviewees were contacted on the basis of their interest in, and knowledge of, the Zoroastrian community in which they lived. Others were invited to contribute because they might have been leaders of the community, or because of their professional lives, or particular knowledge of the religion. Religious minorities in Iran tend to have good internal networks and so it was not difficult to identify people for their particular type of expertise, background or experience. In Yazd and the villages many were known to the principal interviewer, Ms ShahzƗdi. Interviews were conducted mainly with individuals, occasionally with up to three people present in one session. Zoroastrians were interviewed in towns, cities and villages wherever there are Zoroastrian communities in Iran today: Yazd and the villages that surround the city, KermƗn, AhvƗz, ShirƗz, EsfahƗn and TehrƗn. The interviews were divided into two categories: (A) and (B). The interviews in group (A) included those that were essentially ‘fact-finding’ interviews related to aspects of community life. They provided the basis for understanding religious and social life and, for the purposes of this book, are substantiated by documentation wherever possible. Interviewees in this category were asked for biographical and demographic information and about their religious lives and education. In other circumstances this information might have been derived from a questionnaire but it was decided that such an approach would not have been appropriate in the Iranian context, where people are reluctant to give information without person-to-person contact. These interviews sometimes appear in a summarised question-and-answer form.14 The second category of interviews (B) was conducted with people who were prepared to give a fuller account of their religious lives, and to express their personal views. For the most part these should be treated as narrative accounts that illuminate and bring to life factual material, experiences and religious beliefs. They include descriptions of religious upbringing, discussions about the efficacy of ritual, prayer and the role of priests, views about death and eschatology and accounts of customs surrounding rites of passage and daily devotional life. Other questions address issues that affect the community, such as education and employment opportunities, what it

14 See Zoroastrian Voices, Part 2 (forthcoming 2018) for summaries of this type of interview, which were conducted mainly in Yazd and the villages.

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The Interviews

7

means to be a Zoroastrian living as part of a religious minority in Iran today, intermarriage with non-Zoroastrians and emigration overseas. These interviews have been edited and partly summarised, but are otherwise reproduced as spoken.15 Those included in the book have been chosen at my discretion with the intention of providing a wide range of views from people drawn from a variety of professional and family backgrounds. The methodology for collecting data was developed in collaboration with Professor Philip Kreyenbroek and Mrs Shehnaz Neville Munshi for a project on the Parsis in India.16 Its significant advantage is to gain access to information concerning people’s religious lives that would otherwise be difficult for outsiders to obtain. In both projects, the key person chosen to collect information was a prominent member of the community who had undertaken training in interview techniques and the use of equipment. A qualitative approach was adopted whereby interviews were conducted in a relaxed atmosphere, usually taking place in a person’s home by prior arrangement. Questions pertaining to the interviews in group (A) followed a format that can be viewed in Zoroastrian Voices Part 2. Questions for the interviews in group (B) were intended as guidelines only. The interview was not time limited and interviewees were invited to expand on topics of evident interest to them. A legacy of this project derives from the fact that the Zoroastrian Dari dialects are dying out. The KermƗni form is spoken by only a handful of people in that city.17 The Dari of Yazd and its dialectical variations are still spoken in the villages of the Yazdi plain. But these villages are gradually being abandoned for the cities and a new generation is using more Persian words, especially in digital communication. Consequently, these interviews provide a rich linguistic archive for future research. The volume is divided into four parts. Chapter 1 gives an account of the religion as it appears to be understood by those interviewed. Aspects of doctrine, teaching, ritual and observance are discussed with reference to debates that have emerged from different interpretations of certain passages from the *ƗthƗs and from some of the Middle Persian religious texts. The religious texts and their translations discussed in this chapter draw mainly on Zoroastrian and Iranian scholarship. In this way, the approach continues the emic or ‘insider’ methodology adopted for the interviews, which are conducted by Zoroastrians who share the religion, culture and ethnicity of their interviewees. An outline of some of the priestly rituals that are practised in a modified form today is included here. Chapter 2, compiled by MƗndƗQƗ MoƗvenat, is a survey of the main Iranian Zoroastrian religious observances as well as some popular customs.

15 It should be noted that all Dari interviews were first translated into Persian before being translated into English, and that a number of people have been involved in both processes. 16 See Kreyenbroek, Philip G. and Munshi (2001). 17 See oral archive on KermƗni Zoroastrianism, Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR), SOAS.

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Introduction

Chapter 3 focuses on society, and covers the institutional organisations such as schools and Zoroastrian Councils (Anjomans), exploring their historical development. Chapters 4 to 6 contain the interviews, and are subdivided by location. The urban centres of TehrƗn, KermƗn, AhvƗz, ShirƗz and EsfahƗn are included in this book. Zoroastrian Voices Part 2 contains interviews from the city of Yazd and all the villages in the surrounding areas that were once Zoroastrian and where Zoroastrians still live and/or own property. Both books include a brief historical account of the respective locations and their Zoroastrian communities. The final part of the book reviews the interviews within the context of religion and society in Iran today. As will be seen from the table of interviewees contained on p. 386, the number of interviews conducted in provincial towns is greater than those undertaken in TehrƗn, in proportion to the relative sizes of their populations. The reason for this is that the political aftermath of the Iranian elections of June 2009 cut short our work in Iran. It seemed, however, that despite the disproportionate representation it was important to bring out the results of the survey, primarily because the way of life described by members of the older generation interviewed here will cease to exist once they are gone. Unlike texts, which though often subject to multiple interpretations, remain ‘fixed’, oral testimony is fluid. One cannot easily return to, still less recreate, the context of an interview. It is time sensitive – circumstances change, people change, and eventually the source is lost forever.

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Chapter 1 Background and Context: religion Anyone who studies contemporary Zoroastrianism will be faced with the problem of how best to connect the living faith to the doctrines and teaching of the religion as preserved in the sacred texts of the Avesta and later religious literature. Finding a benchmark by which to evaluate one’s findings is not simple; academics tend to take the ‘classical tradition’ of Zoroastrianism, represented in the ninth-century Pahlavi books, as their point of reference for work on the living faith. However, this corpus of texts does not necessarily have the same import for Zoroastrians, wherever they may be, as it does in academic circles. There is room, therefore, for further exploration of the relationship between the doctrines and teachings of the religious texts, on the one hand, and the lived experience of the religion, on the other.1 Participants in this study refer to community leaders, historical figures, local events, teachers and the religious texts that have shaped their religious views and understanding. Literature, both oral and written, is a significant part of life for all Iranians, and Zoroastrians are no exception. Often in interview, people’s accounts interweave religious, poetic and epic narratives. As such they create a particular genre that is better understood as forming part of the fabric of Iranian Zoroastrian identity rather than be assigned to categories that do not belong to the cultural context under review. With this in mind, the model outlined below was conceived for this project – a definition of religion in the broadest sense that came about as a result of conversations with people about their various approaches towards Zoroastrianism. The categories presented here appeared acceptable to most, while at the same time allowing the interviews, which are anecdotal, descriptive and personal, to be interpreted within the context of an authoritative text-based account of the religion. This account is the largely the product of Iranian scholar–priests as well as Zoroastrian and Muslim lay scholars.

1

The corpus of texts attributed to Zarathustra (for which see more below) are not doctrinal as such, rather, they describe the main principles of the religion.

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1. Background and Context: religion

Figure 1.1

religion din

revelation/

faith

inspiration kish

vahy/elhƗm

doctrine/

ritual

observance

Ɨnce ke mowbedƗn

Ɨnce ke mardom

anjƗm midahand

anjƗm midahand

teaching ƗmuzeshhƗ-ye din

The words attributed to Zarathustra are contained in the *ƗthƗs, a corpus of sacred texts comprising seventeen hymns in old Avestan, an eastern Iranian language, addressed by him to his god Ahura MazdƗ. According to the above model, the *ƗthƗs belong to the category of revelation/divine inspiration. Young Avestan and later texts belong to the teachings of the religion that sustain the revelation. Ritual, or ‘that which priests do’, serves to consolidate the first two categories through actions and material representation.2 Devotional life, or the way in which the religion is interpreted, adapted and lived by the majority of believers, comes under the umbrella of observance. Finally, there is faith, or belief founded on spiritual conviction. It will be seen that, when interviewing in a village, the religious experience encountered will be likely to fall largely into the category of religious observance.3 A priest may be concerned primarily with ritual, whereas a student may present ideas that reflect his or her knowledge of religious texts and a desire for change of one sort or another. 2 3

For the purposes of this study, ‘ritual’ is defined as repetitive actions performed by a religious specialist which underpin the doctrine and teachings of the religion. If we look, for example, at Catholicism in rural Spain, we find that religious observance revolves around the farming calendar, local traditions and favourite shrines in a similar way to religious observance in rural Iran. See Christian (1989): 74.

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1. Background and Context: religion

11

Further exploration of these categories will help to situate the interviews within the Iranian context. This entails a description of some of the ways in which religious views and practices have been influenced not only by Zoroastrian teachers and priests but also by the scholarly discourse that takes place mainly among those who engage with the religion but do not belong to it. Iranian Zoroastrians speak about their religion in a way that is unique to them, as opposed to the Indian (Parsi) or global diaspora. Their views have also been shaped both by their historic circumstances and by Persian literary traditions. Before moving to a detailed examination of each category it should be noted that they do not provide a comprehensive account of the religion based on the religious texts and the complexities of their interpretation. The implicit fundamental ‘Zoroastrian teachings’ as they are understood today derive from academic studies, translations and interpretations of certain ancient Zoroastrian texts as well as from accounts of priestly rituals and the living faith in Iran and India. We can only speculate as to how Zoroastrians understood the meaning of their sacred texts in the past and it is by no means clear to what extent they determine the religious lives of Zoroastrians today. What we can offer here is a simple outline of the main tenets of the faith, which Mary Boyce found to be upheld by the Zoroastrian community with whom she lived in SharifƗEƗd in 1965. Many of our interviewees, particularly in rural areas, express religious views that are broadly in keeping with these tenets: … there is one uncreated God, Ohrmazd, who is wholly good, and the Creator of all good things. All worship is directed ultimately to him, although it may be addressed immediately to one of a number of lesser divinities, brought into being by him to help in his great task of vanquishing evil. These divinities are called Yazad or Ized, ‘One to be worshipped’, or amahraspand [amshƗspand] ‘Bounteous Immortal’. Ohrmazd is opposed by Ahriman, the Hostile Spirit, …. who in his turn has his helpers, the demons, to aid him in attacking the good. Man’s task in life is to fight… against Ahriman, by thinking, speaking and doing well, by performing prescribed acts of worship, and by keeping the purity laws. By so doing he will both gain his own salvation at death, in paradise above, and help to achieve the ultimate salvation of the whole world, which will some day come about through the utter defeat of evil.4

4

Boyce (1989): 16. Interviewees from the urban centres contained in this book tend to be more reformist in outlook and to believe that the existence of good and evil, heaven and hell, are products of man’s consciousness rather than existing in an extant form. See below note 13.

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1. Background and Context: religion

1.1 Revelation/Divine Inspiration The *ƗthƗs are considered to be the most sacred of the scriptures. When asked by Muslims about their mazhab,5 Zoroastrians sometimes reply that their religion (din) is the *ƗthƗs, while the Avesta is their mazhab. With reference to the above model, most agree that the *ƗthƗs alone belong to the category of revelation or divine inspiration (terms that are interchangeable in English religious discourse). They are not always comfortable with the Arabic words vahy and elhƗm, as these terms are associated with the Abrahamic religions. However, no comparable Iranian terms seem to be used by Iranian scholars with reference to the revelatory nature of the *ƗthƗs. In discussion, some people were at pains to point out that Zarathustra held a one-way conversation with Ahura MazdƗ, and was not instructed by him in the same way as Mohammad and Jesus were instructed by God. In other words, there is a subtle difference between something that is revealed by God to a passive recipient, and something inspired through God while at the same time being the product of a person’s own intelligence.6 Iranian academics and Zoroastrian scholar–priests of the twentieth century have engaged with the theological discourse emanating from India and the west, as well as drawing on their own understanding of religious texts. These are often elaborated upon with reference to Persian literature. Reformist ideas from Parsi co-religionists in the Indian subcontinent took root in Iran at a time when the urban Zoroastrian communities there enjoyed a degree of economic prosperity and the relatively liberal attitude towards minorities during the reign of first RezƗ ShƗh Pahlavi then Mohammad-RezƗ ShƗh Pahlavi. 7 During this period, it was commonplace for priests to undergo training in India, returning afterwards to practise in Iran. Two priests in particular, Mowbed Firuz Ɩzargoshasp and Mowbed Rostam ShahzƗdi returned from India with reformist ideas, which were influential in the curtailing of practices such as the animal sacrifice and the use of

5 6

7

The term mazhab, or madhhab, primarily refers to a ‘school’ of Muslim law. In Persian it is also often used for ‘religion’. Mowbed Rostam ShahzƗdi taught that the meaning of the word ‘Avesta’ was ‘that which has been inspired’. According to Jean Kellens, the Middle Persian word abestƗg, derives from Old Iranian *upa-stƗvaka (‘praise’), Kellens (1987) ‘Avesta, the Holy Book of the Zoroastrians’ in: EIr at www.iranicaonline.org. The Zoroastrian Reform Society (Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabha) was established in Bombay in 1851 by Naoroji Feerdoonji with the aim of instituting social reforms among westerneducated Parsis. These included introducing modern education for boys and girls based on western curricula. Doctrinally, its focus was on a monotheistic interpretation of the faith and few rituals. Other reformist movements followed in tandem, with new ideas and interpretations of the Avesta by western scholars such as Martin Haug. Reformists in Iran also advocated the lessening of rituals. See Boyce (1979): 196–205 and 223.

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1.1 Revelation/Divine Inspiration

13

dakhmehs. 8 Their translations of the *ƗthƗs from Avestan into Persian are those most used in Iran today. 9 It will be seen in the examples given below that these translations derive mainly from the work of the scholar EbrƗhim PurdƗvud, who in turn acknowledged the influence of orientalist scholars of his generation such as Bartholomae, Mills, Geldner and Meillet.10 An ardent nationalist who studied and worked in Europe and India, PurdƗvud became Professor of Iranian studies at the University of TehrƗn in 1939, where he remained for twenty-seven years, until his retirement. Among non-Zoroastrian Iranian scholars of the religion, PurdƗvud is the most respected, and his translation of Avestan texts into Persian forms the basis of contemporary priestly scholarship. The works of HƗshem RƗzi and Hossein Vahidi are also widely read by priests and the laity alike.11 Two themes in particular that derive from the Gathic portion of the Avesta have had a major bearing on the way in which the Zoroastrian faith is understood and practised in Iran. It may be no accident that these themes have also been the subject of discussion amongst scholars of Zoroastrianism in the west. The first concerns the core doctrinal question of whether Zoroastrianism represents a dualistic or a monotheistic faith. Both terms reflect categories that have been applied to Zoroastrianism from an outside perspective, namely one derived from theological discourse on Judaism, Christianity and Islam.12 It is often the case that, when nonZoroastrian academic interpretations differ from those of the indigenous Zoroastrians, the latter will be robustly defended from within the community. 13 The 8 A leading and influential figure in the community, Keikhosrow ShƗhrokh, was also instrumental in introducing these reforms. See Ringer 2011(184–95) for an overview of ShƗhrokh’s modernising influence on the religion, and below p. 64 with n. 45 & p. 86. 9 The translations of Mowbeds Rashid ShahmardƗn and JehƗngir Oshidari are also well known. 10 Previously cited in Stewart (2016): 358. PurdƗvud attributes the study of the Avestan texts to European sources: ‘Not one of the writers and authors of Iran ever thought of making researches regarding the ancient faith of their country… [Wisdom] prompted Europeans… to work… for the history, language and religion of faraway Iran for the sake of knowledge and science.’ PurdƗvud (1927): 1–2 (Introduction in English). See also Stausberg (2015): 183–4. 11 HƗshem RƗzi has written extensively on the history of the Zoroastrian religion in Iran. He goes to some lengths to explain customs such as khwƝGǀGƗh, or inter-kinship marriage, suggesting that it was not practised by Zoroastrians as stated in the Pahlavi texts. See RƗzi (1978): 88–92. RƗzi clearly wishes to align Zoroastrian doctrine with Islam in much the same way that early orientalists, such as Martin Haug, were influenced by Christianity when translating Zoroastrian religious texts. 12 The way in which these terms have been applied to Zoroastrian theology has been discussed by Kreyenbroek where he makes the point that the terms ‘monotheistic, monolatrous or dualist’ are more likely to be found in literary traditions where there tends to be consistency in the transmission of ideas. In oral traditions, such as Zoroastrianism, ideas are more likely to reflect the contemporary worldview and so diverge from previous representations. See Kreyenbroek (2013): 70–80. See also Hintze (2014): 1–3 and Williams (2012): 144–8. 13 In a letter dated 30 March 1994, Mowbed ShahzƗdi wrote to Dr J. H. Marshal, senior editor of the Concise Oxford Dictionary Group at OUP, saying how shocked he had been to read the entry on Zoroastrianism in the Oxford Dictionary: ‘When a writer, like you, has absolutely no knowledge of Zoroaster and Zoroastrianism why should you misguide the readers stating that he was a prophet who

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1. Background and Context: religion

second theme relates to ritual practice, and whether or not Zarathustra preached against animal sacrifice. These themes will be examined in some detail with reference to the teaching of Mowbeds ShahzƗdi and Ɩzargoshasp and, in particular, to some of the public lectures given by Mowbed ShahzƗdi. The lectures are noteworthy because they demonstrate the way in which priestly interpretations of theology and observance are communicated to members of the laity, as well as how they are received and understood by them. Mowbed ShahzƗdi draws on situations in daily life, as well as citing Persian literary works with which his audiences would have been familiar.14 The Gathic passages that have been scrutinised for an answer to the first question include Y. 30.3–6, Y. 31.2 and Y. 45.2, which refer to the two spirits – the better, Spenta Mainyu, and the evil, Angra Mainyu – and in particular Y. 30.3, in which they are referred to as ‘twins’.15 Central to the debate has been the question of whether or not Spenta Mainyu should be identified with Ahura MazdƗ, thereby allowing for the two spirits to have existed, uncreated, in eternity past, or whether the term ‘twins’ should be understood as meaning that they must have originated from a single source: Ahura MazdƗ.16 Following Martin Haug (1827–76), a number of western scholars and Parsi priests inclined towards the monotheistic view, albeit from different perspectives.17 Included among these was the influential Parsi priest, Dastur Framroze Ardeshir Bode (1900–89), who was known for his liberal/reformist views, and who wrote and lectured extensively on this subject. At the invitation of the TehrƗn Zoroastrian Anjoman, in 1962 Bode visited Iran, where his teachings were well received. 18 Bode’s ideas had been influenced by another prominent Parsi priest, also associated with reformism, Dastur Dr Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla (1875–1956).19

14 15 16

17 18

19

taught the people that there are two gods, one called Ahura MazdƗ, the Creator of good, and Ahriman, the creator of evil … It is the human being who distinguishes that something is good or bad and that depends on his mentality and way of thinking. It has nothing to do with the almighty God.…’ Mowbed ShahzƗdi recorded a series of lectures in TehrƗn and London (2004). Av. at tƗ mainiinj … vahiiǀ akΩթmcƗ, Humbach (1991), Part 1: 123. Humbach (1994): 16 notes that this debate has led to the concept of the ‘myth of the twin spirits’, which is not found in the *ƗthƗs. Rather, the Gathic passages in question refer to the choices made by individuals with respect to good / bad actions and they are understood in this way by scholar–priests in Iran. See Boyd and Crosby (1979): 557–88. Also Skjærvø (2011): 317–50. Antia (2007): 27. Bode propounded a universalist approach to the religion, which he believed to be unquestionably monotheistic: ‘The Advent of Zarathushtra was Cosmic Manifestation of the Divine Plan for the new cycle of evolution of mankind… Zarathushtra gave to the world pure Monotheism, a profound concept of the Supreme Godhead – Ahura MazdƗ.’ Online at ‘Zarathushtrianism: an ancient faith for modern man’, www.zoroastrian.org.uk/vohuman/Article/. John Hinnells has noted that Bode’s work shows Hindu influence in the terminology. See Hinnells in Hinnells and Williams (2007): 264. Dhalla grew up in a conservative milieu in Pakistan and changed his views after leaving in 1905 to study with A. V. W. Jackson at Columbia University, New York. He served as high priest in

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1.1 Revelation/Divine Inspiration

15

The Iranian perspective put forward by PurdƗvud was also strictly monotheistic: In the GƗthƗs, there is no mention whatever of the alleged fight between Hormuzd and Ahriman. Of this alleged war and eternal fight, which has been the cause of so much discussion and many a grave error, the soul of Zarathustra knows nothing.… Throughout the whole of the GƗthƗs, Ahura MazdƗ is the One Unique Creator.20 According to Mowbed ShahzƗdi, the ‘twin spirits’ of Y. 30.3 refers to two states of mind rather than two entities. He translates and interprets Y. 30.3 as follows: Those twin Essences which, in the beginning, appeared in the conscience and spirit of human beings, are good and bad which are manifested in thoughts, words and deeds. Between these two the learned will have to choose the good rather than the bad.21

Karachi from 1909 until his death. Unlike Bode, Dhalla argued that the antithesis between good and evil is explicit in the Avestan as well as the Pahlavi literature, and that evil cannot simply be rendered as the negation of good but has existed independently as a primordial being. 20 PurdƗvud (1927): 47 (Introduction in English). We can only speculate as to how long this view has been held, and how widely it was accepted among Iranian Zoroastrians generally. Keikhosrow ShƗhrokh actively promoted the monotheism of Zoroastrianism. Ringer (2011): 193 observes that this view allowed Zoroastrianism to be included as one of the revealed religions together with Christianity, Judaism and Islam thereby making Zoroastrians eligible for dhimmi status (for which see below p. 54 with notes 3–5). Commentators such as Parvis Varjavand believe that Zoroastrian monotheism is largely the result of reformist ideas, such as those of Bode, who preached a return to the *ƗthƗs, maintaining that they were the only authentic Zoroastrian texts. These ideas were reinforced by the establishment in 1952 of the Anjoman-e Din-e ZartoshtiƗn-e Yazd, by Dastur Rashid ShahmardƗn, a priest who spent much of his life in India and was held to be a mystic, or dervish. See Stausberg in Hinnells and Williams (2007): 245. Varjavand also argues that leading Muslim intellectuals such as ‘Ali Shari‘ati and the theologian Ayatollah Morteza Motahari, as well as the author HƗshem RƗzi, have encouraged the idea of *ƗthƗ-puyƗn, or *ƗthƗ seekers (lit. ‘the ones running after the *ƗthƗs’), through their critical view of the Sasanian priesthood and what they believe to have been a corruption of the original Mazdayasnian religion (author conversation with Parvis Varjavand, TehrƗn, September 2008). For Shari‘ati’s views on the corruption by the priesthood of what he perceived as the true, monotheistic religion of Zarathustra, see Rahnema (2000): 283–5. The self-proclaimed scholar Ali Akbar Jafarey, a student and admirer of Dhalla, is another proponent of a ‘back to the *ƗthƗs’ approach. Jafarey left Iran after the Revolution and travelled widely in Europe and the United States before settling in California where he was the inspiration for the formation of the Zarathushtrian Assembly, which was established in 1990. A strict monotheist, Jafarey dispensed with all traditional rituals, the priesthood and eschatological teachings. His interpretation of the *ƗthƗs allows for conversion to the faith on the basis that a modern worldview should not distinguish between ethnic or national groups, class/caste or gender. Stausberg (2007): 247. Although significant influence is attributed by the Parsis to the works of Ali Akbar Jafarey on Zoroastrians in Iran, his name rarely occurs in our interviews. 21 ShahzƗdi (1374/1996): 124. Other priestly translations of Y.30.3 include a) Ɩzargoshasp: ‘Those two twin essences who were manifested in the world are good and bad in thoughts,

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1. Background and Context: religion

He goes on to discuss Y .30.4, 12 and Y .45.2, which concern the two forces of good and evil, and concludes: From the [above-mentioned] Gathic verses [Ɨ\Ɨt], we may conclude that, according to Asho Zartosht, in the creation of the material world, according to a necessity set up by Him, existence continues through the two opposing forces. The existence of one is dependent upon that of the other: one is responsible for birth and development, while the other is responsible for destruction and degradation; one ensures health and prosperity, longevity and happiness, while the other is the cause of all pain, suffering and death. Nature, too, displays this primal dichotomy: some creations develop and transform by capturing and utilising the sources of energy – namely the heat and rays of the sun; while others – namely spores, microbes and bacteria – live off other life forces and are often the cause of their demise. The material world is thus engaged in a constant cycle of creation and destruction. While one force created life and growth, the other causes death and destruction, and this is how [this material] world has been from its inception, and this cycle shall continue until the end. The principle of these two opposing forces is not limited to our earthly world; the dichotomy exists even in the Milky Way, as well as the whole universe: one star after some time ends its life and explodes, destroying all the planets and other physical bodies nearby. The resultant dusts, too, over time gravitate towards one another, creating other planets and stars. The blessed Rumi has beautifully put the proclamations of the Iranian prophet [Zarathustra] into poetry. 22 In one of his public lectures, Mowbed ShahzƗdi stated: … those who regard Zartoshtis as dualists are gravely mistaken. For they think that Ahura MazdƗ is situated in paradigmatic opposition to Ahriman, whereas we read in the Avesta and in the *ƗthƗs that He is introduced as YƯspa-dƗtra, which means he who has ‘given/created everything’. The *ƗthƗs, moreover, state that when we observe the world with the eyes of words and deeds’ (Ɨn do gohar-e hamzƗdi ke dar ƗghƗz dar ‘Ɨlam-e tasavvor padidƗr shodand yeki nikist o digari badi dar andishe o goftƗr u kerdƗr), Ɩzargoshasp (1383/2005): 235 b) ShahmardƗn: ‘On the first day there were two spiritual forces in existence, and they were the good and the bad in thoughts, words and deeds’ (dar ruz e nakhost do ruh-e tavƗn mowjnjd budand ke ‘ebƗratand az niki o badi dar andishe o goftƗr u kerdƗr), ShahmardƗn (1364/1986): 40 and c) Shustari: ‘Now know that in the beginning there were these two spirits who became active together and became manifest for in their thoughts, words and in deeds they are manifested in good or in bad’ (Aknun bedƗnid ke az azal in do minu budand ke (har do) khodrƗ bƗ ham (to’am) be fa’Ɨliat ƗshekƗr kardand; che dar andishe o che dar sokhan o che dar kƗr in do ƗshkƗr mishavand) besurat-e khub yƗ bad). Shustari (1379/2001): 45. 22 ShahzƗdi (1374/1966): 125–6.

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1.1 Revelation/Divine Inspiration

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wisdom, we perceive of a dichotomy… hence, Ahriman is not created by God, it is the creation of our mind. So, in contrast to other religions which proclaim that God is the source of evil, or when, for instance, human beings transgress [his commandments] and are punished [by him] accordingly – as %ƗEƗ TƗher states: O Lord, truly, the source of affliction is you! But because of my fear I cannot protest! If you created human nature for the sake of obedience Why was it necessary to create Satan? If you did not give (us) power over good and evil Why the need to have a judgement about good and evil? You who do not have a grain of sand in your shoes [i.e. any imperfection], Why did you have to create Satan?23 KhodƗ\Ɨ rƗst gnjyam fetneh az tost! Vali az tars natvƗnam cheghidan To gar xelqat namudi bahr-e tƗ’at Chera bƗyest SheitƗn Ɨfaridan Agar bar nik o bad qodrat nadƗdi CherƗ bar nik o bad bƗyad rasidan To ke rigi be kafsh-e khod nadƗri, CherƗ bƗyest SheitƗn Ɨfaridan? … [I]n Iranian culture and in the Zartoshti religion, Ahriman is not the creation of Ahura MazdƗ. Ahriman is in opposition to Spentaman; both are the creation of our intellect.24 The views expressed in interviews on the second subject, the animal sacrifice, can be broadly divided into three categories. There are those who believe that the slaughter of an animal forms a traditional part of religious rituals performed at festivals such as MehregƗn, or at the annual pilgrimages to one of the great shrines or pirs.25

23 BƗEƗ TƗher OriƗn was an eleventh-century poet renowned for his love poetry. The original poem is by NƗser-e Khosrow, a well-known poet and philosopher, also of the eleventh century. I am grateful to Philip Kreyenbroek for drawing my attention to this and for his translation cited here. 24 ShahzƗdi CD2 [13:00]. In another lecture, CD2 [14:14], ShahzƗdi presents the same topic in a different way, drawing on the dichotomies that exist in the plant, animal, human and earthly worlds. See also Fozi (2014): 128. 25 See interviews with KhodƗGƗd MƗvandƗd (Cham) and Dolat YazdƗni (AliƗEƗd) in Zoroastrian Voices Part 2. For a description of the festival of MehregƗn in the village of Taft outside Yazd

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1. Background and Context: religion

Others think that an animal may be slaughtered and the meat distributed, as is customary on such occasions, but without any accompanying rituals,26 while some maintain that Zarathustra preached against the practice of sacrifice altogether.27 Those who still slaughter an animal on festive occasions, such as those described by Boyce in the 1960s, usually abstain from eating meat on the day dedicated to Vahman, the AmshƗspand associated with cattle, each month (see below, Chapter 2, p. 33). Also, the term kheirƗt is commonly used for all offerings including those from animal sacrifice rather than the more traditional qorbƗni, which refers specifically to the slaughter of an animal. In the third category are those who believe that Zarathustra also discouraged the use of haoma (see below p. 26). PurdƗvud belongs in this group. Citing Y. 32.12, 14, he says: … we have evidence of the prohibition by Zarathushtra of bloody sacrifices. He says, ‘They incur thy displeasure, O Ahura MazdƗ, who, with shouts of joy, draw the cow to the altar for sacrifice.’ In Y. 48.10, he speaks against the use of intoxicating drinks in religious ceremonies: When, O Ahura MazdƗ, when shall the nobles turn to the path of righteousness? When shall this filthy evil drink be uprooted by them, the evil of drink through which the wicked karpans and evil-minded lords of the land, so utterly deceive the people of the world?28 It is noticeable that, in Y. 32.12, PurdƗvud translates the Avestan gϷթuš into Persian as JƗv (‘cow’) referring to ‘those who sacrifice the cow with joyful shouts’.29 Mowbed ShahzƗdi gives the meaning of gϷթuš as ‘animals’ (Pers. heivƗQƗt). Mowbed Ɩzargoshasp, however, avoids the literal translation altogether: ‘with decisive words [they] lead people astray’. Moreover, he says that the word JթϷթuš in the *ƗthƗs should be interpreted as a reference to the living/people/creation, and not to the cow. 30 The Avestan GnjraošϷm is thought by many western scholars to refer to haoma (its epithet in Young Avestan).31 PurdƗvud, followed by Mowbeds

see MorƗdiƗn (2014): 175. 26 For example, Mowbed Rashid KhorshidiƗn in TehrƗn. 27 See Goshtasp BahrƗmshahri interview (Mahalleh, Yazd) in Zoroastrian Voices Part 2. 28 PurdƗvud (1927): 47 (Introduction in English). Compare Humbach Y. 48.10: ‘When will someone kick over the [vessel] of urine of that [demon of] intoxication …’ Humbach (1991): Part I: 178 and Part II: 203. The monotheistic view of Zoroastrianism held by some western scholars often coincides with the view that Zarathustra preached against sacrifice. See, for example, Gnoli (1980): 183, where he says: ‘There can be no doubt that the characteristic features of the Gathic teaching are a monotheistic faith and an inner religiosity that is emphatically antiritualistic and antisacrificial.’ 29 PurdƗvud (1927): 39 (translation of *ƗthƗs). 30 Ɩzargoshasp (1383/2005): 518. 31 See Insler (1975): 48–9, 209. Humbach (1991): Part I: 135 (Y. 32.14) translates GnjraošϷm as

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1.2 Doctrine and Teaching

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Ɩzargoshasp and ShahzƗdi, translates the word as ‘averter of death’ (durdƗrandehye marg), and says that it refers to a drink used in ceremonies of daƝvayasna (daƝvaworshippers) – an intoxicant that Zarathustra preached against.32 With reference to Y. 29, the Avestan term gϷթuš uruuƗ has been translated variously, some scholars arguing for metaphorical and others for literal meanings. PurdƗvud translates it as ravƗn-e Ɨfarinesh, or ‘the Soul of Creation’, and is followed in this by ShahzƗdi. Mowbed Ɩzargoshasp understands the words to mean ‘Soul of Creation’ or ‘the Soul of Mother Earth’. The hymn is described by him as a play in which various characters perform roles. The most important of these is played by Mother Earth, who represents the people of the world whom only the Amesha Spentas, together with Ahura MazdƗ, can save from the injustices that prevail.33 Mowbed Ɩzargoshasp writes about the issue of translation of the *ƗthƗs by non-Iranian scholars and the difficulties he encountered in trying to convey what he believed was the spiritual message of Zarathustra’s words: [T]he translations of Avestan scholars were so different [from each other] that I had to find a meaning that was more logical and more spiritually acceptable to the Iranian taste. We should pay attention to the fact that these divine teachings, ƗsemƗn, are taught and spoken by a prophet who has been living in this land… The important thing which caused me to translate the *ƗthƗs was that, in the translation of non-Iranian Avestan scholars, there is not that deep spirituality of the words and phrases of the Avestan text of this divine book… Therefore, this mindset and defective interpretation of the Avestan words and phrases allowed the spiritual message and philosophical words of Zarathustra to remain behind a dark curtain. In other words, the literal meaning does not capture the spiritual meaning.34

1.2 Doctrine and Teaching The tendency to look for metaphoric rather than literal, poetic rather than prosaic, and metaphysical rather than physical meaning is characteristic of Iranian Zoroastrian priestly teaching as demonstrated in the examples outlined above. Priests will often explain the meaning of religious texts with reference to the works of poets such as Abu’l-QƗsem Ferdowsi (b. 940) and JalƗl al-Din Mohammad Rumi

‘fire-proof’, but adds ‘intoxicant’ in brackets. 32 PurdƗvud (1927): 41 and n. 2 (translation of *ƗthƗs). Humbach and Ichaporia (1994): 43 n.5 suggests that, in the Younger Avesta, the epithet is understood as meaning ‘preventing death, providing immortality’. 33 Ɩzargoshasp (1383/2005): 8. 34 Ɩzargoshasp (1381/2003): 2–5.

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1. Background and Context: religion

(b. 1207).35 In a sense, the teaching of Zoroastrianism in Iran is defined by the quest for historical continuity within the literary tradition. The corpus of religious literature that sustains, explains and defends the revelatory Avestan texts are the theological works preserved in the Middle Persian texts of the ninth century, often referred to as the Pahlavi or Ninth Century Books. Many of these derive from the commentary or zand of lost Avestan books, nasks, as well as treatises taken from the Zand.36 As Boyce has pointed out, it is difficult to date the content of the Middle Persian texts. Although largely a product of the late Sasanian period, when Zoroastrian religious texts were committed to writing, they retain the characteristics of oral texts; composite works that are the product of successive generations and containing material drawn from ancient times in addition to that which dates from the last redaction of the text.37 As well as a word-for-word translation and a synopsis of the original Avestan texts, the Middle Persian Zand also comprises exegetical passages of varying length that interpret the Avestan corpus according to the views of different commentators of the time. It is likely that these interpretations have led to the view held by some Zoroastrians, and espoused by Muslim authors such as HƗshem RƗzi, that much of the Zoroastrian religious tradition is the product of a wealthy and hierarchical Sasanian priesthood and does not reflect their understanding of Zarathustra’s message. There are others who consider that the Middle Persian books belong to a tradition that evolved over time, but which derived ultimately from Zarathustra’s teaching. Whichever approach is adopted, a distinction is drawn between the corpus of Avestan texts, din dabireh – also the term used to denote the Avestan script – and the ninth-century books, which are sometimes referred to as adabiyƗt, literature. The significance of this is that adabiyƗt is not considered to have the same authority as a text that is regarded as scripture. Mowbed ShahzƗdi, for example, explains that the *ƗthƗs of Zarathustra form the principal book of the Zoroastrian religion and other parts of the Avesta are like foro‘-e din (‘minor rules of the religion) and shari‘a (external religious law) and Zoroastrian fekr (lit. ‘thinking’, perhaps ‘interpretation’).38 Mowbed Ɩzargoshasp talks about din o Ɨyin (religion and ceremonies) when referring to Zarathustra’s teaching and the customs and ceremonies of the religion. He urges people not to prioritise the latter at the expense

35 Ali Jafarey suggests that poets were so struck by the eloquence of the *ƗthƗs that some have attempted to understand them with reference to the Masnavi of JalƗl al-Din Rumi and the works of Muslim sufis and Iranian mystics. Jafarey (1998): 71. Even if this were the case, it would not prevent Zoroastrians, in turn, from referring to Persian poetry to illustrate their understanding of Gathic concepts. 36 For a summary of the extant Pahlavi Zand of Avestan texts, see Macuch (2009): 128. 37 Boyce (1984): 4–5. 38 ShahzƗdi (1381/2003): 12.

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1.3 Ritual and the Priesthood

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of the former, for it is the din, Avestan daƝQƗ or conscience, that a person should listen to in order to determine right from wrong.39 In general, therefore, we do not find that Iranian scholars and priests view the Middle Persian texts as a means by which to interpret the words of Zarathustra.40 On the other hand, we do find a miscellany of knowledge concerning the history of the religion, the life of the prophet and much besides that has been drawn from this body of literature. In particular, the subjects included in the encyclopaedic work of the 'Ɲnkard, or Acts of the Religion,41 are reflected in some of the views expressed in the interviews. For example, book seven of the 'Ɲnkard contains the legendary account of the life of Zarathustra, from the miracles of his early infancy to his first convert, Kavi VishtƗspa, through to the consolidation of the religion under the guidance of the high priest Tansar during the Sasanian period. It continues with the rise of Mazdak in the sixth century and ends with the Arab conquest of Iran. It is this and similar accounts contained in the Middle Persian texts that provide Zoroastrians with a narrative about themselves that is rooted in the pre-Islamic past. It gives them an identity that embraces the twin categories of Iranian ethnicity and Zoroastrian religion. It is noticeable that many modern Zoroastrian religious texts open with a formulaic account of the history of the religion from the mythical Kayanian dynasty, through the Achaemenids and Parthians, down to the Sasanians. This serves to validate the longevity of the religion and the claim of its people to the land of Iran.

1.3 Ritual and the Priesthood From the middle of the twentieth century, in both India and Iran, there has been a decline in the number of applicants wishing to undergo training for the priesthood. Although the circumstances are different in each location, the main reason for this 39 Hintze (2016): 77, notes that in indigenous Zoroastrian sources the religion is referred to as daƝQƗ, NP din which, in Avestan, means ‘vision’, or ‘world view’. Derived from the root ‘di’, it refers to the idea of seeing with the inner eye of the mind rather than with the physical eyes of the body. As such it is linked to the notion of thinking, belief and vision. 40 It is worth noting that Mowbed ShahzƗdi discusses the subject of dualism with reference to the *ƗthƗs and Persian poetry rather than to the theology of Pahlavi texts such as the PRDd. and the 'Ɲnkard. Williams (2012): 140–42, suggests the authors of the Pahlavi texts were intent on teaching people the polarity between the good religion, weh-dƝQƯh, and the evil religion, agGƝQƯh – in other words between Zoroastrianism and Islam, without explicit reference to the latter. 41 The 'Ɲnkard is a composite work compiled in the ninth and tenth centuries CE, although containing material from different ages. It consists of nine volumes, of which only volumes three to nine survive, and its subject matter is not confined to religion alone, but includes treatises on science, astrology, law and medicine, as well as answers to theological and philosophical questions. The 'Ɲnkard also deals with social matters, such as the superior status of the priesthood over other ranks of men, the relationship between religion and kingship, inheritance and khwƝGǀGƗh.

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1. Background and Context: religion

decline has been economic. The growth of the middle classes, better education and professional opportunities, and the move from rural to urban environments are developments that have discouraged young men from undertaking the lengthy training required to join what has remained a poorly paid profession. The Zoroastrian communities in Iran and India have responded somewhat differently to this situation. In India the priesthood remains a hereditary calling, and financial incentives are sometimes offered to priests in training. In India, the training colleges for priests (madrassas) continue to teach a conservative curriculum that includes religious texts, some Avestan and Pahlavi language tuition, history and knowledge of the Persian epic, the ShƗhnƗmeh.42 Traditional elements are preserved – for example, prior to training, a priest will undergo the bareshnom ritual of purification twice, in which nerang, consecrated bull’s urine, continues to be used as a symbolic purificatory substance – and death ceremonies are performed, for the most part, with a view to exposure rather than burial. In this way, traditional rituals are maintained more rigorously than in Iran. But modern Parsi priests do not normally concern themselves with pastoral care, and some tension exists between traditionalists in the Parsi community and those who feel that priests are out of step with contemporary life. In Iran, on the other hand, there are priests who play an active role in the pastoral care of community members. 43 Another difference between Iran and India results from the formation in 1951 of the TehrƗn Anjoman-e MowbedƗn (T.A.M.), or KankƗsh-e MowbedƗn-e TehrƗn, in Iran, which undertook the oversight and development of religious affairs, thus removing sole responsibility from the Grand Dastur.44 During the 1970s the KankƗsh decided to increase the number of priests by ordaining male members of the laity as assistant priests, or mowbedyƗrs, thereby creating a class of priest that was closely involved with religious ceremonies for the laity, and keen to pursue a profession that had not been available to them by birthright. Mowbed Rostam Vahidi noted: ‘The old mowbeds who can perform the ceremonies could not explain the Zarathushti religion to the visitors [at the fire temples], so there was need for young, well-trained priests. I recall the young, eager mowbedyƗrs in those days answered the need to give a good overview of the Zarathushti religion.’45 Although

42 See Kreyenbroek and Munshi (2001): 53. The five-year (2016–20) Multimedia Yasna (MUYA) project taking place at SOAS examines both the oral and written traditions of the priestly Yasna ceremony, as well as documenting the training process undergone by priests in India. 43 Fozi (2014): 89 cites a pamphlet that was distributed during a nozuti ritual in TehrƗn. It listed five types of priest that belonged to the priesthood in the past, and their different roles. Fourth are the andarziƗn ‘whose job was the dispensing of advice, giving religious and ethical lectures and leading and educating people in order to bring them to the right path’. See also interview with RS (p. 288). 44 For the background to and function of T.A.M., see below, Ch. 3, p. 67 ff. 45 Vahidi (2010): 55.

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1.3 Ritual and the Priesthood

there are some in Iran who feel ritual is less important than ‘meaning’, all priests interviewed for this project took pleasure in the performance of the main rituals. In creating the category of mowbedyƗrs, the KankƗsh opened the way for the admission of women to the priesthood. The idea was broached in 2009 by Mowbed Sorushpur, who reasoned that Zoroastrians believe in frashkard or renewal, according to which value systems should be appraised and revised.46 The first eight female mowbedyƗrs were ordained in a public ceremony in 2011. This departure from tradition was criticised by some and welcomed by others within the Parsi community. However, since the priesthood in India remains part of a patriarchal hereditary structure, the question of whether or not to admit women did not arise. In Iran today there are fifty-seven working priests of whom twelve are mowbedzƗdehs for whom the calling is hereditary. There is currently one mowbedzƗdeh in training for the priesthood. While mowbeds are eligible to become priests by virtue of their birth, mowbedyƗrs have to prove their commitment and suitability to the KankƗsh. Since most young priests are part time, combining their priestly duties with regular employment, there is no longer the same pressure to create a livelihood from the performance of religious ceremonies alone. The retirement age in Iran is generally between fifty and fifty-five, 47 but those who have trained as priests continue to practise well beyond that age. Table showing number of practising priests in the cities where interviews have been conducted.48 City

mowbeds

mowbedyƗrs

Female mowbedyƗrs

TehrƗn

8

11

4

Yazd

1

21

1

KermƗn

4

1

ShirƗz

1

46 Av. Frašo.kereti, M. Persian frašegird, signifies the time when evil will be banished for all time, and the world restored to its former state of perfection, once again becoming frasha (‘wonderful’). See Hintze (2000): 190–92. 47 In order to qualify for a state pension, a person must have been in full-time employment for thirty years. 48 The table was originally published by Fozi (2014): 22, and updated in May 2017 by Mowbed Firouzgary. There is now no longer a mowbed, hereditary priest, serving in ShirƗz, KermƗn or EsfahƗn and only one left in Yazd. For the ordination of female mowbedyƗrs see interview with PN, p. 278ff.

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1. Background and Context: religion

City

mowbeds

mowbedyƗrs

Female mowbedyƗrs

EsfahƗn

1

AhvƗz

1

=ƗhadƗn All categories of priest undergo training in order to become familiar with Avestan and PƗzand texts and proficient in the recitation of prayers and performance of rituals. The training process involves a number of examinations. Candidates are required to have memorised the short prayers for koshti retying and other, nonessential, recitations such as the BeresƗd and SetƗyesh-e YektƗ KhodƗ. They should be able to read fluently the entire Khordeh Avesta (prayer book), Ɨfarins (prayers of blessing), the five draonas, or introductory invocations to deities contained in Y.3.5 to Y.8 and the Ahunavaiti GƗthƗ. They should be able to memorise the Srǀsh BƗj and Koshti prayers, as well as a number of short prayers.49 The remaining parts of the Khordeh Avesta, the Draonas and Ahunavaiti *ƗthƗ are read in Persian. Those training to become full mowbeds are required to read fluently, in din dabireh script, the first twenty-one +Ɨs (Chapters) of the Yasna liturgy, which is not part of the training required for mowbedyƗrs. Candidates are examined by three senior mowbeds for their proficiency in memorisation and recitation of the religious texts. Thereafter they are examined on their religious knowledge through a series of questions compiled primarily by Dr Ardeshir KhorshidiƗn, president of the Board of Directors of KankƗsh, and also taken from Persian scholarly texts about the religion.50 A newly qualified mowbed is called QƗvar, and has to work as an assistant (raspi) to a senior mowbed for one year, after which time he is able to perform ceremonies as the leading ritual priest (zaotar, zot).51 1.3.1 ‘Inner’ rituals The ‘inner’ rituals of the faith, traditionally performed by qualified mowbeds, which take place in the yazishngƗh or ritual precinct of the fire temple, have been substantially reduced. Consequently, the liturgical texts recited during ritual performances are used in a shortened form.52 Of those rituals performed in the dar-e 49 50 51 52

For these, see Firouzgary (2010): 60. Ibid. Vahidi (2010): 54. Texts in the old Avestan language consist of the *ƗthƗs, the prose liturgy of the Yasna HaptanhƗiti, and two of the four great prayers of Zoroastrianism. The remaining extant texts are in a later form of the language known as young Avestan. These comprise the VendidƗd, a text mainly concerned with purity laws designed to combat evil; the Visperad, which consists of the Yasna liturgy plus the VendidƗd; the Yashts and the Khordeh Avesta, or prayer book.

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1.3 Ritual and the Priesthood

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mehr, or fire temple, which are mainly related to death ceremonies, Sedreh-pushis and jashans, priests perform around forty per month. They are paid directly for their services according to the rates set by the KankƗsh. According to Mowbed Firouzgary, performance of the full, seventy-two section Yasna ceremony began to die out in the 1950s, due to a lack of priests and priestly training facilities.53 In 1981, the KankƗsh revived two of the ‘inner’ rituals: the Nowzuti and the 9Ɨj-e Yasht-e *ƗKƗmbƗr. These are performed by two priests, the zaotar and the raspi, in the dare mehr in TehrƗn.54 The Nowzuti or 1Ɨvar ceremony for the ordination of a priest follows the same pattern as in previous times, although, like other ceremonies, it has been shortened.55 The trainee priest, accompanied by a senior mowbed and the most recently initiated mowbed, called the YƗrsdƗr, meet at the yazishngƗh of the dar-e mehr. Here they help the candidate to put on the priestly apparel, including a traditional turban, which is decorated with twenty-one ancient gold coins and a jewelled mirror that hangs over the padƗn, or mouth covering. In his right hand the initiate holds a silver rod to which a strip of silver is nailed in the centre.56 On his way to and from the yazishngƗh, the young priest makes sure that the silver strip rotates. The YƗrsdƗr carries a tray on his head on which is the traditional YƗrs, which is a cone57 made of twigs covered with fabric,58 and was traditionally made anew for each ceremony.

53 Author correspondence with Mowbed Firouzgary (May 2016). 54 The reduction in the number of priests performing ceremonies from eight to two is cited, somewhat misleadingly, in Foltz (2011): 80, in the context of the Iranian priesthood today. At the time when the Yasna was configured in its basic form – possibly at the end of the Sasanian period – it seems that two priests (the zaotar and raspi) were able to perform the ceremony in substitution for the full contingent of eight priests named in the Avestan text. See Malandra (2006), ‘yasna’ in: EIr at www.iranicaonline.org. 55 In former times, the Nowzuti lasted four days because, after ordination, the newly ordained mowbed performed the full Yasna, as well as the %Ɨj and ƖfrinagƗn ceremonies. These three ceremonies were repeated on the second and third days, dedicated to Sorush Yazad and the Yazatas listed in the Siruzeh (see below Ch. 2). On the fourth day, the Yasna and the VendidƗd were performed. During this time, and for forty days thereafter, the mowbed maintained nabƗr, i.e. kept the EƗj and avoided contact with non-Zoroastrians. See Sheriar (1914): 438. For the Parsi NavƗr ceremony, see Modi (1995): 189–98. 56 This used to be called the verd in Iran, described as a ‘T-shaped figure consisting of a short and somewhat flat silver rod pierced through in the middle by another thin silver rod, both of them painted beautifully’. See Sheriar (1914): 436. Modi (1995): 193, says that the rod, or mace, gorz (Av. vazra), symbolises the battle that the new priest will undertake against evil. 57 Reminiscent of the silver cone, representing the mythical Mount HƗra, that Parsis put on their festive ses tray. 58 Firouzgary (2010): 61 describes the YƗrs as being formed by nine twigs of pomegranate with one twig forming a circle for the base and the four longer ones tied at the top to form the cone. The other four form semi-circular arches between the four main pillars of the cone. Coloured thread is used to tie all the lower twigs together. 9Ɨrs – hairs from the tail of a sanctified bull, the varasya – are used to tie the apex of the four twigs. This conical structure is covered with green cloth making it look like the soparo used by the Parsis. See also Sheriar (1914): 436 and

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The procession leaves the fire temple, led by the senior mowbed, who joins hands in paiwand with the now nƗvar (newly initiated priest), and proceeds to the compound where a large ƗfrinagƗn or ƗtashdƗn (fire vase) has been lit. The YƗrsdƗr and other mowbeds join the procession, keeping paiwand. They circle the fire three times – to represent Humata, Hnjkhta, Hvarshta (Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds) – while reciting the Ɩtash NiyƗyesh. The crowd applauds and showers the now nƗvar with white sweets and thyme leaves, before the procession returns to the yazishngƗh. There, the senior mowbed performs the haoma ritual while reciting the first twentyone +Ɨs of the Yasna, accompanied by the YƗrsdƗr and the now nƗvar. The ceremony takes about two hours, during which time the rest of the assembled company goes to the community hall for speeches and celebrations.59 Since the bareshnom ritual is no longer performed, and the use of nerang completely abandoned, an important component of the ‘inner’ rituals has been lost. The change in ritual practice also has implications for death rituals and purity laws, which are not fulfilled in the same way as before. This coincides with the thinking that many of the injunctions contained in prescriptive texts such as the VendidƗd are no longer relevant to contemporary life. However, there are some who argue this text has a place in Zoroastrian religious teaching and should be regarded as a part of the tradition that can be modified to suit modern living. An account given by Mowbed Firouzgary outlines the shortened Yasna ceremony, which is performed at the start of the +Ɨvan GƗh, or first watch of the day. Its purpose is to herald the arrival of each of the six chahres or seasonal JƗKƗmbƗrs of the year. The leading mowbed will take a bath the evening before the ceremony after reciting the essential evening prayers. He will wash a handful of hom twigs, leaving them to soak overnight,60 and clean the yazishngƗh and the water pots, which consist of a big, round copper pot as well as two large jug-shaped copper pots with handles. These are filled with piped water and covered. At about 3 a.m. the two ritual priests, usually joined by a third who is training, will meet at the yazishngƗh of the fire temple. After reciting the UshƗhin GƗh prayers and an Ɩtash NiyƗyesh in front of the ƗdorƗn fire,61 they sit at a wooden table where the copper tray containing the ritual implements (ƗOƗt) is laid. These include the mortar (KƗvan) and pestle for pounding the hom twigs, metal bowls, piƗlehs, and the PƗhru, or halfFozi (2014): 90–92 where there is a picture of the ceremony. 59 This account is taken from Firouzgary (2010): 61–2, and from author correspondence (May 2016). 60 The plant used to extract the haoma juice for the ritual belongs to the ephedra species. See Boyce (2012) ‘Haoma ii. The Rituals’ in: EIr at www.iranicaonline.org. 61 In both Iran and India there are three grades of sacred fire: Ɩtash BahrƗm, Ɩtash ƖdorƗn and Ɩtash DƗdgƗh, distinguished by the number of different fires required for their establishment and the intricacy of the boy dƗdan ceremony of the tending/feeding of the fire. Whereas the first two grades of fire must be served by a priest (or priests), the 'ƗdgƗh fire may be served by a laymen and used for ritual observances which the other two may not. See Boyce (1968): 52–7 & n. 23 and (1989): 74–6.

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1.3 Ritual and the Priesthood

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moon stands, on which the twenty-one pieces of silver wire (barsom) are laid. In addition, the texts from which the priests will read and the three large water containers are placed within the confines of the kesh, furrows that protect the SƗvi or space traditionally consecrated for the ritual to take place. The hom twigs are drained and distributed among the three large water pots. A portion of the soaked twigs is transferred to the mortar (KƗvanim), and the Yasna recital begins. Although it takes place in the ritual precinct, Mowbed Firouzgary says that there are no restrictions of passage across the SƗvi, as would formerly have been the case. Other priests and even photographers will enter during the performance. Only the first twenty-one +Ɨs of the Yasna are recited. Between each +Ɨ the leading priest, while praying YathƗ Ahnj and Ashem Vohu prayers, will use his right hand to pound the hom twigs mixed with water, creating a reverberating sound. With his left hand he presses the twenty-one pieces of silver wire (barsom).62 After the hom has been pounded, the liquid is poured into the surƗkh-dƗr rekabi, a metal plate with nine holes that acts as a filter. This is placed over one of the piƗlehs, metallic bowls. Before proceeding to the next +Ɨ recitation, some water from the smaller water container, kalacheh, is added to the KƗvanim.63 In this way several piƗlehs of sanctified hom juice are collected and distributed to the larger water pots, already mixed with the previously soaked hom mixture. This procedure will be repeated until all twenty-one +Ɨs have been recited. The Yasna session concludes with the following prayers: BeresƗd, to call for the blessings of Ahura MazdƗ, the Amesha Spentas, various Yazatas, the JƗhs of the day, the *ƗthƗ days, and the JƗKƗmbƗr chahres. The prayers end with an invocation of the current ruz and PƗh and JƗKƗmbƗr chahres, as well as the Hameh-ravƗQƗn, or all souls of the dead. The priest casts his eyes upwards while chanting the prayers and pounding the hom, as it is believed that the ritual releases cosmic energy that will benefit all who are involved in it, especially those who partake of the hom mixture. After the performance of the ritual, the hom is distributed to Zoroastrians, many of whom will have been queuing on the veranda of the fire temple to partake of it. Some will take it home for those who are unwell and/or may not have been able to attend the ceremony. The hom juice is thought to contain healing properties, and at each of these ritual ceremonies large quantities are made. At the start of the +Ɨvan GƗh (the first watch of the day), Zoroastrian attendees, including priests, will come to the main hall of the fire temple for prayers and to receive the diluted hom mixture. They are then served with the JƗKƗmbƗr lork (see below) and chashni (consecrated food), arranged by the Anjoman, as well as breakfast, which is provided courtesy of an individual’s donation.

62 Traditionally these were tied with woollen twine in Iran, replaced in modern times with a silver chain. See further Fischer (2004): 36. 63 The larger water container is called lagan.

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1.3.2 ‘Outer’ rituals Most of the work undertaken by priests revolves around the lives of the Zoroastrian laity and the ceremonies that have to be performed for all the seasonal religious festivals, as well as for rites of passage (birth, death, Sedreh-pushi and marriage). These belong to the ‘outer’ liturgical services, and can be performed by both mowbed and mowbedyƗr in any location. Since they mainly concern the laity, these ceremonies are included in the next chapter, which covers religious observance and devotional life.

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Chapter 2 Devotional Life: customs and observances The majority of interviews included in this book are to do with religious life, how it is practised day to day and how it informs people’s views on both religious and nonreligious subjects. To offer a comprehensive survey of all the rituals and customs as they are followed in the various Zoroastrian communities in Iran today falls beyond the scope of this work. The aim of this chapter is to give an account of the most important religious practices, especially those that are markedly different from their counterparts in the Parsi community.1 It is thought that sometime in the early Achaemenid period, the twelve months of the year were dedicated to the seven major divine beings, the Amesha Spentas (pl. AmshƗspandƗn), to whom seven days of the month were also dedicated. The remaining months and days were dedicated to other prominent divinities. The Amesha Spentas have been associated with six ancient seasonal festivals (JƗKƗmbƗrs) which, together with a seventh, Nowruz or New Day, constitute the seven great festivals of the year (on which see below).2 These are marked by religious rituals and observances, special foods and visits to the fire temple. It is commonplace to link each of the six JƗKƗmbƗrs, together with Nowruz, with a particular Amesha Spenta and the part of the material creation which is under his or her protection.3 The Amesha Spentas and the creations they guard are also represented in the traditional Yasna ceremony in the form of water, fire and the various offerings/oblations. Since the Yasna is no longer performed in full in Iran, the link between doctrine, ritual and material creation is not so obvious as perhaps it once was. However, the doctrine of the Amesha Spentas still serves to remind people of their obligations towards the creations as well as the virtues they should adopt in everyday life. The table below demonstrates the links that can be made between the seven seasonal festivals, the Amesha Spentas, the creations under their protection, their representation in the Yasna ceremony and associated observance in everyday life:

1 2 3

On which see Munshi, S. in Kreyenbroek (2001): 16–43. For this association see Boyce (1975): 175 and (1984): 18 and n.3 below. This link is based on the account of the festivals in the months of the Persians by the early medieval Muslim historian Biruni (896–956 CE). He says, for example: ‘The 11th, or Khnjr5ǀzm is the first day of the second GahanbƗr, the last of which is Dai-ba-Mihr Rǀz. It is called Maidhyǀshema-gƗh. During this GahanbƗr God created the water.’ Sachau (1879): 217.

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2. Devotional Life: customs and observances

Seven seasonal festivals

Associated Amesha Spenta

Associated creation

Representation in the Yasna ceremony Stone pestle & mortar (now metal container)

Midspring

Khshathra Vairya (Desirable Power, Dominion)

Sky

Midsummer

HaurvatƗt Water (Wholeness, Health)

Water for libations

Bringing in the harvest

Spenta ArmƗiti (Piety, Devotion, Right-mindedness)

Earth

Ritual enclosure

HomeAmeretƗt (Immortality) coming (of herds)

Plants

Midwinter

Vohu Manah (Good Thought)

Cattle

Hom juice, wheat cakes, formerly the baresom (metal wires) Milk/butter

All Souls

Spenta Mainyu (Holy/Beneficent Spirit). Later, Ahura MazdƗ4

Man

Priest

New Year’s Day

Asha Vahishta (Best Truth, Order)

Fire

Fire

Observances in everyday life

Exercising proper authority; being honest, thrifty, charitable Keeping water unpolluted; being selfdisciplined Tilling and enriching the soil; being selfdisciplined Nurturing plants and trees; being temperate, selfdisciplined Caring for animals; having good intentions Looking after one’s own physical and moral being Keeping fire unpolluted; being just and righteous in thoughts, words and actions

Spenta Mainyu is taken to refer to the ‘Holy Spirit’ in the *ƗthƗs and to Ahura MazdƗ in the later, Pahlavi literature, for example the Bundahishn. For an explanation of the reinterpretation of the older myth see Kreyenbroek (2013): 143–9.

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2. Devotional Life: customs and observances

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In the the third century CE, the Sasanians undertook a calendar reform adding five days to the traditional 360-day year, which ended with the feast of ‘All Souls’ (Av. HamaspathmaƝdaya). This feast was dedicated to the spirits of the dead, fravashis, who were welcomed back to their ancestral homes with offerings placed on the rooftops. The additional ‘fravashi’ days were named after the opening word of each of the five *ƗthƗs: AhunavƗd, UshtavƗd, Spentomad, Vohukhshathra and Vahishtoisht. The result of this intercalation was that the last ten days of the month came to be dedicated to the fravashis, the whole period being referred to as RozhƗ-ye FravardigƗn, or ‘Fravashi days,’ and forming two distinct pentads. In modern usage the first of these became known as Panjeh-ye Kuchak (‘little five’). The second, consisting of the five *ƗthƗ days, became known as Panjeh-ye Bozorg (‘big five’), culminating in Nowruz, the ‘New Day’, when the seventh great feast, an obligatory festival, was celebrated.5 Various intercalations were made in Iran between the medieval and modern periods. In the mid eighteenth century in India, when it was found that the Parsi calendar lagged one month behind that followed in Iran, a group of Parsis from Surat decided to adopt the Iranian calendar, calling it Qadimi, meaning ‘old’, which they pronounced ‘kadmi’. Most Parsis continued to observe the existing calendar, referring to themselves as Rasmis (traditionalists), or Shenshais,6 and a great deal of friction between the two groups ensued. In an attempt to end the dispute, a third calendar was instituted in 1906, by the Zartoshti Fasli Sal Madal, or ‘Zoroastrian Seasonal-Year Society’ led by the reformer, Kharshedji Cama. It became known as the Fasli calendar and its followers the Faslis.7 This calendar was adopted in Iran during the 1930s when reformers such as Keikhosrow ShƗhrokh, following his time spent in India, and Sorush SorushiƗn, in KermƗn, sought to promote it amongst the Zoroastrian community. It had the advantage of being close to the national calendar after RezƗ ShƗh Pahlavi had reverted to the Zoroastrian, rather than Arabic, month names. As had happened in India, the use of two calendars caused confusion and consternation within the community with some people celebrating festivals according to both calendrical cycles.8 In 1976, Mohammad-RezƗ ShƗh changed the

5

6 7 8

Biruni attests to the preservation of the Zoroastrian religious calendar and describes such festivals as Nowruz at the spring equinox, the six seasonal JƗKƗmbƗrs, and the feast of Sadeh, which was in mid-winter. See Rose (2011): 166. See also Boyce (1990): 67–8. Two popular festivals today are TiregƗn and MehregƗn (see further below). These are dedicated to the divinities Tir/Tishtrya and Mehr/Mithra, to whom two of the ancient Yashts (Avestan hymns) are addressed. Biruni mentions these festivals as taking place in mid-summer and autumn, respectively. In relation to MehregƗn, he relates the story about the defeat and imprisonment of the evil dragon ZahƗk by the hero Feridun, which is already referred to in an Avestan hymn (Yasht 19). See Rose (2011): 166. This story is also recounted in the ShƗhnƗmeh and is popular with Iranians generally. Boyce (1979): 190. Ibid.: 212–3. It is worth noting that, in addition to the complications of the calendar, some annual festivals

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year from 1355 to 2550 to reflect the notion of 2,500 years of uninterrupted imperial rule since Cyrus the Great, with the intention of invoking ‘Zoroastrian’ or ‘ancient Iranian’ history instead of Islamic history. Ayatollah Khomeini considered this calendrical change to be an act of ‘treason’ and it was revoked in 1978 (see Chapter 3 n. 91).

2.1 The Religious Year 2.1.1 The old and new calendars (Taqvim-e Qadimi and Taqvim-e Jadid / Fasli / Zartoshti / calendars)9 The calendar continues to play a key role in Zoroastrian observance, as every month and day is dedicated to one of the Izads/Yazatas. The Zoroastrian community worldwide now knows three different calendars: 1) The Qadimi ‘ancient’ or ‘traditional’ calendar, which is the calendar that was formerly observed by all Iranian Zoroastrians, 2) The Shenshai calendar, which is followed by many Parsis, but plays no role in Iran and 3) the ‘new’ calendar, taqvim-e jadid, Fasli or Zartoshti calendar, which begins with the spring solstice and has months that correspond with those used by all Iranians. The six Zoroastrian seasonal festivals known as JƗKƗmbƗrs take place at fixed times during the year (see chart above). The third calendar corresponds with the Fasli, or seasonal calendar, instituted in India by the Parsis in the late nineteenth century, which is now followed by most Zoroastrians in Iran. Some Zoroastrians in the villages still keep to the Qadimi, or old calendar. 2.1.2 Months The twelve divine beings after which the months are named are: Farvardin, Ardavahisht, HordƗd, Tir, AmordƗd, Shahrevar, Mehr, ƖEƗn, Ɩdar, Dei, Vahman, SpendƗrmad.10 2.1.3 Days The thirty days of the calendar are dedicated to divine beings including those twelve after whom months are named. Four days are dedicated to Ahura MazdƗ: one day

have changed their focus in recent times. This is when compared to Boyce’s account of how they were observed in SharifƗEƗd in the 1960s. The festival of HirombƗ is one example (see below). For the purposes of this chapter, M. MoƗvenat has indicated when a festival is celebrated according to the Qadimi calendar, and has occasionally referred to Boyce’s account to provide the historical context. Otherwise the dates given for festivals described below belong to the Fasli calendar (also known as Dini Zardoshti). 9 The year 2017 corresponds to 3753 according to the Fasli calendar. 10 See Rose (2015): 385; Boyce (1989): 164–6.

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takes his name, Ohrmazd, and three are dedicated to him as the Creator, Dadvah/Dei.11 2.1.4 The five JƗhs, or ‘watches of the day’ The twenty-four hours of the day are divided into five JƗhs or ‘watches’. The beginning of each watch marks the traditional time for prayer.12 2.1.5 Nabor days There are four days in every month that are named after the AmshƗspand, Vahman, and the three Izads: MƗh, Gush and RƗm. Vahman is the AmshƗspand who is the guardian of animals. In both Iran and India, it is customary for people to refrain from eating meat on these days.

2.2 Annual Festivals 2.2.1 Nowruz Qadimi Nowruz (‘old’ New Year) Some fifty years ago, when the days of Panjeh (see above) arrived, everyone springcleaned their houses. During Panjeh-ye Kuchak, the house was thoroughly washed and cleaned. Better known among modern Zoroastrians, however, was Panjeh-ye Bozorg. People celebrated FarvardinegƗn GƗKƗmbƗr during these days. All families felt obliged to do something related to Panjeh, either on AhunavƗd day (the first day of Panjeh), on the last day, Vahishtoisht, or between these days. They cooked sirog (wheatbread made with oil), or spread gel-e sefid (‘white mud’) outside their door [usually with handprints on the wall of the house], and often had a mowbed recite Avestan prayers at home. In the afternoon before the New Year, Zoroastrians again did something related to Panjeh, either making sirog or sir o sedƗb (a kind of dip made with garlic, rue (sedƗb), coriander leaves, vinegar and other ingredients), or Ɨsh-e jejeh (a porridge with vegetables, such as carrots and turnips, and grains). On the eve of the New Year, people took the food they had made together with items such as a tus-e ruyin (copper bowl) filled with water, a small oil lamp and a

11 In later usage, the first of the four dedications to Ahura MazdƗ are so named (Ohrmazd), the other three are named ‘Creator’ (Dei) plus the name dedication of the following day, for example, Dei-pad-Ɩdar. See Boyce (1984): 19–20. 12 In India, the five daily prayers are known as farziyat, or ‘obligatory prayers’. See Kreyenbroek (2001): 16–17. See also Bundahishn 3. 20–21: ‘…thus the spirit HƗvan keeps the period from daybreak as his own, the spirit Rapithwin noon, the spirit Uzerin the period till sunset, the spirit Aiwisruthrim the first part of the night, the spirit Ushahin the period till dawn…’ in Boyce (1984): 50.

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kalacheh-ye murt (a small vase with a special plant) and placed them on the highest point of the roof. 13 Before sunset they lit small fires made of twigs on the rooftops of their homes to welcome in the New Year. After sunset people started to celebrate the coming of the New Year and took embers from their fires to the fire temple. ‘New’ Nowruz This is also known as Fasli Nowruz. It is celebrated at the vernal equinox, which usually falls on March 21 according to the Gregorian calendar. This festival is celebrated by all Iranians, Zoroastrians and Muslims alike, still, it has a special meaning in a Zoroastrian context. The precise moment of the vernal equinox may fall at any time of the day, and every year the time is different from the previous year. The highlight of the festival is the moment the sun enters Aries when all family members gather round the Haft Sin (see below) and celebrate the turning of the year together. Spring cleaning starts a month before the new year and ends ten days before Nowruz, or when Panjeh begins. Since it is traditionally believed that the days of Panjeh are when the souls of the departed will return to earth, some families have prayers performed for the deceased. A few hours before the New Year, the Haft Sin or Haft Shin is set. Haft means ‘seven’; sin and shin are the names of letters representing ‘s’ and ‘sh’ in Persian. Traditionally, Zoroastrians set a table with seven items representing the seven AmshƗspandƗn. Today, the table is set with items whose names begin with shin such as: sham (candle), sharbat (water and sugar drink), shir (milk), shekar (sugar), shirini (sweets), sharƗb (wine, usually red) and shemshƗd (boxwood/buxus).14 Another item always included is sabzi, the sprouted seeds of lentils or wheat, which represent the arrival of spring. It is looked after and carefully nurtured before and after the new year until the 13th day after Nowruz, when it is planted outside in the open. A few minutes before the New Year, family members gather round the Haft Shin/Haft Sin table and start reading Avestan prayers. Candles are lit, incense sticks burned and tash o sven (fumigating the house with incense) is performed. Once the New Year arrives, the oldest woman of the household receives every family member with rosewater, sweets and showing their face in a mirror. Another family member will perform the same ritual for her. It is customary to pay a visit to elderly family members such as grandparents and parents and for the elders to present gifts to the younger members. The same rituals involving rose water, mirror and sweets are performed. 13 The purpose of these, and other offerings, is to welcome the fravashis back to their former homes. For a full description of the festivals surrounding the Panjeh days and New Year, as celebrated in SharifƗEƗd in the 1960s see Boyce (1989): 212–35. 14 The table set with seven items beginning with ‘s’ or ‘sh’ is a popular custom, according to 0ƗndƗQƗ MoƗvenat. Traditionally, the items would simply have been representations of the seven AmshƗspandƗn.

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There is no mirror nor exchange of gifts for the families who have lost a dear one the year before. They stay at home to receive visitors during Nowruz and do not pay a visit to others. Such families prepare sabzi to take to the cemetery and leave it on the tomb of the deceased. On the first day of Nowruz, families pay a visit to those who have lost someone. They may go to their house or, as it is becoming customary in TehrƗn, they attend a programme called -Ɨy-Sabz-BƗd-e Nowruzi (‘May they be remembered at Nowruz’), organised by the Anjoman of Taft and TavƗbeh.15 Bereaved families attend during the day and bring with them a photo of the deceased. Friends and relatives come later to commiserate with those families. This custom is gradually replacing the tradition of visiting the families of the deceased at home because the city is now very big and it is not practical to travel around. Many families gather in one place and the deceased are remembered. The programme ends around noon. On the fifth day of Nowruz, a bowl of water and thyme, together with thyme and sugar cane used for decoration, are collected and are either poured into water or used to water a tree. Some may choose to travel during Nowruz while others stay at home or visit each other. The sixth day after Nowruz is the celebration of Zarathustra’s birthday. In some villages, such as ZeinƗEƗd, someone will sponsor breakfast and lunch for the community. Following lunch, there are generally some Avesta recitations and cultural programmes. Afterwards, people eat a special noodle soup (Ɨsh-e reshteh). In cities, such as TehrƗn, mainly cultural programmes are performed in the afternoon. Such events at the MƗrkƗr hall in TehrƗn PƗrs involve poetry readings, readings from the ShƗQƗmeh, lectures and music. 2.2.2 Sizdah be-dar (national holiday) Sizdah be-dar is the thirteenth day after Nowruz. It means ‘thirteenth [day] outside’ and is a day most Iranians spend picnicking outdoors. Families and friends get together; some bring food they have pre-cooked while others cook Ɨsh. This custom is not particular to Zoroastrians alone. 2.2.3 The six JƗKƗmbƗrs: There are six seasonal festivals dedicated to the creations: 1. Maydiuzarem gƗh, 2. Maydiushahim gƗh, 3. Pateshahim gƗh, 4. Ayaserem gƗh, 5. MaydiyƗrem gƗh and 6. Hamaspathmaydiyem gƗh.16 Preparations for each JƗKƗmbƗr, known as 9Ɨj e Yasht e GƗKƗmbƗr (see Chapter 1, ‘inner rituals’) begin before the first watch of the day, +Ɨvan gƗh. Following the early morning prayers, those attending the festival drink the mixture of hom juice

15 This is held at KhƗneh Narges (see below). 16 Note that the term JƗh is used here to denote a JƗKƗmbƗr rather than a division or ‘watch’ in the twenty-four hours of the day.

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and water blessed during the shortened Yasna ceremony ritual, which includes the hom-pounding, refered to in Chapter 1. A family, or a group of families, sponsors breakfast for everyone to enjoy, and then people continue to celebrate the JƗKƗmbƗr in their own homes or, today, mostly in community halls. The most famous one is at KhƗneh Narges.17 In the eastern part of TehrƗn, the ceremony is held in the MƗrkƗr hall in TehrƗn PƗrs. Besides the six major JƗKƗmbƗrs, the term JƗKƗmbƗr is also used generically by Zoroastrians in Iran today to describe a number of festive or commemorative occasions. An example is that of the ShƗhabƗsi GƗKƗmbƗr celebrated in KermƗn a few days after the anniversary of Zarathushtra’s death, usually on the day dedicated to the divinity Sorush in the month of Dei. Other popular JƗKƗmbƗrs include:*ƗKƗmbƗr-e Tuji, which may be celebrated on any day of the year for a variety of reasons, such as recovering one’s health or getting through a difficult time. *ƗKƗmbƗr-e Khosh-hƗli (JƗKƗmbƗr for happiness, also referred to simply as ‘jashan’, an act of ‘praise/worship’). This JƗKƗmbƗr is performed when someone buys a new home or starts a new business. Usually one or two mowbeds are invited to perform the ceremony. This is usually a private occasion and people attend by invitation. 2.2.4 0ƗhiyƗneh festivals The PƗhiyƗneh (related to the month) festivals (known among Parsis as parƗb), occur when the day and the month dedicated to a particular Yazata coincide. The PƗhiyƗneh festivals are: 1. FarvardinegƗn, 2. OrdibeheshtegƗn, 3. KhordƗdegƗn, 4. TiregƗn, 5. AmordƗdegƗn, 6. ShahrivaregƗn, 7. MehregƗn/Mehrizad, 8. ƖEƗngƗn, 9. ƖzargƗn, 10. DeigƗn, 11. BahmangƗn and 12. EsfandegƗn. The most popular PƗhiyƗneh festivals are the following: FarvardinegƗn The nineteenth of Farvardin is the day when Farvardin day and Farvardin month coincide. It is known as Frodog in Dari. This is the day to remember the deceased; some believe it is the day when the soul of the deceased leaves the earth after being with the family during Nowruz. People visit cemeteries on this day. It is customary for a family who has lost a family member during the last year to spread a sofreh to remember the deceased. There are many sofrehs on that day (see below, 2.6.1) and many people gather together in the room where it is being celebrated. They put a photo of the deceased, a small oil lamp (Parsi: divo) and three small glasses each filled with wine, tea and milk. Every one offers small snacks or a little cooked food

17 This is a three-story building plus basement which was purchased, renovated and donated to Anjoman of Taft and TavƗbeh by the late ArbƗb Rostam ShahmardƗn MoƗvenat. The property is used for community ceremonies and is well known for the celebration of JƗKƗmbƗrs.

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2.2 Annual Festivals

37

for the guests. The guests in return say, Khzosh biyƗmorzƗ meaning ‘May God bless his/her soul’, Bzi bad navinit ‘May bad things not happen to you again’ or Aziz bu ‘May he/she be dear’, implying the hope that no one else in the family will pass away. These are the customary phrases to say when attending a ceremony pertaining to a deceased community member. MehregƗn This festival is also known as Mehrizad. It is celebrated on the tenth day, Mehr day, of the month of Mehr. It is dedicated to the Izad Mehr (Mithra). People gather in community halls where small groups of youngsters recite Gathic verses. These performances are followed by cultural programmes. In the village of ZeinƗEƗd, where the festival is celebrated according to the Qadimi calendar, MehregƗn is particularly popular. It lasts for five days, beginning on Mehr day and ending on VerahrƗm (BehrƗm) day. The importance of the festival is such that people return to their ancestral village to perform the related customs. The day before the festival, houses are cleaned and people take a shower and congratulate each other by saying ‘Mehrizad moborak!’ (Happy Mehrizad day). A table (sofreh) is set up in a corner of the house with bread, sir o sedƗb, fruit, sirog, some greenery and flowers. Photographs of deceased members of the family are placed on the table (in former times when there were no photos, a garment belonging to the deceased was placed on the table instead). There are also other items such as lork (a mixture of seven kinds of dried fruit and nuts), senjed (dried oleaster fruit), khormƗ (dates), anjir (figs), keshmesh (raisins), pesteh (pistachios), fandogh (hazelnuts), a glass of water, milk and plants such as mort and sedƗb. The first three days of MehregƗn are spent cooking and preparing for the last two days. People contribute by cleaning the fire temple and preparing food for the last day. The fourth day and the morning of the fifth are for geshts (gatherings). Members of various households gather together. There are two musicians, one of whom plays a wind instrument known as dohul while the other one plays a round, drum-like instrument known as arabuneh, or daf. In the afternoon of the fifth day, there is a JƗKƗmbƗr ceremony where donations that people have made, either money or dried fruit, are distributed. After the JƗKƗmbƗr, everyone enjoys a share of the food. TiregƗn This festival is also now known as Jashn-e Ɨb-pƗshƗn (the water-sprinkling festival), and is celebrated on Tir day and Tir month. Tir is the Izad responsible for rain, and is also the name given to the star Sirius. People take a shower in the morning and go to open spaces. It is customary to splash water over each other on this day. In the morning of Tir day, people wear a bracelet (formerly made of silk) woven with seven colours, seven colours which may signify the seven AmshƗspands. The bracelet, also known as tirobƗd, is taken off and given to the wind ten days afterwards on the day of BƗd (the Izad of the wind). This custom has a

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connection with Ɩrash, the Archer, of the ShƗhnƗmeh. Ɩrash put all his strength into shooting an arrow so as to determine the border between Iran and Turan (non-Iran). According to the legend, it took ten days for the arrow to land. 2.2.5 Other annual festivals Some of these are particularly popular in the villages. They include the following: Sadeh Sadeh is a festival that marks the end of the first 100 hundred days of winter, which is taken to begin on the 23rd October. Sadeh therefore falls on the 30th January.18 It is the most popular Iranian winter festival, when fires are kindled. For Zoroastrians, the ceremony is sponsored by a local Anjoman or group of Anjomans. During the day, people go to community halls. Just before dusk, young girls and boys holding torches of fire form a procession with priests, dressed all in white, who recite prayers. Leading the procession are some who play the daf. A great fire is then lit by the priests. This is a popular ceremony in KermƗn, where it is attended by Muslims and Zoroastrians alike. HirombƗ This ceremony, which is particular to SharifƗEƗd, is celebrated, according to the Qadimi calendar, 100 days before Nowruz on AshtƗd day of the month of Ɩzar (April).19 It lasts for three days. On the first day, a group of people set off on foot from the village to go to the shrine of Pir-e Hrisht to collect wood for the fire that will be lit on the third day at the SharifƗEƗd fire temple. This group, known as qeizali,20 stays overnight in the kheilehs (rest houses) at the shrine (pir). Members of the group may be individual residents of the village or family members coming from other cities or even overseas. Women prepare a meal and everyone on the pilgrimage spends the night at the pir. The rest of the day is spent reciting prayers and preparing food. In recent times, the night before HirombƗ has been celebrated as a happy occasion, full of music and merry-making. On the morning of AshtƗd day, a

18 See Krasnowolska (2009), ‘Sada Festival’ in EIr online at: iranicaonline.org. Here it is pointed out that although the seasonal festivals of Nowruz, TiregƗn and MehregƗn, corresponded approximately to the spring equinox, summer solstice and autumn equinox respectively, Sadeh fell forty days after the winter solstice. This placed it on the tenth day of the month of Bahman (around the 30th January in the Gregorian calendar). 19 As recently as the 1960s SharifƗEƗdis knew the festival of Sadeh as HirombƗ. Following the recitation of prayers, the priest would call out the names of all the great leaders of the faith, from ancient to modern times, and end with the names of all those recently deceased in the households of SharifƗEƗd. He would then say ‘KhodƗƗmurzad-esh’ (God have mercy on him), whereupon the assembled crowd would shout ‘Hirombo’. See Boyce (1989): 176–83. 20 Qeizal is the name of a bush grown in the deserts around Yazd. Translated as ‘camel thorn’ those who collected the twigs used to be young boys who were known as ‘camel thorn boys’. See Boyce (1989): 177.

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2.3 Daily Observances

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large pile of twigs and branches is built in the fire temple compound and in the evening a bonfire is lit. Havzoru, the birthday of Zarathustra (ZƗdruz-e Asho Zartosht) The day dedicated to the birthday of Zarathustra is the 6th Farvardin of the Qadimi calendar (2nd AmordƗd of the Fasli calendar).21 The day is celebrated by reciting prayers at the fire temple, preparing bread and sirog, eating together and spending time in a convivial manner with family members and friends. It is observed particularly in the Yazdi villages of ZeinƗEƗd, MobƗrakeh, ElƗKƗEƗd and SharifƗEƗd. People get together to pray and make donations to charitable causes. Some in SharifƗEƗd also ask the priests to say prayers for family members. Death of Zarathustra The day dedicated to the death of Zarathustra falls on the 26th December of the Fasli calendar. On this day, people visit cemeteries and priests pray for the deceased. A group of volunteers prepare food in the kitchen. The TehrƗn Anjoman sponsors transportation by bus from various locations to the cemetery and back. 2.2.6 Porseh HamegƗni This festival is performed twice a year. First, on Ohrmazd day, in the month of Tir (around the 19th June), and secondly on Ohrmazd day, in the month of Esfand (around the 14th February). This is the day to remember those who have passed away in the past year, and particularly those Iranians who died fighting for their country. People visit the Anjoman halls near their homes, to pray or to offer condolences to those families who suffered a bereavement. Some elderly women bring offerings of green leaves from a cypress tree, sandalwood or lobƗn (incense). There are fruits, lork, a container full of powdered coffee beans and another full of rock candy on the table in front of the priest.

2.3 Daily Observances 2.3.1 Early morning Although customs may differ from family to family, most Zoroastrians wash their hands and face and take a shower upon rising. Afterwards, either the wife or the husband prepares tash o sven, which involves taking a pan of embers sprinkled with marjoram leaves around the house to give out a sweet smell.22 During this ceremony,

21 This is another example of a festival that has lost its former association, in this case with the last day of Panjeh-ye Bozorg. See Boyce (1989): 229. 22 This is similar to the lobƗn ceremony performed by Parsis who burn incense or sandalwood instead. See Kreyenbroek and Munshi (2001): 17.

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the householder recites the Sorush BƗj and performs the Koshti ritual with its prayers (see below), as well as the prayers Tandorosti (‘Well-being’), SetƗyesh-e KhodƗ (‘In Praise of God’), PeimƗn-e Din (‘The Covenant of the Religion’), Sad o Yek NƗm-e KhodƗ (‘The 101 Names of God’) and BerasƗd (‘May it reach (the Izads)’.23 Some say prayers to praise the JƗh, or watch of the day (see above 1.3.1), and Ɩtash NiyƗyesh, the prayer for the fire. The prayers are recited in the original language, that is Avestan or Pahlavi. Each prayer has a Persian translation, and devotees often use these translations as a reference. People may read the prayers from a book or have learned them by heart. 2.3.2 At mealtimes It is said that families must sit together and enjoy the meal peacefully. They should not rush and should eat in silence (vuj-e vestu bid).24 Since life is very busy nowadays and many people are working, perhaps only one mealtime a day can be spent together. If a meal is enjoyed with elder members of the family, silence is often kept – especially if there is a need to avoid discussing certain subjects.

2.4 Acts of Worship 2.4.1 Visiting the fire temple People may visit a fire temple whenever they wish. The most popular times are the first day of Nowruz (the day of Ohrmazd), weddings, JƗKƗmbƗrs – especially 9Ɨj-e Yasht-e GƗKƗmbƗr – and on days when there are ceremonies for the deceased. As with the Parsis, personal cleanliness is a priority when visiting the fire temple. Worshippers wash their hands and face before entering and take a shower if they do not come directly from work. It is important for both men and women to cover their heads and to remove their shoes before entering the fire temple. Devotees usually pick up a prayer book (Khordeh Avesta), if they do not know the prayers by heart. They may light a small lamp (Parsi divo) if there is one available. Usually people make a donation in the form of money. There are boxes or safes which may have labels that state the purpose of the donation, for example, ‘for those in need’ or ‘for the sick’.

23 These prayers are found in Khordeh AvestƗ prayer books, usually in Persian transcription. The book contains the daily prayers and the above-mentioned prayers are among those taught in schools. Individuals can choose to recite other prayers found in the book such as prayers for the ‘watches of the day’. 24 The custom of maintaining silence while eating used to be called ‘taking the EƗj’, which involved reciting an Avestan prayer at the beginning and end of a meal while keeping silent in between. See Boyce (1989): 46.

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2.4.2 ShƗhverahrƗm Izad VerahrƗm Day is dedicated to VerahrƗm Izad (Av. Verethragna). On this day, many Zoroastrians visit the places of worship known as ShƗhverahrƗm Izad. These are different from fire temples, as there is no burning fire. People add oil to big divos or in some smaller ShƗhverahrƗm Izads, they may each light a divo. They also light candles and say prayers. People bring sweets or pastries for happy occasions such as a child’s birthday and share them with others. Some people may bake sirog.25 They observe the same standards of cleanliness and custom when visiting a ShƗhverahrƗm Izad as they do for entering a fire temple. VerahrƗm is a very beloved Izad (divinity or angel), who is associated with victory and success. There is a traditional song for this Izad. It may be read on this day when a group gets together or on any other happy occasion. This is not part of the ‘canon’ of religious texts, but just sung to heighten the festive and religious atmosphere. The Song Sarvar-e AmeshaspƗndƗn ShƗhverahrƗm Izad Ast26 Sarvar-e AmshƗspandƗn 'ƗdkhƗh-e

The leader of the

The seeker of justice for

ShƗhverahrƗm Izad ast

dardmandƗn

AmshƗspands is

the suffering is

ShƗhverahrƗm Izad ast

ShƗhverahrƗm Izad

ShƗhverahrƗm Izad

Ɩzar o Ordibehešt v’Ɨn

7Ɨbesh-e Ɨn nur-e

Ɩzar (Fire) and

The shining light of those

Sorush-e pƗsebƗn

YazdƗn ShƗhverahrƗm

Ordibehesht (Asha) and Angels (Izads) is

Izad ast

that guardian, Sorush

ShƗhverahrƗm Izad

Dastgir-e mostmandƗn

The ship’s anchor, the

The helper of the

o zowraq-e bƗd-e morƗd ShƗhverahrƗm Izad ast

sea and the boat with a

suffering is

favourable wind

ShƗhverahrƗm Izad

Langar-e keshti o daryƗ

Kuh *o daryƗ o zamin

'Ɨdras az chun o

Rocks and the sea and

The saviour from all

sorƗkh-hƗ-ye

chandƗn

the earth full of holes

kinds of trouble is

por-shekƗf

ShƗhverahrƗm Izad ast

and crevices

ShƗhverahrƗm Izad

Ɩhan o fulƗd o mes rƗ

.ƗrsƗz-e potk-e

Iron, steel and copper

The maker of the hammer

mikonad daryƗ-ye Ɨb

sandƗn ShƗhverahrƗm

he melts into a sea of

for the anvil is

Izad ast

water

ShƗhverahrƗm Izad

25 Sirog is a special bread for which the dough is fried and iced with sugar if it is made for a happy occasion. There is no sugar icing if it is made for ceremonies relating to the deceased. See further below Ch. 4 n. 43. 26 Transcription and translation by Philip G. Kreyenbroek

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Tigh o shamshir o

Qovat-e bƗzu-ye

Arrows, swords and

The strength of the

kamand-e jang-hƗ-ye

mardƗn ShƗhverahrƗm

warlike bows without

warriors’ arm is

bikerƗn

Izad ast

end

ShƗhverahrƗm Izad

Rakhsh o asb o bƗreh o

*Zur-e niru ruz-e

(War-) horses of all

The essence of strength

shabdiz o shabrang o

meidƗn ShƗhverahrƗm

kinds, coloured like

(on) the day of the

samand

Izad ast

rust, black night, or dun battlefield is

Gah golestƗn gardad o

RahnemƗ-ye

For some there will be

The guide of the wise is

JƗhi besuzad

hushmandƗn

a rose-garden (in

ShƗhverahrƗm Izad

bad-konesh

ShƗhverahrƗm Izad ast

Paradise), in some cases

ShƗhverahrƗm Izad

the evildoer will burn (in hell) Ɩtesh-e suzande’ash

Doshman-e ahl-e

His burning fire brings

A foe to those who

aflƗk rowshan mikonad

damandƗn

light to the heavens

belong in hell is

ShƗhverahrƗm Izad ast

ShƗhverahrƗm Izad

Babr o shir o azhdahƗ o

Bordan-e ishƗn be

Tigers, lions, dragons,

(The task of) taking those

div o jƗdu o palang

zendƗn ShƗhverahrƗm

demons, witches and

to prison belongs to

Izad ast

panthers

ShƗhverahrƗm Izad

%Ɨd o tufƗn o nahang o

Ɩn zamƗn faryƗd-e

Winds, hurricanes,

At such times strong men

mowj-e gerdƗb-e

mardƗn ShƗhverahrƗm

crocodiles and raging

call for ShƗhverahrƗm

ghazab

Izad ast

whirlpools

Izad

Dozd o gorg o rahzan o