Towers of Silence
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The Towers of Silence (also dakhma or dokhma) are Zoroastrian funerary towers, the majority of which are located in Mumbai, India, belonging to Parsi Zoroastrians, and in Yazd and Kerman, Iran, belonging to the Iranian Zoroastrians.
Zoroastrians consider the dead body to be unclean, and their religion proscribes allowing corpses to pollute the pure elements of earth and fire. Corpses are therefore placed atop the Towers of Silence for their flesh to be consumed by vultures. Once the bones have been bleached by the sun and wind, they are thrown into the ossuary pit at the center of the tower.
In the Iranian Zoroastrian tradition, the Towers of Silence were built atop hills or low mountains in desert locations distant from population centers. In the early twentieth century, the Iranian Zoroastrians discontinued usage of the Towers and now bury their dead in more traditional cemeteries. Some have even taken the practice of cremating their dead, though this is forbidden by the Gathas.
In the Parsi Zoroastrian tradition, the Towers are squat buildings surrounded by forest gardens, and may only be entered by a special class of pall-bearers. Bodies are arranged inside the towers in three rings: men around the outside, women in the second circle, and children in the innermost ring. In the past several years, the vulture population has greatly declined, and the remaining vultures are often unable to fully consume the bodies. If their numbers continue to fall, this tradition may end.
See also
External link
- [1] (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/nature_20040301.shtml) RealAudio recording of a BBC Radio program about the decline of the vultures and their effect on the funeral rites of the Parsees.