POPULATION--COSTUMES--USAGES--FESTIVALS
I
It is on the western coast of India, in the Bombay Presidency,
that we find the most compact gathering of the members of the Parsi
community. Since their exodus from Persia the refugees here have
maintained themselves successfully, and have gradually acquired wealth
and the intellectual superiority which distinguishes them from the
other natives of India.
The Bombay Presidency, or, to be more exact, the province of Bombay,
[64] comprises twenty-four British districts, and nineteen Native
States (Agencies) under the protection of the English Government. Its
boundaries are: To the north, the State of Balouchistan, the Panjaub,
and the native States of Rajputana; to the east, the Mahratta State
of Indore, the Central Provinces, Western Berar and the States of
the Nizam of Hyderabad; to the south, the Madras Presidency and the
State of Mysore; and to the west, the Arabian Sea. It is divided into
four great divisions, made according to the local dialects. On the
north lies Sindh or the lower valley and delta of the Indus, a region
essentially Mahomedan both historically and as regards the population;
then more to the south, Gujerat, containing, on the contrary, the most
diverse and mixed elements, and comprising all the districts of the
northern coast, the Mahratta country, and the interior districts of
the Deccan; and, finally, the provinces where the Canarese language
is spoken, divided in their turn into four British districts and
eight Native States. [65]
This territory has been formed little by little round the Island
of Bombay, ceded to England by the King of Portugal as the dowry of
the Infanta Catherine of Braganza. The Portuguese were the first to
occupy these parts; in 1498 they arrived at Calicut with Vasco de
Gama, and five years later, thanks to the bravery of Albuquerque,
they took possession of Goa. Bombay came into their possession in
1532, and for a hundred years they managed to maintain themselves at
the head of commerce and traffic. Two rival factories, one English
and the other Dutch, were established in Surat in 1613 and 1618. It
must be stated that the acquisition of the island of Bombay gave but
little pleasure to the English, for in 1668, on account of great
difficulties, the King transferred it to the East India Company,
and in 1686 the control of all the possessions of the Company was
transferred from Surat to Bombay, which was made into an independent
Presidency (1708) at the time of the amalgamation of the two English
Companies. Finally, in 1773, Bombay was placed in a state of dependence
under the Governor-General of Bengal, who has since been replaced by
the Viceroy of India.
It is from Bombay that the English have spread their influence
at present so firmly established in these territories. Simply
merchants at first, they gradually supplanted their rivals from
the Portuguese and Dutch settlements. Soon they aspired to a more
solid power, and came into direct conflict with the natives--the
Mahrattas--whom they hastened to drive from Colaba, finding their
nearness troublesome. After the first Mahratta war, which arose from
the contested succession of the Peishwa (1774), the treaty of Salbai
permitted the English to settle in Salsette, Elephanta, Karanja, Hog
Island, &c. (1782). The fort of Surat was in their hands from 1759,
and in 1800 the administration of this town was made over to them
by the Nawab, whose descendants contented themselves with the vain
title till 1842.
The second Mahratta war had its origin in the treaty of Bassein (1802),
by which the Peishwa accepted the subsidiary system--a system since
adopted by the English. It resulted in an accession of territory
in Gujerat and an increase of moral influence in the Court of the
Peishwas and of the Gaekwars. The interval of peace was employed in
repressing the invasions of the pirates who were infesting the Gulfs
of Cambay and Cutch.
In 1807 the States of Kathiawar were placed under the British
protectorate, and in 1809 the Rao of Cutch was forced to sign a treaty
by which he bound himself to help in the destruction of the pirates;
whilst, on the other hand, scarcely had the Peishwa Baji Rao been
placed on the throne by an English army when he began plotting for
the expulsion of the English from the Deccan. In 1817 he attacked the
Resident himself, Mountstuart Elphinstone, who withdrew to Kirkee,
where with a few troops he succeeded in routing the entire army of
the Peishwa. Soon after the prince submitted to Sir John Malcolm. A
pension of L80,000 was secured to the Prince, but he was deprived of
his States, and Bombay gained in this manner the districts of Poona,
Ahmadnagar, Nasik, Kolahpoor, Belgaum, Kaladji, Dharwar, Ahmedabad,
and the Konkan. At the same time Holkar abandoned his rights over
the districts of Kandesh, and Satara fell into the hands of the
English in 1848 on the death of the last descendant of the Mahratta
Shivaji. In 1860 the Non-Regulation Districts [66] of the Panch
Mahals were ceded by Scindhia, and in 1861 the southern limits of
the Presidency were still further extended by the annexation of the
northern district of Canara taken from Madras. From this time the
history of the Bombay Presidency is free of incidents; peace reigned,
even at the time of the mutiny of 1857. The local army has, however,
rendered important services in Afghanistan, Persia, Burmah, China,
Aden, and Abyssinia. Entirely occupied in administrative reforms
and the welfare of the country, the Government has attained a state
of complete prosperity under such men as Mountstuart Elphinstone,
Malcolm, and Lord Reay. [67]
According to the general census of 1891 [68] the number of Parsis in
India rose to 89,904; that is, an increase of 491 over that of the
17th of February, 1881, which gave a total of 85,397. On the 26th
of February, 1891, the entire population of the Bombay Presidency,
including the Native States and Aden, formed a total of 26,960,421
inhabitants, [69] of whom 76,774 were Parsis (39,285 males and
37,489 females). The surplus is divided between Madras, Bengal, and
the districts of the Gaekwar of Baroda, where is to be seen among
other flourishing settlements the ancient community of Naosari. To
this number must be added the Parsis of China, and of some foreign
localities, and the Iranians, 9,269 in number. The exact number of
Zoroastrians scattered over the globe we thus find to be a hundred
thousand at the most!
We refer to the Zoroastrian Calendar for all information concerning
statistics, and in a special chapter (pp. 119 et seq.) we find a
detailed list of the population of the city and the Presidency of
Bombay. [70] We take from it the following table (see next page),
which gives the assessment of the population in the different
centres. Occupying the first rank we find Bombay with its 47,458
Parsis, and Surat with 12,757; then Broach, Thana, Poona, Karachi,
down to the least of the localities, some of which stand for only a
simple unit.
-----------------+---------------+---------------+---------------+---------
| | | Widowers and |
Names of Towns | Not Married. | Married.[2] | Widows. | Total.
and Districts. |-------+-------|-------+-------|-------+-------+
| M. | W. | M. | W. | M. | W. |
-----------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+---------
Bombay | 14091| 10153| 9804| 9258| 810| 3342| 47458
Ahmedabad | 230| 175| 203| 175| 12| 40| 835
Kheda | 49| 31| 39| 27| ...| 7| 153
Panch-Mahal | 43| 15| 40| 13| 3| 3| 108
Bharooch | 754| 623| 702| 865| 70| 259| 3273
Surat | 2990| 2535| 2597| 3212| 266| 1157| 12757
Thana | 1001| 802| 845| 860| 78| 334| 3920
Colaba | 39| 29| 51| 32| 7| 9| 167
Ratnagiri | 6| 3| 4| 2| ...| ...| 15
Kanara | 1| ...| 8| ...| 1| ...| 10
Khandeish | 119| 73| 199| 99| 10| 8| 508
Nasik | 127| 77| 108| 75| 6| 14| 407
Ahmednagar | 51| 45| 41| 37| 5| 10| 188
Poona | 622| 476| 402| 386| 42| 98| 2026
Sohlapore | 67| 59| 54| 41| 3| 8| 232
Satara | 32| 40| 29| 24| 1| 8| 134
Belgaum | 17| 3| 22| 15| 1| 3| 61
Dharwar | 37| 23| 40| 41| 2| 2| 135
Bijapoor | 8| 4| 5| 4| 1| 2| 24
Karachi | 424| 301| 310| 282| 26| 65| 1408
Hyderabad | 17| 10| 11| 8| ...| ...| 46
Shikarpoor | 20| 9| 27| 12| 1| 2| 71
Thar and Parkar | ...| ...| 1| ...| ...| ...| 1
Upper Sindh | 2| ...| 3| 2| 1| ...| 8
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
| 20738| 15486| 15545| 15459| 1346| 5371| 73945
Native States | 606| 480| 761| 495| 55| 114| 2511
Aden | 88| 37| 138| 40| 8| 7| 318
|=======|=======|=======|=======|=======|=======|=======
| 21432| 16003| 16444| 15994| 1409| 5492| 76774
-----------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+---------
Considering the importance of Bombay, we will quote from a paper
on it, read by Mr. B. B. Patel before the Anthropological Society of
Bombay. [73] We find there the lists of births, deaths and marriages in
the city of Bombay from 1881 to 1890. During that period of time the
average of births has risen per year to 1,450, and that of married
women bearing children to 13.293 per cent. The average of deaths
has reached 1,135 (575 of the male sex, 500 of the female sex), and
92 still-born (52 of the male sex and 40 of the female sex). The
annual average of mortality among children below the age of five
years has been 469 (236 of the male sex and 233 of the female sex);
between the ages of five and ten, 27 (13 of the male sex and 14 of
the female sex); between the ages of eleven and twenty, 47 (20 of the
male sex and 27 of the female sex); between the ages of twenty-one
and thirty, 65, in the proportion of 27 to 38 for the two sexes;
between the ages of thirty-one and forty, 62, in equal proportions
for the two sexes; between the ages of forty-one and sixty, 177 (67
males and 90 females). Above the age of eighty the average reaches 37,
of whom 13 are males and 24 females.
During these ten years, four persons have died at the age of 100,
two at the ages of 101 and 105, and lastly one at the age of 110
years. These centenarians have been all women. The principal cause of
mortality among Parsis is fever (Table D); thus of 1,135 deaths, 293
may be attributed to it, 150 to nervous disorders, 91 to affections of
the respiratory organs, 70 to dysentery, 38 to phthisis, one hundred
to old age, and the rest to diverse other causes, such as measles,
pleurisy, diarrhoea, &c., &c. According to the table drawn up by
Mr. Patel (Table E), the highest rate of mortality in Bombay is in
the Fort, and next to it in Dhobitalao, Baherkote, Khetwady, &c.,
in proportion to the population of these localities.
After the crisis of 1865 a serious decrease of the population in
Bombay had been apprehended for a time; but it was an exaggerated
fear which disappeared with the census of 1881. It has been proved,
on the contrary, that the conditions of life among the Parsis, both as
regards mortality and hygiene, have reduced the average of mortality
among the individuals, grown-up men, women and children. These
latter, well-tended and carefully brought up, supply a splendid race,
susceptible of culture, and endowed with perfect health. Accordingly,
from 1872 to 1881, the Parsi population has increased nearly ten per
cent. This increase has continued, and, as we have said, the highest
increase has been estimated in 1891 to be 4.91.
It is in vain that communities of Parsis have been sought for outside
those regions which we have indicated. [74] About sixty years ago
a Mahomedan traveller did try to persuade others of the existence
of a Parsi colony at Khoten, a country situated to the south-east of
Kaschgar; but Sir Alexander Burnes, in a communication to Mr. Naoroji
Fardunji, dissipated this illusion. [75]
We cannot attach any more importance to an assertion recently put
forward, and according to which the members of the tribe of the
Shiaposch Kafirs, inhabiting the country to the north-east of Cabul,
are descendants of the same race, because certain of their usages,
as for example their manner of exposing their dead, are similar to
those of the Zoroastrians. Sir Alexander Burnes [76] in narrating
his travels in Cabul in 1836-37-38, relates that the most curious
of all the visitors to the country of the Kafirs [77] was a man
who came from Cabul towards the year 1829. He gave himself out as
a Guebre (fire-worshipper), and an Ibrahumi (follower of Abraham),
who had quitted Persia to find some traces of his ancestors. During
his sojourn in Cabul he willingly mixed with the Armenians and
used to get himself called Sheryar, a name common enough among the
modern Parsis. They tried, but in vain, to dissuade him from risking
himself amongst the Kafirs; he went to Jalalabad and Lughman, where
he left his baggage, and as a simple beggar entered Kafristan by
way of Nujjeet. He was absent several months, and on his return was
assassinated by the Huzaras of the tribe of Ali-Purast. Malik-Usman,
furious at the conduct of his countrymen, exacted a fine of Rs. 2,000
as compensation for the blood shed by them. All these details were
given by the Armenians of Cabul to Sir Alexander Burnes, but he could
not discover whether the unfortunate Sheryar was a Parsi of Bombay
or a Guebre of Kirman. However, a document found in the possession
of the traveller, and coming from the Shah of Persia, leads us to
believe that the latter hypothesis is the true one.
The Census of 1881 enables us to state some interesting facts, which
give us an idea of the occupations of the Parsis of Bombay, and of
the kind of life led by them. Thus there were at that time 855 priests
and persons devoted to religion, 141 teachers, 34 school-mistresses,
33 engineers, 1,384 clerks, and 115 employees. Naval construction
seemed to be one of their favourite occupations, for out of 46
ship-builders 26 were Parsis. As for the Dubashes or ship-brokers,
out of a total of 159, 146 were Parsis. All professions and manual
trades were largely represented, with the exception of that of tailor,
which was exercised by only one member of the community. At one time,
out of 9,584 beggars in the town of Bombay, there were only five Parsis
and one Parsi woman. As to the class of the unfortunate victims of
vice and debauchery, a Parsi has not hesitated to affirm that not one
of his co-religionists could have been accused of living on the wages
of shame. [78] Travellers have made the same remarks. Thus, according
to Mandelslo, adultery and lewdness were considered by the Parsis as
the greatest sins they could commit, and which they would doubtless
have punished with death if they themselves had the administration
of justice (see Voyages, &c., trans. Wicquefort, p. 184). We may
state in this connection that Anquetil gives a precise account of a
summary execution under the sanction of the Punchayet, and with the
approbation of the Mahomedan governor of Bharooch (see Zend-Avesta,
vol. ii. p. 606); and Stavorinus, at the end of the century, makes
mention of Parsi women who had been preserved in the right path by
the fear of punishment (see Voyages, &c., vol. I, ch. xxviii. p. 363).
The following is a division, under seven heads, of the occupations
of the Parsis, as shown in the census of 1881:--
----------------+-----------+----------
| Men. | Women.
----------------+-----------+----------
Professions | 1,940 | 59
Servants [79] | 2,079 | 416
Merchants | 3,317 | 2
Agriculturists | 67 | 2
Manufacturers | 3,610 | 87
Not classified | 565 | 139
Sundry | 13,737 | 22,579
----------------+-----------+----------
There is some reason for not wondering at the disinclination of the
Parsis for agriculture and the profession of arms. Agriculture had
been very flourishing in the hands of the first colonists; but tastes
changed, and from men of the field they became men of the town. At
the beginning of the century some of them were still in possession
of vast tracts of land, and spent much money in improving them. But
these gradually passed into other hands, a circumstance in any case
greatly to be regretted. [80]
As to their apparent repugnance for military service we will see
what an enlightened Parsi, who has in this case made himself the
spokesman of his co-religionists, has to say. As a matter of fact,
the Persians in olden times had distinguished themselves amongst all
by their valour and courage. In the inscription engraved on his tomb
at Nakch-i-Roustam, King Darius might well say, with a just feeling of
pride, that they had only to look at the images of those who supported
his throne to know into what distant places the Persian soldier had
carried his arms! The famous struggles maintained by the Ardeshirs,
the Shapoors, and the Noshirvans show that this warlike temper had not
subsided. Why then should the descendants of such heroes abstain from
taking part in military exercises and in defending the country [81]?
Mr. Dosabhai Framji Karaka gives the following explanation of this
aversion. [82] In the first place he indignantly repudiates the
theory put forward by certain European authors that it proceeds purely
from religious motives, on account of the worship they are supposed
to pay to fire, which would prevent them from handling a cannon or
shouldering a gun. Nothing at all in fact prevents them from making
use of fire in the handling of offensive and defensive weapons. At
the time of certain riots in Bombay, gunsmiths' shops were seen to be
rapidly emptied by the Parsis, and thirty-five years back they were
enthusiastic in joining the first volunteer movement; but in 1877
only Europeans were invited to join. Still, protests Mr. D. F. Karaka,
there are certainly no natives more eager than the Parsis to share in
the defence of British interests. In several places they have joined
the volunteers and have obtained much-envied distinctions. [83] They
are able to attain a high degree of skill in the handling of firearms;
for example, Mr. Dorabji Padamji, son of the late Khan Bahadur Padamji
Pestonji, is one of the best shots in India. [84]
The most serious consideration which prevents a Parsi from enrolling
himself in the army seems therefore, to us, to be the insufficiency
of the pay. We only repeat it: it is a Parsee who says this. We
have no desire either to weaken their motives or to exaggerate their
grievances. We are well aware that these are very delicate questions,
and require to be treated with care and skill, since they concern
the relations of devoted subjects with a government of which they
are proud. On the other hand, when we take into consideration the
moral worth and intelligent co-operation which the Parsis bring to
the service of this same government, we are not at all surprised at
the conclusion which we see so clearly formulated. [85]
Native soldiers, whether Hindoos or Mussulmans, are paid at the rate
of seven rupees a month, about fourteen shillings (17 fr. 50 c.),
including rations, while a Parsi filling the most modest employment of
a cook or a servant earns double that sum. During certain disturbances
when Bombay was deprived of its European troops, many Parsis would
willingly have enrolled themselves in the army if they had been given
the pay of European soldiers. It is a matter of regret to them,
perhaps a sort of degradation of which they feel the keenness, at
being obliged to put forward pecuniary considerations; but their mode
of life, even that of the poorest among them, cannot be compared with
that of Hindoos and Mussalmans of the same class. These can live on
seven rupees a month; Hindoos and Mahomedans of the same family are
content with one room, a thing which the humblest Parsi would never
allow. The Hindoo or Mussulman woman hardly requires more than one
or two saris, costing about three rupees, to clothe herself, and
her children can go naked till the age of ten years. But as for the
Parsi woman she requires several saris, trousers, shirts and slippers,
besides suitable clothing for her children. How can a Parsi soldier
then manage to live and bring up his family on seven rupees a month?
Mr. Karaka ends his long and eloquent appeal with a sentence which
sounds the true keynote of the regret felt by the Parsis at being
merely compared with the natives when they felt themselves to
be morally and intellectually their superiors. Why are they not
provided with commissions in the army like the Germans and other
Europeans? [86] Then only will they feel completely identified with
the British nation. [87]
The Parsis in India are divided into two sects, the Shahanshahis and
the Kadmis. [88] When Anquetil Duperron visited India this division
already existed, and he found them "more excited against each other
than the Mahomedan sects of Omar and Ali." The Parsis, however, do
not admit this. This division has nothing to do with their faith,
and has nothing in common with the division between the Shiahs and
the Sunnis. The schism [89] has arisen simply out of a difference
of opinion concerning the exact date of computation of the era
of Yezdezard, the last king of the ancient Persian monarchy. This
division does not exist amongst the Zoroastrians who have remained
behind in their own country.
The Parsis reckon their year on a calculation of three hundred and
sixty-five days, each month consisting of thirty days. Their year
commences with the month of Farvardin, and ends with the month of
Spendarmad. At the end of three hundred and sixty days, five days,
called the Gathas are added. The period of five hours and fifty-four
seconds does not enter into their computation. The old Persians,
therefore, in order to make their calculation agree with the
solar year, had made at the end of every hundred and twenty years
an intercalation or Kabisa, that is to say, they added one month
to that period. The Persian Zoroastrians, after the loss of their
independence, either through ignorance or simple forgetfulness, had
ceased to practise this Kabisa, whilst the Parsis had continued this
intercalation during their residence in Khorassan. Hence the origin
of the sects with which we have to deal.
In 1720 [90] Jamasp Vilayati, a learned Zoroastrian from Persia,
settled in Surat to advise the Mobeds, and it was he who discovered
that his co-religionists of India were one month behind their Iranian
brethren. Little importance however was attached to this fact. But
in 1746 another Iranian, Jamshed, and some Mobeds adopted the date
accepted by the Persian Zoroastrians, and took the name of Kadmis. The
rest of the community were called Shahanshahis, and preserved the
ancient system. Little by little the number of the adherents of
Jamshed increased. Now it should be noticed that it was in Surat that
this schism among the Parsis first took place, and for some time the
harmonious relations between the two did not suffer by it. But two
respectable men, Mancherji Kharshedji Seth, of the Shahanshahi sect,
and Dhanjisha Manjisha, of the Kadmi sect, managed literally to ignite
the powder in spite of their benevolent intentions. In order to get
some enlightenment Dhanjisha Manjisha sent to Persia at his own expense
a priest from Bharooch, Kavas Rustam Jalal. Born at Bharooch in 1733,
this man was well versed in the Arabic and Persian languages. For
twelve years he remained in Persia and Turkey, visited Yezd, Ispahan,
Shiraz, and Constantinople, and returned to Surat in 1780. During his
sojourn in Persia he had obtained an audience with Kerim Khan. Some
months before his return Dhanjisha Manjisha had come to Bombay, and
had there founded the Kadmi sect under the auspices of Dadiseth,
one of the most influential men of the time. Mulla Kavas followed
his patron to Bombay and was appointed Dastoor of the Atash-Behram
erected by Dadiseth himself (Dadibhai Nasarwanji) for the Kadmi sect,
which he consecrated on the 29th of September, 1783. The following
year he quitted Bombay and settled in Hyderabad, in the Deccan, where
he was honoured with the friendship of the Nizam. He remained there
till his death, which took place in 1802 (Parsee Prakash, p. 92).
The Kadmi sect continued to flourish in Bombay, when, at the
commencement of the century, rose the great dispute of the Kabisa, that
is to say, the famous month by which the Kadmis were in advance of the
Shahanshahis (Parsee Prakash, pp. 62, 198, 863, 867, &c.). Mulla Firoz,
[91] son of Mulla Kavas, and another distinguished priest, Fardunji
Marazbanji, constituted themselves the champions of the Kadmi sect,
while the mass of the people, guided by Kharshedji Manockji Shroff,
grouped themselves under the patronage of the pious Dastoor of the
Shahanshahis, Edulji Dorabji Sanjana, [92] and clung to the date
observed by the Parsis since their arrival in India. Meetings were
organised to which learned Moguls were invited, in order to offer
explanations, and, if possible, to terminate the discussion. The
newspapers were full of virulent articles, pamphlets appeared in great
numbers, and the people in some cases seemed disposed to settle the
question by the right of might, an irrefutable argument.
The Shahanshahis maintained that the Zoroastrian religion admitted a
month's intercalation at the end of a period of 120 years, and that at
the time of the fall of the Persian Empire there had indeed been one
intercalation during their sojourn in Khorassan, but once they were
in India this usage had been abandoned; hence the backwardness by one
month from the computation of the Kadmis. The latter declared on the
other hand that the intercalation was forbidden in the Zoroastrian
calendar, that it was only meant for political emergencies, and that
this mode of calculation had never been practised in Khorassan.
Modern learning has brought this vexed question within its true
limits. Mr. Kharshedji Rustamji Kama, of the Kadmi sect, known by
his study of the Zoroastrian religion, has proved, or rather has
attempted to prove, in a work on the computation of Yezdezard, that
the Shahanshahis and the Kadmis were both in error (1870). The Kadmis
were wrong in denying that the Parsee new year commenced on the 21st of
March, for from a more exact knowledge of the language of the Avesta,
and the deciphering of Pehlvi coins, it is demonstrated that the
Zoroastrian religion admitted the intercalation; and the Shahanshahis
were equally wrong, for, since the downfall of the Persian Empire,
there had been no intercalation as they affirmed. The opinion of
the Kadmis, in accordance with the date accepted by the Zoroastrians
of Persia, which proves that there had been no intercalation after
the fall of the national dynasty, is absolutely correct; but as the
intercalation was not ordered by the Zoroastrian religion, it appears
that both sides were wrong in the controversy of the Kabisa.
The greatest disputes had arisen from this religious quarrel; scenes
of surprising violence had resulted from it. For instance, in Bharooch
(1782-1783) a certain Homaji Jamshedji had struck a pregnant woman and
been condemned to death; others got off with mere fines. In the heat
of the disputes families became divided; marriages between Kadmis and
Shahanshahis were very rare. [93] At present most of the difficulties
have been smoothed down. It happens sometimes that the husband and
wife belong to different sects; in that case the children invariably
belong to the father's sect. There are no appreciable differences,
the pronunciation alone being at times not quite the same. Thus
Ahu, Vohu, is pronounced Ahi, Vohi among the Kadmis. There is also
some difference in certain religious ceremonies, and in certain
liturgical formulas. But the greatest divergence is in the mention
of the month and the date of the day when the worshipper is reciting
his prayers. All the feasts are observed by both the sects, but at
different dates.
The Shahanshahis are greatly superior in numbers to the Kadmis. [94]
The latter can hardly count more than ten to fifteen thousand
adherents. Many of them occupy the highest position. Mr. F. N. Patel,
the members of the Cama, Dadiseth, and Banaji families, &c., are among
them. The Shahanshahis are represented by Sir Jamshedji Jijibhoy,
Sir Dinsha Manockji Petit, and many other not less respectable names.
II
The Parsis, at the time of their arrival in India, had made some
changes in their national costume with a view to please the princes
who had received them. Thus we note the resemblance of the angarakha
and the turban of the men, and of the saris of the women, with the
dress of the Hindoos of Gujerat.
NOTES
[1] The first mention of the Persians is made in Jeremiah xxxix. 3.
[2] Herodotus, Ctesias, Deinon, Theopompe, Hermippe, Plutarch,
Diogenes Laertius, Pliny, Strabo, Pausanias, Dion Chrysostom,
Damascius, Theodorus of Mopsuestia, &c.
[3] Mahomedan writers: Firdousi, Mirkhoud, Tabari, Masoudi,
Shahrastani, Dimisqhi, Ibn Fozlan, &c. Armenian writers: Eznik,
Elisee, &c.
[4] The cuneiform Achaemenian inscriptions found in Persia and in
other places, deciphered and published by Grotefend, Burnouf, Lassen,
Rawlinson, Norris, Spiegel, de Saulcy, Oppert, Menant, Kossowicz,
&c., &c.
[5] Arrien, Expedition d'Alexandre, liv. iii., cxxii.
[6] Weil, Geschichte der Khalifen nach handschrift, Grosstentheils
Quellen, &c., &c., ch. ii. pp. 54 et seq.; Mannheim, 1864. Caussin
de Perceval, Histoire des Arabes, liv. ix. p. 400, 1848. Malcolm,
Hist. of Persia, from the most early period to the present time,
vol. i. c. vi. p. 170, London, MDCCCXV.
[7] "Quadesyeh--A place celebrated for the battles fought there between
the Mussulmans and the Persians. (The town of Elkadder, not far from
Kerbela, marks the old site of Kadesia. As to Koufah a collection of
ruins marks the site of the capital of the Caliphate, which is said to
have been as great as Babylon.) It is about fifteen farsakhs from
Koufah and four miles from Ozhaib; longitude, 69 deg.; latitude, 31 deg. 2'
3''. It was in the year 16 of the Hejira, under the Caliphate of Omar
ben Khatthab, that the Mussulmans, commanded by Sa'd ben Abi Waqqas,
fought against the infidels. During the action, Sa'd had withdrawn into
the castle ("There was at Ozhaib a castle belonging to the Persians
called Qodais, whence, it is said, the name Quadesyeh. Sa'd occupied it
with his harem, as he was suffering from gout, and could neither sit
nor ride. Lying on the top of this fortress he watched his army, and
some men posted below transmitted his military orders and arrangements"
(Merasid) (See Essai sur l'Histoire des Arabes by Caussin de Perceval,
iii. 481-485, and Weil, Gesch. der Chal. i. pp. 65 et seq.) to watch
the movements of his troops. This step was regarded as a proof of
cowardice, and a Mussulman in the army composed the following verses
against him (thawil metre):--
"Seest thou not that God has sent us the victory, whilst Sa'd
is hiding behind the gates of Quadesyeh?
He was thinking then of increasing his family and of making
his wives mothers, for the wives of Sa'd know not
the privations of celibacy."
Another poet, Bischer ben Rebi'ah, has spoken of the battle of
Quadesyeh in these terms (same metre):--
"My camel stopped at the gates of Quadesyeh; my chief was
Sa'd ben (Abi) Waqqas.
Remember (may God guide thee) our prowess near Qodais,
and the blindness of our perfidious enemies.
That evening many of us would willingly have borrowed
the wings of the birds to fly away,
When their battalions advanced one after another against us,
like unto moving mountains.
With my sword I threw their ranks into disorder, and my lance
dispersed them; for I am a man worthy of wielding the
lance,
I and my companions: Amr, father of Thawr, the martyr,
Haschem, Qais, No'man the brave, and Djerir."
There exists a great number of poems composed in honour of this
battle, one of the most celebrated, and fraught with the greatest
blessings for the Mussulmans. Omar having written to Sa'd to ask for
some information regarding the position of Quadesyeh, the latter
sent him the following:--"Quadesyeh is situated between the moat
and el-'Atiq (the canal of the Euphrates). On its left is the sea,
a sort of bay, whence lead two roads to Hirah: the first, over high
hills; the second, over the banks of a river called Khousous, which
passes out between Khawarnaq and Hirah; on its right are numerous
streams which water the country. All the tribes who have made peace
with the Mussulmans before my arrival tremble before the Persians,
and are ready to assist me." The historians of the first conquests
divide this affair at Quadesyeh into four battles. The first is called
the battle of Ermath; the second, the battle of Aghwath; the third,
the battle of Amas; the evening preceding the fourth, they called
the evening of Herir or of the storm; and the last, the battle of
Quadesyeh. The celebrated Rustam, son of Farrokh-Zad, lost his life
in this battle, and the Persians could not replace this skilful
general. (Dictionnaire geographique, historique et litteraire de la
Perse et des Contrees adjacentes, taken from the Mo'd'jem el-Bouldan
of Yaqout, &c. Trans. Barbier de Meynard, Paris, 1861, p. 432.)
[8] Malcolm, Hist. of Persia, vol. i. ch. vi. p. 174. Weil, Geschichte
der Chalifen, ch. ii. pp. 54 et seq. Caussin de Perceval, Histoire des
Arabes, bk. x. pp. 481 et seq. Masoudi, Prairies d'or, trans. Barbier
de Meynard, c. lxxvi. p. 207. Tabari, trans. H. Zotenburg, part
iv. ch. xli. pp. 385 et seq.
[9] Nehawend.--A large town about three days' journey from Hamadan,
in the direction of the qiblah (south-west). Aboul-Moundher Hischam
says it received this name because it was found wholly built, and in
the same condition as at present. Others carry back its foundation to
Noah, and think that its present name is an abbreviation of Nouh-Awend
or Nouh-Wand, that is to say, the city of Noah. Hamzah thinks that its
old name was Nouha-Wend, which means "the well multiplied." Nehawend
is situated in the fourth climate, 72 deg. longitude and 36 deg. latitude;
it is one of the oldest cities of Djebal. It was conquered about
the year 19 or 20 of the Hejira. Abou Bekr el-Hodhaili, relying
upon the testimony of Mohammed, son of Hasan, says: "The battle of
Nehawend was fought in the year 21, under the Caliphate of Omar, son
of Khatthab. The Mussulmans were commanded by No'man ben Mokarren
el-Mouzeni; this general had under him Hodhaifah, son of Yemani,
Djerir ben 'Abd Allah, el-Moghairah ben Scha'bah and el-Asch'ath ben
Qais." When No'man, who was one of the companions of the Prophet,
was killed, the commandership passed into the hands of Hodhaifah;
it was this chief who concluded the peace, as we attribute it to the
word Mah-Dinar. This is what el-Moubarek ben Saib, who derived this
information from his father, relates: "Nehawend was taken by the army
of Koufah, and Dinewer by the troops of Basrah. As the population
of Koufah had considerably increased, some of its inhabitants were
obliged to emigrate into the countries newly pacified and subject to
Kharadj. It is thus that they came to inhabit Dinewer. The province
of Koufah was received in exchange for Nehawend, which was annexed to
the province of Ispahan, the remainder of Kharadj being taken off from
Dinewer and Nehawend. It was in the reign of Mo'awiah ben Abi Soufian
that Nehawend was called Mah-el-Basrah and Dinewer Mah-el-Koufah. The
Persians, before the battle of Nehawend, had gathered together
considerable troops; it is said that their army numbered about
150,000 men commanded by Firouzan. After this important battle,
which was called the 'Victory of Victories,' the resistance of the
Persians became less and less. The most accredited opinion is that
these events took place during the fifth year of Omar's Caliphate,
the year 19 of the Hejira." (Cf. Essai sur l'Histoire des Arabes,
by Caussin de Perceval, vol. iii. p. 491, and the Annales of Abou'l
Feda, ed. of Reiske, vol. i. p. 242. See B. de Meynard, Dict. geog.,
hist., &c., p. 573.)
[10] Malcolm, Hist. of Persia, vol. i. ch. vi. p. 176. G. Weil,
Geschichte der Chalifen, &c., ch. ii. p. 54. Masoudi, Prairies d'or,
trans. Barbier de Meynard, ch. lxxvi. p. 233. Tabari, trans. Zotenberg,
part iv. ch. xlvii. p. 467.
[11] Khorassan--A large country stretching from Iraq (Persian)
to Azadwar (the chief town of the province of Djouein) and to
Beihaq. It is bounded on the side of India (on the south and east) by
Thokharistan, Ghaznee, Sedjestan, and Kirman. It contains fine cities,
such as Nisabour, Merve, which has been the capital of Balk, Herat,
Thaleqan, Nesa, Abiwerd, Serakhs, and other large cities situate
on this side of the river Oxus. Some geographers have placed the
provinces of Kharezm and a part of Transoxiana in Khorassan, but that
is an error.... When Islam appeared in the world, the Khorassanians,
by a quite special favour of Providence, eagerly welcomed it. They
accepted without opposition the peace offered them; hence they were
subjected to a light tax only, and escaped being massacred or made
prisoners. The conquest itself took place in the eighteenth year of
the Hejira. 'Omar ben Khattab sent into Khorassan El-Ahnef ben Qais,
who in a short time took possession successively of the two Thabes,
Herat, Merv esch-Schahidjan and Nisabour, after having forced the
Persian king Yezdezard, son of Schahriar, to take refuge in Transoxiana
with the Khan of the Turks. (See B. de Meynard, Dict. geog., hist.,
&c., p. 197.)
[12] This town is situated on an arm of the sea, communicating with
Fars. It serves as a port to Kirman, and it is there that vessels
from India deposit the merchandise destined for Kirman, Sedjestan,
and Khorassan. Some authors write and pronounce it Hormouz. (See
B. de Meynard, Dict. geog., hist., &c., p. 595.)
Mohammed Medjdi gives some historical details concerning the old town
and island of Hormuz up to the time of the conquest of Albuquerque
(1514): "The town of Hormuz is situated in the second climate, and
the heat there is excessive. Founded by Ardeschir Babegan, it was
abandoned (in 715) by King Schems ed-din, who feared the attacks of the
neighbouring brigands. This king built another town in the island of
Djeroun, about one farsakh from the coast, and kept for it the name of
Hormuz. For a hundred and twenty years the Franks have exercised there
an absolute power. Its governor, Nour ed-Din, having conceived the
fatal idea of asking their assistance when in a difficult situation,
allowed them a tenth part of its revenue. In a short time they so
skilfully usurped the authority that the king and the vezir of the
country had not the least share in the government." (Zinet, chapter
ix.) Before the Portuguese conquest, this island, tributary to Persia
and annexed to Kirman, paid an annual contribution of sixty thousand
dinars. (Nouzhet, fol. 670. See also the Arabic text of Abou'l Feda,
p. 339, and the Voyages of Ibn Batoutah, Vol. ii. p. 230.) B. de
Meynard, Dict. geog., hist., &c., p. 595 (note).
[13] See Translation from the Persian of Kissah-i-Sanjan, or
History of the Arrival and Settlement of the Parsees in India, by
E. B. Eastwick, in the Journal of the Bombay Branch, Royal Asiatic
Society, vol. i. p. 167. As for us, we have followed the order of
events, such as it is presented by Mr. B. B. Patell in his admirable
work, the Parsee Prakash, and the interesting resume of Mr. Dosabhai
Framji Karaka. See Bomanji Byramji Patell, Parsee Prakash, being
a record of important events in the growth of the Parsee community
in Western India, chronologically arranged from the date of their
immigration into India to the year 1860 A.D., vol. in 4to, Bombay,
1878-1888, 1,053 pages (in Gujerati), and Dosabhai Framji Karaka,
History of the Parsis, 2 vols. in 8vo, London, 1884.
[14] Diu--Portuguese possession--latitude, 20 deg. 43' 20'' North;
longitude, 71 deg. 2' 30'' East--at the entrance of the Gulf of Cambay,
to the south of the Gujerat Peninsula. Its length from east to west
is six miles and a half, and its greatest extent from north to south
is one mile. It has a small but very fine harbour. The climate is
dry and stifling, the soil barren, water scarce, and agriculture
much neglected. Its principal products are wheat, millet, nachni,
bajri, cocoanut, and some kinds of fruits. The population of Diu
consists of about 10,765 inhabitants, of whom 419 are Christians,
9,575 Hindoos, and 771 Mahomedans. At its most flourishing period
the number had risen, it is said, to nearly 50,000. Now there are
not more than 3,107 houses, very poor and uncomfortable for the most
part. In fact, the commerce of Diu is now ruined. The resources of
the inhabitants consisted formerly in weaving and dyeing; fishing
is their only occupation. Some bold minds attempt trading on the
Mozambique coast. The appearance of Diu is interesting. The fortress,
rebuilt after the siege of 1545 by Dom Joan de Castro, is imposing in
appearance. To the west, the town extends divided in two quarters,
that of the Christians and that of the Pagans. Of the fine edifices
of Diu, there still remains the college of the Jesuits turned into
the Cathedral church; of the other convents, that of Saint Francois
serves as a military hospital, and that of Saint Jean-de-Dieu as a
cemetery, while that of Saint Dominique is in ruins. (See W. W. Hunter,
Imperial Gazetteer of India, vol. iii. p. 171.)
[15] Sanjan--A small village of the Thana district, formerly an
important town known to the Portuguese, and called, after them, under
the name of Saint John. (See Imp. Gaz. of India, vol. iii. p. 174.)
[16] Damman--A Portuguese town, about one hundred miles to the north
of Bombay. Its superficial area is eighty-two square miles, comprising
the pargana of Nagar Haveli. The population consists of about 40,980
souls. The settlement is composed of two distinct parts; Damman and
the pargana of Nagar Haveli, separated by a territory belonging to
the English and by a railroad running through Bombay, Baroda, and
Central India. The town was sacked by the Portuguese in 1532, then
rebuilt by the natives, and re-taken by the Portuguese in 1558, and
made by them one of their settlements in India. They have converted the
mosque into a church, and have built eight others. Commerce flourished
there before the fall of the Portuguese power in India, and extended
even as far as the African coasts, where ships carried the cotton
stuffs manufactured at Damman. From 1817 to 1837 the trade in opium,
brought from Karachi and imported into China, was prosperous; but since
the conquest of Sind by the English the transport of opium has been
prohibited, and Damman has thus been deprived of its greatest source
of wealth. The soil is moist and fertile, specially in the pargana
of Nagar Haveli; rice, wheat, and tobacco are grown there; but in
spite of the facilities for agriculture, only a twentieth part of
the territory is cultivated. (See Imp. Gaz. of India, vol. iii. p. 21.)
[17] The Parsis call him Jade Rana; Dr. Wilson suggests that he
was doubtless Jayadeva or Vana Raja of Anahillawada, who reigned in
Gujerat from 745 to 806.
[18] There are several manuscripts of the "Slokas" in Sanscrit and in
Gujerati. In the Indian Antiquary, p. 214 (July 5, 1872), we find a
version of it, according to the translation prepared by Dastoor Hoshang
Jamasp, the High Priest at Poona. The author compares it to another
more ancient one, then in the hands of Dr. Wilson, and points out
numerous divergences; besides, according to Dr. Wilson himself, there
are no two manuscripts, either in Gujerati or in Sanscrit, similar
in wording, though identical so far as the substance is concerned.
[19] Cambay--Capital of the country of that name, a province of
Gujerat, down the Gulf of Cambay, to the north of the estuary
of the Mahi. Population (1872) 33,709. (See Imp. Gaz. of India,
vol. ii. p. 334.)
[20] Ankleswar--Capital of the subdivision of that name in the district
of Bharooch. Population (1872) 9,414 inhabitants. (See Imp. Gaz. of
India, vol. i. p. 203.)
[21] Thana--A British District in the Bombay Presidency. The territory,
which formed part of the States of the Peishwa, was annexed by
the English Government in 1818 on the overthrow of Baji-Rao. The
population is 847,424 inhabitants (1872), including 3,920 Parsis. Thana
is 26 miles north of Bombay. It possesses a station and a port. (See
Imp. Gaz. of India, vol. ix. p. 34.)
[22] Some Parsis who, since their arrival in India, in 636, had
remained in the south of Gujerat, were attracted to the temple of
Kumarika Kshetra, on the mouth of the Mahi (tenth century). These
new-comers succeeded in commerce, and were followed by others, so that
the Parsi element became sufficiently strong to drive the Hindoos
from the town. Amongst those who fled there was a certain Kalianrai
who, taking refuge in Surat, acquired a great fortune by trading in
pearls. His wealth gained him some importance; so that he gathered
together a band of Rajputs and Kolis, who attacked the Parsis one
night, set fire to their houses, and put some to the sword; the rest
took to flight. Kalianrai then formed a project to build a town on the
ruins of the Parsi colony. (See Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency.)
[23] The translation of the first inscription is due to Mr. K. R. Cama
in his Studies of the Zoroastrian Religion (vol. iii. p. 160); and
the second to Mr. M. S. Watcha, in the collection entitled Zarthoshti
Abhyas (vol. iv. p. 212). (See Parsee Prakash, p. 2.)
[24] Naosari--A town in the territory of the Gaekwar of Baroda, on
the banks of the Pourna, 12 miles from the sea, 18 from Surat, and 149
from Bombay. Lat. 22 deg. 7' N.; long. 73 deg. 40' E. The population in 1872
amounted to 14,700 inhabitants. Naosari is a very flourishing town;
its prosperity depending on the Parsi colony. (See Imp. Gaz. of India,
vol. vii. p. 179.)
[25] Sari--A fallen town of Thabarestan (Mazanderan). It was here,
says Beladori, that the Governor of the province under the Taherides
resided. The author of the Nouzhet, to indicate the great antiquity
of this place, attributes its foundation to Thahomurs. (See also
B. de Meynard, Dict, geo., hist., &c., p. 295.) It is a ruined
city. According to Fraser it had a population of 30,000 inhabitants
towards the commencement of the century. D'Anville and Rennell have
tried to identify Sari with the ancient Zadra-Karta, the greatest
city of Hyrcania, where the army of Alexander stopped to sacrifice
to the gods. It was here that the great achievements of the heroic
times of Persia are supposed to have been accomplished. Feridoon,
the legendary hero of the Persians, is supposed to be buried under
the threshold of a mosque, which is erected on the site of a Fire
Temple. Sari is surrounded by immense gardens, and the country around
is covered with mulberry trees, cotton plants, sugar cane, and rice
fields. It has a port on the Caspian Sea, at the mouth of the Tedjun,
called Farahabad, the abode of joy, founded by Shah 'Abbas. Pietro
della Valle speaks of it as the principal city of Mazanderan.
[26] Westergaard, Zend-Avesta, p. 304.
[27] Bharooch--A British District in the Bombay Presidency; population
350,332 souls (1872). There are about 3,116 Parsis there, nearly
all traders or agriculturists. Its capital on the Nerbudda has a
population of 36,932 inhabitants. The English had a factory there
since 1616; they took possession of Bharooch in 1703. The Parsis must
have settled there since the eleventh century; many quitted Bharooch
for Bombay. (See Imp. Gaz. of India, vol. ii. pp. 224 et seq.)
[28] See Voyages en Asie du Frere Odoric de Pordenone, religieux
de Saint Francois. Edited and annotated by M. H. Cordier, p. 82,
Paris, 1891.
[29] Thana was abandoned for over three centuries. In 1774 the Parsis
returned and took possession of it, according to the terms of a treaty
concluded with a Maratha Sardar, Ragunathrao Dada Saheb. Kavasji
Rastamji, of Bombay, accompanied them, and he was entrusted with
the office of patel in the following places: Charnibanda, Munpesar,
Trombay, Muth, Murve, Manori, Vesava, Danda, Bandora, Kalyan, Bhimardi,
and other places in the island of Salsette.
[30] Dr. Wilson (J.B.B.R.A.S., 1,182) has suggested that the Mahmood
Shah of the Kissah-i-Sanjan was Mahmood Begada, who reigned over
Gujerat from 1459-1513. The mention of Champaner (A fort and village
in the Panch-Mahals district, situated on an isolated rock of great
height. (See Imp. Gaz. of India, vol. ii. p. 375.)) as his capital
seems to indicate that the author of the Kissah-i-Sanjan thought that
the Mussulman prince was the famous Mahmood Begada. But the conquest
of Gujerat by Alp Khan was so complete that it leaves no doubt that
Sanjan fell into his hands. The conqueror might possibly, though
less likely, be Mahmood Shah Tughlik, who re-conquered Gujerat and
the Thana coast in 1348, and not Mahmood Begada, as the authorities
agree in saying that, after long wanderings, the Fire was brought
from Sanjan to Naosari about the beginning of the fifteenth century
(1419). Alp Khan may be either Ulugh Khan, Ala-ud-din's brother,
who is sometimes called by mistake Alp Khan, or he may be Alp Khan,
Ala-ud-din's brother-in-law. Ulugh Khan conquered Gujerat (1295-1297)
and Alp Khan governed it (1300-1320). The Alp Khan of the text was
doubtless Ulugh Khan. (Elliot, iii. 157, 163.) (See Gazetteer of the
Bombay Presidency.)
[31] In 1839, when Dr. J. Wilson visited Sanjan, he found only one or
two Parsi families there. The ruins of a dokhma constructed before
400 are still to be seen, but there is not a single Parsi to be
found there.
[32] Bansdah.--A tributary State (in the province of Gujerat) bounded
on the north and west by the Surat district, on the south east by
the Baroda State, on the east by the Dang States, and on the south by
the State of Dharampoor. The capital contains 2,321 inhabitants. (See
Imp. Gaz. of India, vol. ii. pp. 401-2.)
[33] A New Account of East India and Persia, in Eight Letters, from
1672-1681, by John Fryer, in 1698. Letter ii. p. 67.
[34] This dokhma still exists on the Malabar Hill. It was built in
1670 by Modi Hirji Watcha, an ancestor of the Watcha Ghandi family.
[35] Renan has summarised, in these few terse lines, the long
dissertations in the Sixth Book, tenth chapter, of the Praeparatio
Evangelica of Eusebius. (See Marcus Aurelius, ch. xxiv. pp. 439-440.)
[36] See Malcolm, Hist. of Persia, vol. i. ch. viii. p. 275 et seq.
[37] Shah Abbas the Great, desirous of increasing the commerce of
Ispahan, caused 1,500 Guebre families to come and settle outside
the town on this side of the river Zenderoud. Under Abbas II. they
quitted Gehr-Abad and returned to the mountains. We see in Kaempfer
that Abbas II. transported, in fact, nearly six hundred agricultural
families into the Armenian Colony of Sulpha, or Sjulfa, founded by
his ancestor, and which to the south bordered on the quarters of the
Guebres. (Amaenitates exoticae, &c., p. 164, Lemgoviae, 1712.)
[38] The Parsis, their History, Manners, Customs, and Religion,
ch. ii. pp. 31 et seq., London, 1884.
[39] In fifteen years the number has risen by 18 per cent., or 1
1/5 per cent. per year; thus, in February, 1878, there were 1,341
Zoroastrians in Kirman; in August, 1879, the number had risen to 1,378,
viz., an increase of 1 4/5 per cent.
[40] A. Houtum-Schindler. Die Parsen in Persien, ihre Sprache und
einige ihrer Gebraeuche. (See Z. D. M. G., 36 ter Band, pp. 54 et
seq., Leipzig, 1882.) Dupre (1807-1809) and Kinneir (1810) register
the number of Zoroastrians in Persia, and put it down at 4,000
families. Trezel (1807-9) raises it to 8,000 Guebres in Yezd and in
the neighbouring villages; Christie (1819) and Fraser (1821) count
about 3,000 families in all Persia; Abbot (1845) lowers the number to
800 families in Yezd and in the surrounding places. Petermann (1854)
counts 3,000 families, of whom 1,200 men are in Yezd; Goldsmid (1865),
4,500 Guebres in Yezd and Kirman; and finally Capt. Evan Smith (1870)
3,800 families.
[41] Two young officers of the Indian Army have lately attempted
to cross the frightful solitudes of Dusht-i-Kavir. (See Proc. of
the R.G.S., November, 1891, and Asiatic Quarterly Review, October,
1891.) Dush-i-Sut has been more easy to explore, although the danger
is not less, owing to the clouds of sand raised by the winds.
[42] Yezd.--"Yezd enjoys a temperate climate. It is surrounded by
canals and aqueducts which carry the water into the interior of the
town. There are constructed there reservoirs and cisterns, structures
as remarkable as those which are seen at Kaschan. Most of the houses
and edifices, although built of raw bricks, are of great solidity;
besides, the rainfall is very scarce in that country. The town is well
built and very clean, because care is taken to have the rubbish removed
every day from it, which rubbish is used to manure the fields. Wheat,
cotton, and silk are produced there, but the wheat is not abundant
enough to suffice for food, and some wheat is therefore imported from
Kirman and Schiraz, so that its price is somewhat high. Among the
fruits of Yezd are praised figs, called misqali, and pomegranates. The
inhabitants, formerly Schafeites, belong now to the Schiite sect;
they are almost all weavers, and are known for their honesty and by
their gentleness, which degenerates even into weakness. Hamd Allah
Mustofi, while doing justice to the loyalty of the merchants, accuses
the brokers of that town of intolerable arrogance and pride." (Zinet
el-Medjalis). (Cf. Nouzhet, fol. 602.) See B. de Meynard, Dict. geog.,
hist., &c., p. 611, note 1.
During nearly two centuries the governors (atabegs) of Yezd, like those
of Lauristan, maintained their independence; but in the thirteenth
century Ghazan Khan supplanted them. As for the modern travellers who
have visited those regions, this is what is known of them: Marco Polo
traversed Yezd in 1272, the monk Odoric in 1325, and Josafa Barbaro
in 1474. It was then a city surrounded with walls nearly five miles
in circumference, and well known by its silk trade. Tavernier, in the
seventeenth century, stayed there for three days, enough to make him
extol the fruits and the beauty of the women of that place; similarly
in the nineteenth century the European savants made acquaintance with
that region. Christie, having left Pottinger in Baloochistan, traversed
it while returning from Herat (1810). (See A. Dupre (1808), Voyage in
Persia, vol. ii. ch. xlii.; Dr. A. Petermann (1854), Reisen im Orient,
vol. ii. ch. xii. pp. 203 et seq.; N. de Khamkoff (1859), Memoir,
pp. 200-204; A. H. Schindler (1879), Zeit. f. Gesell d. Erd. zu Berlin;
Curzon (1889), Persia, vol. ii. ch. xxiii. pp. 238-243, London, 1892.)
[43] Kerman--The word is written sometimes Kirman; but the first
pronunciation seems more correct. It is a vast and populated
country, situate in the third climate; longitude 90 deg., latitude
30 deg. It contains a great number of districts, towns, and
boroughs. Its boundaries are: To the east, Mokran and the desert
which extends between Mokran and the sea, near the country of the
Belouth (Beloochees); to the west, Fars; to the north, the deserts
of Khorassan and Sedjestan; to the south, the sea of Fars. On the
frontier of Sirdjan, Kirman makes an angle and advances into the
boundaries of Fars; it has also a bend on its southern sides. Kirman
is rich in palm-trees, corn, cattle, and beasts of burden; it offers
an analogy to the province of Basrah by the number of its rivers and
the fertility of its territory. This is what has been said by Mahomed
bin Ahmed el-Beschari: "Kerman participates in the natural qualities
of Fars; it resembles by its productions the country of Basrah, and it
has also some analogical reference to Khorassan. In fact, its sides are
washed by the sea; it unites the advantages of hot and cold climates;
it produces the nut-tree and the palm-tree, and yields in abundance
the two best species of dates, and produces the most varied trees and
fruits. Its principal cities are, Djiraft, Menouqan, Zarend, Bemm,
Sirdjan (or Schiradjan), Nermasir, and Berdesir. Tutenag (toutia) is
collected there and is imported in large quantities. The inhabitants
are virtuous, honest, and much attached to Sunnism and orthodoxy. But
a great part of this country is depopulated and ruined, on account of
the different masters who possessed it, and the tyrannical domination
of its Sultans. For many years, instead of having been governed by
a particular dynasty, it has been administered by governors who have
had no other occupation than to amass wealth and to make it pass into
Khorassan. Now, this emigration of the resources of a country to the
profit of another is one of the surest causes of its ruin; besides,
the presence of a king and a court contributes much to the prosperity
of a State. The epoch of the glory and splendour of Kerman reaches to
the reign of the Seldjouqide dynasty, and during that happy period,
a great number of foreigners fixed their residence there." See B. de
Meynard, Dict. geog., hist., &c., pp. 482 et seq.
Among the modern travellers who have visited Kirman since the
commencement of the century, see Sir H. Pottinger (1810), Travels in
Beloochistan, cap. x.; N. de Khanikoff (1859), Memoirs, pp. 186-198;
Curzon (1889), Persia, vol. ii. ch. xxii. pp. 243-246.
[44] In 1878 the numbers were 39,718 Mussalmans, 1,341 Parsis,
85 Jews, and 26 Hindoos, which gives a total of 41,170 souls. The
Hindoos are Mussulmans who have come for the most part from Scind and
Shikarpur. Some have established at Bahramabad some great commercial
firms.
[45] Malcolm, History of Persia, vol. ii. ch. xxi. p. 271.
[46] It is reported that the conqueror caused to be presented to
himself on dishes 35,000 pairs of eyes! Thirty thousand women and
children were reduced to slavery.... It is at Bam, a small village
140 miles to the south-east of Kirman, that Luft Ali Khan was made
a prisoner and delivered over to his enemy who, with his own hands,
tore out his eyes before causing him to perish. Sir H. Pottinger saw,
in 1810, a trophy of 600 skulls raised in honour of the victory of
Aga Mohammed.
[47] See Dieulafoy, Acropole de Suse, &c. Appendix, The Human Races
of Persia, pp. 87 and following. See also Duhousset, The Populations
of Persia, pp. 4-7; N. de Khanikoff, Ethnography of Persia, pp. 19,
47, 50, 56, &c.
[48] According to General Houtum-Schindler (see Memoir already cited,
pp. 82-84), the hairs of the Zoroastrians are smooth and thick,
generally black, or of a dark brown colour; one seldom meets with
a clear brown colour, never with the red. In Kirman some beards do
assume this colour, but they incline rather to the yellowish. The
eyes are black, or of an intense brown, sometimes grey or blue,
the eyebrows habitually thick and well furnished among men, delicate
and well shaped among women. The complexion is generally tawny; the
cheeks are coloured only among some women. The inhabitants of the
cities are pale in appearance, and not robust; those of the towns
are robust and well proportioned. We regret not to be able to insert
certain types sent for us from Yezd, the printing of this work being
too far advanced to enable us to make use of them.
[49] Malcolm, History of Persia, vol. i. ch. xv. pp. 607 et seq.
[50] Hanway, vol. ii. p. 153.
[51] Malcolm, History of Persia, vol. i. ch. xv. p. 642.--The chief
of one of the corps of Guebres at the siege of Ispahan was called by
the Mussulman name of Nasser-ullah. Hanway considers him as a Parsi
or Guebre.
[52] Letter from Prof. W. to the Rev. Dr. Wilson, written in 1843,
in Journ. As. of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. viii., 1846, p. 350.
[53] We cannot recount here odious details which a single word will
characterise: they were veritable dragonnades.
[54] General Houtum-Schindler ascertained that, before the abolition of
the Jazia, the position of the Guebres was good enough, and infinitely
better than that of the Jews at Teheran, Kaschan, Shiraz, and Bushire,
whilst at Yezd and in Kirman, on the contrary, the position of the
Jews was preferable. The hardships endured were very cruel. (See
Houtum-Schindler, Memoir already cited, p. 57.) Here are the principal
grievances of the Guebres: they were threatened with forced conversion;
property belonging to a Zoroastrian family was confiscated for the
use and profit of the proselytes, in disregard to the rights of the
legitimate heirs; property newly acquired was susceptible of being
burdened with taxes for the benefit of the "Mullas" up to a fifth of
its value; there was a prohibition against building new houses and
repairing old ones; the Guebres could not put on new or white coats,
nor could they ride on horseback; the traders had to submit to taxes
in addition to the Government duties of the custom house; and finally
the murder of a Zoroastrian was not punished, and often sanctuaries
were invaded and profaned.
[55] It is well to notice that the Persian Government, very careful to
please the ambassadors of the European and Christian courts, accords
voluntarily its protection to the natives who are in the neighbourhood
of the capital; but this protection ceases in the provinces where there
prevails the rule of local governors maintained by the fanaticism of
the inhabitants.
[56] The Parsees: their History, Manners, Customs, and Religion,
ch. ii. pp. 49 et seq.
[57] The members of the committee were: Messrs. Maneckji Nasarwanji
Petit, Rastamji Nusserwanji Wadia, Merwanji Framji Panday, Kavasji
Ardesir Sahair.
[58] For the negotiations on the subject of the Jazia, see Parsee
Prakash, pp. 659-662.
[59] Messrs. Naorozji Fardunji, Dadabhoy Naorozji, Ardeshir Kharshedji
Wadia, Dr. Rastamji Kavasji Bahadurji.
[60] Here is a translation of the text of the firman relieving the
Zoroastrians of Persia from the impost of the "Jazia":
"In consideration of the innumerable benedictions which it has pleased
the Almighty to accord to us, and as an act of grace towards Him who
has given us the Royal Crown of Persia, with the means of promoting the
welfare of its inhabitants, has devolved on us the duty of securing
tranquillity and happiness for all our subjects, to whatever tribe,
community, or religion they belong, so that they may be profited and
refreshed by the beneficent waters of our special favour.
"Amongst these are the Zoroastrians of Yezd and Kirman, who are
descended from the ancient and noble race of Persia, and it is now our
desire to make their peace and well-being more complete than before.
"That is why, by this royal firman, we ordain and command that the
taxes and imposts of the Crown, levied previously on our Musulman
subjects of Yezd and Kirman, may be recovered in the same way from the
Zoroastrians who reside there. In this manner the impost which exacts
from this community the sum of eight hundred and forty-five tomans,
is abolished, and in the commencement of this propitious year of the
Horse, we make an abatement of this sum and free the Zoroastrians from
it for ever. We therefore order and command our mustaufis and officers
of the debt of the Royal Exchequer to remove it from the revenues which
have to be paid in by Yezd and Kirman. The governors now in office,
or who will be nominated subsequently at the head of these provinces,
ought to consider all right to the payment of this tribute abolished
for ever, and, as regards the present year, and the following years,
if this sum should happen to be exacted, they will be held responsible
and will be punished for it. Moreover, in the tribute of the tithes and
imposts on water and land, and for all trade duties, the Zoroastrians
must be treated in the same manner as our other subjects.
"Given at Teheran, in the month of Ramzan, 1299 (August, 1882), &c."
[61] The Committee has now a fund of 275,000 Rs. (646,250 francs) made
up of subscriptions and of gifts made on the occasion of marriages
or after the death of relatives, at the Uthamna ceremony of the third
day. Out of these funds are supported twelve schools, opened in 1882
in Teheran, Yezd, and Kirman.
[62] Mr. Maneckji Limji Antaria is dead, but his successor is not
less zealous. The present president is Sir Dinsha Maneckji Petit,
and the honorary secretary Mr. Bomanji Byramji Patell.
[63] We reserve for a subsequent work certain documents which we have
been able to collect on the subject of the Zoroastrian communities
of Persia.
[64] Originally the affairs of the three establishments of the East
India Company, in Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, were administered
separately, each with a president and a council formed of agents
of the Company. The name of Presidency was applied to the whole
territory subject to this authority. This expression has no longer
its real signification; however, it is still employed in official
acts. British India is no longer divided into presidencies, but into
provinces, eight of which are very extensive countries, having separate
governments. The presidencies of Bombay and Madras are to-day only
the provinces of those names.
[65] Its territory extends from latitude 28 deg. 47' to 13 deg. 53' N.,
and from latitude 60 deg. 43' to 76 deg. 30' E. British districts, including
Sind, contain a total superficial area of 124,465 square miles, and a
population, according to the census of 1872, of 16,349,206 souls. The
Native States cover a surface of nearly 71,769 square miles, with a
population of 8,831,730 inhabitants, which gives, for the surface,
a total of 196,234 square miles, and for the population a total
of 25,180,936 inhabitants. The State of Baroda is no longer under
the direct administration of Bombay, but under that of the Supreme
Government; we may, however, consider it from the geographical point of
view as forming a part of Bombay. The Portuguese possessions of Goa,
Damman, and Diu, with a superficial area of 1,146 square miles and
a population of nearly 428,955 souls, are equally comprised in the
limits of the Presidency. See Imp. Gazetteer of India, vol. ii. p. 172
(Ed. of 1881).
[66] See for the explanation of this word, Sir John Strachey, India,
pref. and trans. of J. Harmand, chap. vi. p. 145, Paris, 1892.
[67] See Sir William Wilson Hunter, K.C.S.I., Bombay 1885 to 1890,
a study in Indian Administration. London, 1892.
[68] The whole population of India comes to 287,223,431: Brahmins,
207,731,727; aboriginal tribes, 9,280,467; Sikhs, 190,783; Jains,
1,416,633; Zoroastrians, 89,904; Buddhists, 7,131,361; Jews,
17,194; Christians, 2,284,380; Mussulmans, 58,321,164; diverse races,
42,763. See Statistical Abstract relating to British India from 1883-84
to 1892-93, 28th November, London, 1894. Distribution of Population
according to Religion, Sex and Civil Condition, &c., p. 26, No. 14.
[69] Parsis, 76,774; Hindoos, 21,440,957; Mussulmans, 4,390,995;
Christians, 170,009; Jains, 555,209; Jews, 13,547; aboriginal tribes,
292,023; Buddhists, 674; Sikhs, 912; Brahmo-Samaj, 34; diverse
races, 51. In no part of India are religions and sects so mixed up
as in the Presidency of Bombay. See Ethnology of India by Mr. Justice
Campbell, in the Journal of the Asiatic Society. Supplementary number,
vol. xxxv. pt. ii. pp. 140, &c., &c.
[70] The Zoroastrian Calendar for the year of Yezdezard 1262, 16th
September, 1892, to 15th September, 1893; printed and published at the
Bombay Vartman Press, by Muncherji Hosunji Jagosh, 1892 (Gujerati). The
tables are very carefully done; an inquisitive reader will find there
the enumeration of the Parsi population of Bombay according to the
different districts, comparisons with the previous census and remarks
on the community.
[71] See Zoroastrian Calendar, p. 126.
[72] The disproportion between the two sexes is explained by the
general custom, which does not allow the Parsi servants to bring
their wives to the cities where they are employed.
[73] Statistics of births, deaths, and marriages amongst the
Parsis of Bombay, during the last ten years, in the Journal of the
Anthropological Society of Bombay, ii., November 1, pp. 55-65.
[74] We refer to the Parsee Prakash, for all those interesting details,
those of our readers who can read and understand Gujerati.
[75] "If I have not yet replied to your letter of the 19th November,"
he writes, "it is because I desired to make special researches
concerning the strange rumour which has been spread by the Syed on
the subject of a tribe of Parsis established at Khoten, remaining
faithful to the Zoroastrian customs, and still governed by its own
kings. I can tell you that it is a legend devoid of foundation,
and that Major Rawlinson, so learned in these matters, partakes of
my view. I suppose that the Syed, seeing the prosperous condition
of his co-religionists in Bombay, imagined that in flattering your
vanity he would act on your purse. Besides, the country of Khoten is
not the terra incognita which he has depicted. I have been in touch
with the people who have sojourned there; it is a dependency of China,
inhabited by Mussulman subjects of the Empire: the only Chinese who
are there form part of the garrison. According to all that has been
said to me of Khoten and the adjacent countries, the only difficulty
I have had is to define who are the Christian traders who frequent
those markets. I think that they are Russians or Nestorian Christians."
[76] See Cabool: being a Narrative of a Journey to, and Residence in
that City in the years 1836-7-8. By the late Lieut.-Col. Sir Alexander
Burnes. London, 1842.
[77] Vivien Saint Martin, New Dictionary of Universal Geography,
vol. iii. p. 9. Paris, 1887.
[78] "Returned herself as living on the wages of shame" (see Dosabhai
Framji Karaka, Hist. of Parsis, vol. i. chap. iii. p. 99).
[79] The Parsis have never followed certain occupations, as those of
a day labourer, palanquin bearer, barber, bleacher, &c., &c.
[80] Let us note the efforts of Sir Richard Temple, Governor of Bombay
(1877-80), who, on his way to Naosari, reminded the Parsis of certain
verses of the Vendidad relating specially to agricultural or pastoral
occupations, and exhorted them to continue such traditions. Since
then a rich Parsi of Bharooch, Mr. Rastamji Maneckji, has taken
on lease from the chief of Rajpipla, a great stretch of land in
the Panch-Mahals, and has cultivated it with success. He has been
outstripped by Kavasji Framji Banaji in his beautiful domain of
Pawai. Lord Mayo has highly recognised the great importance of
agricultural studies, and in 1870 he declared that the progress
of India in riches and in civilisation depended on the progress
of agriculture. See Strachey, India, trans. Harmand, chap. ix.;
Hunter, Bombay, &c., about the question of agricultural education
(chap. vi. pp. 158, 159-166), and about the foundation of a Chair
of Agriculture at Baroda under the auspices of the Gaekwar, at the
suggestion of Lord Reay, (p. 168.)
[81] See for the army in India, Strachey, India, trans. Harmand,
chap. iii. pp. 52 et seq.; Hunter, Bombay, &c., chap. xiv. pp. 448
et seq.
[82] Dosabhai Framji Karaka, Hist. of the Parsis, vol. i. pp. 101
et seq.
[83] The enrolment of the Parsis as volunteers, to the exclusion of
the other nationalities, has reappeared since the publication of the
work of Mr. D. F. Karaka. At Quetta, at Karachi, at Poona the Parsis
are admitted freely into the corps of the European Volunteers, and
lastly (June, 1894) Mr. Dinsha Dosabhai Khambatta is enrolled as a
lieutenant in the "Poona Volunteers"; he is now a lieutenant in the
"Quetta Corps."
[84] Padamji Pestanji is the chief of the Parsi community of Poona;
since the last riots, he obtained as a reward of his services the
title of Khan Bahadur; he is a member of the Legislative Council and
has the rank of a Sirdar of the First Class in the Dekkan.
[85] "We have not the slightest hesitation in saying that the Parsis
would be found to be as good and brave soldiers as the Anglo-Saxons,
while their loyalty and attachment to the Government they are called
upon to serve would always be above suspicion" (see Hist. of the
Parsis, vol. i. chap. iii. p. 103).
[86] "For if a German or a European of another nationality can secure
a commission in the British Army, why should not a Parsee, who is
the born subject of the Queen-Empress?" (See Hist. of the Parsis,
vol. i. chap. iii. p. 104.)
[87] Opinions are divided amongst the Parsis themselves on the subject
of their nationality and position in India. The Hon. Mr. P. M. Mehta
considers them as natives to the backbone. Mr. Dadabhai Naoroji,
M.P., is of the same opinion, whilst a certain number decline to
recognise this.
[88] The name of Shahanshahi means "imperial," and that of Kadmi is
drawn from qadim, "ancient." The Shahanshahis are also called Rasmis,
from Rasm, "custom," that is to say, that which is followed in India.
[89] On this schism, see Anquetil Duperron, Zend-Avesta,
Disc. Prel. p. ccccxxvi.; Wilson, The Parsi Religion, pp. 35, 36; Haug,
Essays, pp. 57, 58. Aspandiarji Kamdin resumed the controversy of the
Kabisa in a book appearing in Surat, in 1826: A Historical Account of
the Ancient Leap-Year of the Parsis (Gujerati). Mr. K. R. Kama held,
in 1869, a series of conferences on the ancient computation of time,
and has published The Era of Yezdezard (Gujerati).
[90] This is how Anquetil Duperron relates the incidents of this
memorable struggle: (Disc. Prel. pp. cccxxvi. et seq.) "About
forty-six years ago there came from Kirman a very clever Dastoor
named Djamasp. He had been sent to re-unite the Parsis divided on the
question of the Penom, a double piece of cloth with which the Parsis,
on certain occasions, cover a part of the face. Some wished that
it should be placed on the dead, others did not like this. Djamasp
decided in favour of the latter, according to the custom of Kirman. If
this Dastoor had not made the voyage to India, this frivolous contest
would have caused streams of blood to flow.
"Djamasp is believed to have examined the Vendidad, which was
current in Gujerat. He found the Pehlvi translation of it too long
and not correct in several places. Ignorance was the predominating
vice of the Parsis of India. In order to remedy it, the Dastoor of
Kirman formed some disciples, Darab at Surat, Djamasp at Naosari,
and a third at Bharooch, to whom he taught Zend and Pehlvi. Some
time after, tired of the contradictions which he had to endure, he
returned to Kirman. The books which this Dastoor has left in India
are an exact copy of the Zend and Pehlvi Vendidad, the Feroueschi,
the translation of the Vadjerguerd, and the Nerenguestan. These two
works are in Persian, mixed with Zend, and purely on ceremonials.
"Darab, the first disciple of Djamasp, and a Dastoor Mobed perfect
in the knowledge of Zend and Pehlvi, wished to correct the Pehlvi
translation of the Vendidad and rectify some portions of the Zend Text,
which appeared to him either to have been transposed or to present
useless repetitions. He began explaining to young Parsi theologians
the works of Zoroaster, which the Mobeds read every day without
understanding them. An enslaved people who for a long time practised a
thousand ceremonies, the sense and reason of which they were ignorant
of, would naturally fall into innumerable abuses. This was what
Darab, more learned than the others, observed. The purifications were
multiplied; the Zend text was inundated with Pehlvi commentaries, often
very inconsistent. Darab at first attempted the way of instruction. But
he found a powerful adversary in the person of Manscherdji, the chief
of the party who did not like reform, and himself the son of a Mobed.
"Another subject of division animated them again, one against
the other. Darab had for his father Kaous, of whom I have spoken
before, who had received from Dastoor Djamasp the first smatterings
of astronomy, according to the principles of Oulough Beg. This
Dastoor Mobed having been perfected since then under another Parsi
come from Kirman about thirty-six years ago, showed by the Tables of
Oulough Beg that the Nao rouz (the first day of the year) ought to be
advanced by a month, and that consequently there had been an error
till then. A letter of the Dastoors of Yezd, dated the 22nd of the
month Aban, of the year 1111 of Yezdezard (1742, A.D.) and brought
by the Parsi Espendiar, confirmed the discovery of Kaous, but did
not tend to protect him from the hatred of his compatriots. It went
so far that Darab, sixteen or seventeen years ago, was obliged to
withdraw to Damann amongst the Portuguese, and Kaous to Cambay among
the English. When I arrived at Surat, almost all the Parsis of India
followed the party of Manscherdji because he was rich and powerful;
Darab, whose knowledge was recognised even by his adversaries, had
some disciples who, in the sequel, showed themselves more freely when
the authority of Manscherdji had been lowered at Surat with that of
the Dutch, whose agent he was."
[91] Mulla Firoz succeeded his father Mulla Kavas as Dastoor of the
Kadmis (1802); when hardly eight years old he had accompanied Mulla
Kavas to Persia and had learned Persian and Arabic. In 1786 he wrote
in Persian a curious recital of his voyage, Derich Kherde Manjumi. In
1830 he published the Avijeh Din to refute the arguments of Dastoor
Edalji Dorabji Sanjana. The governor of Bombay, Mr. Jonathan Duncan,
engaged him to teach Persian, and to translate the Desatir. Mr. Duncan
having died, Mulla Firoz continued his work in concert with Mr. William
Erskine, and finished it in 1819. He died in 1830 (Parsee Prakash,
p. 229) and bequeathed his collection of books in Zend, Pehlvi,
&c., to the Kadmi community; the library which contains them is
situate in "Fort," and bears his name. We owe to Mulla Firoz a poem
on the conquest of India by the English, the George Namah, which
was terminated and published in 1837 by his nephew and successor,
Dastoor Rastamji Kaikobadji. On the death of the latter (1854)
(Parsee Prakash, p. 635), the Kadmis combined to found a madressa
which they called Mulla Firoz (Parsee Prakash, p. 647).
[92] Edalji Dorabji Sanjana was esteemed for his piety and merits. He
was in his time one of the first savants in Zend and Pehlvi; he
was equally perfect in Sanscrit. We owe to him several works on the
Mazdiene religion, amongst others a book entitled Khorehe Vehijak,
which brought forth in reply the Avijeh Din of Mulla Firoz. He died
in 1847 (Parsee Prakash, p. 495).
[93] Most offensive epithets were interchanged between Kadmis and
Shahanshahis, such as that of churigar ("churi," bracelets, bangles;
and "gar," workman) a term of contempt carrying with it an idea of
weakness; the children of the two sects pursued one another in the
streets, insulting one another. This was hardly fifty years ago.
[94] The sect of the Shahanshahis possesses in Bombay two High
Priests--Dastoor Jamaspji Minocherji and Shams ul ulma Dastoor Peshotan
Behramji Sanjana; at Poona there is only one, Dastoor Hoshangji
Jamaspji. The sect of the Kadmis has also High Priests--Dastoor
Kharshedji Phirozji Mulla Firoz, elected by the whole community,
who is attached to the Dadiseth Atash-Behram, and Dastoor Kharshedji
Bezonji, attached to the Framji Kavasji Banaji Atash-Behram.
Unwin Brothers, Limited, The Gresham Press, Woking and London.