OTHER RELIGIOUS SECTS
Other religious sects--The Bab and Babism--Short sketch of
life of the Bab--His imprisonment and execution--Parsees, or
Zoroastrians--Persecutions of Parsees in seventh century--Sacred
writings of Parsees, Zendavesta--Fire-worshipping--Fire
temples--Holy fire--Parsee wedding--Costume of women--Death
customs--Burial customs.
"How many crimes have in religion's name been wrought."
Lucretius.
"Too oft religion has the mother been
Of impious act and criminal."
Lucretius.
The founder of Babism was a native of Shiraz, by name Mirza Ali
Muhammed, born in 1820; it was not till 1844 that he publicly
proclaimed himself to be The Bab or Gate, through which all who wished
for peace and happiness might pass into the inner chambers of mysticism
and sacred mysteries. He soon gathered a large following around him,
and in an astonishingly short time the fame of the Bab was noised
abroad throughout the length and breadth of Persia. At first the
Government and mullahs paid little attention to this new religion,
thinking and believing it to be only a passing fancy of the people,
but in its second year it took such rapid strides that they began to
be alarmed, and to look about for means of checking its progress. The
Bab was placed in prison, and his followers were forbidden, on pain
of death, to teach or discuss their new religion. Soon afterwards,
however, the Bab escaped, and fled to Isphahan, where the governor
of that city protected him for some months, but on the death of the
governor the Bab was again cast into prison. During his imprisonment
he was not idle, for he wrote many books, setting forth his doctrines,
and exhorting his followers to remain firm to their new faith in the
face of all opposition and persecution.
While the Bab was busy in prison, his followers were also busy,
preaching and teaching, and by all means trying to extend the doctrines
of their leader, and so great was the opposition and strife raised
that the Government decided that the Bab must forfeit his life as a
means of putting a stop once and for all to this new and dangerous
sect. Accordingly the Bab was brought from Tabriz, where he had been
imprisoned, and after a mock trial was sentenced to death. On the day
appointed for his execution an enormous crowd gathered to witness his
end--many from curiosity, and also many from love and pity for the
youthful martyr, who to the last maintained the calmness and courage
which had characterised his whole term of imprisonment.
To make the lesson more emphatic, it was decided that two of the
Bab's chief disciples were to be executed with him. One of these
at the last moment recanted, and so was allowed to go free. It was
said that his recantation arose not from cowardice or fear of death,
but from a special revelation given to him, whereby he was commanded
to recant in order to be able to carry away all books and papers
belonging to the Bab, and deposit them in a safe place: however that
may be, it is known that after an interval of two years he too became a
martyr. Efforts were made to entice the other disciple to recant, but
all proved unavailing, and he and his master the Bab were suspended,
by ropes placed under their arms, to a beam placed a few feet from
the ground. As they hung thus the disciple was heard to say, "Master,
art thou satisfied with me?" and then the order was given to fire. When
the smoke cleared away the body of the disciple was found to be riddled
with bullets, but no Bab was visible. What had happened? Had a miracle
been performed, and an angel been sent to rescue him from the hand of
his persecutors? This was the thought of some, and, indeed, a miracle
had been performed, for in spite of the many bullets which had been
aimed at him not one had touched the Bab, but had only brought him
deliverance by severing the ropes which bound him, so that he fell
to the ground unhurt. At first it seemed as if the multitude would
have pity on the unfortunate man, and spare him a second attempt,
but these feelings were only of short duration, and the Bab was again
dragged forth from his hiding-place, where he had taken refuge, and
was a second time suspended. A fresh batch of soldiers had to be told
off for the execution, as the first company absolutely refused to fire
again. This time there was no intervention, and in a second or two
the body of the young martyr of Shiraz was pierced with bullets. The
bodies were cast out to the jackals, but were afterwards recovered
and buried in Teheran by the order of the new Bab, Mirza Yahya.
This event took place in 1850, and in spite of persecutions,
oppositions, and cruelties, the Babis continued to grow in number and
strength, and to-day they form a very large and important community
throughout Persia. In fact, by the very barbarity of the persecutors
their own end was defeated, for all the people were astonished at the
heroism and fortitude displayed by the martyrs. Professor Brown [1]
says, "Often have I heard Persians who did not themselves belong to
the proscribed sect tell with admiration how Suleyman Khan, his body
pierced with well-nigh a score of wounds, in each of which was inserted
a lighted candle, went to his execution singing with exultation." The
effect of such courage and heroism was only to stir up more people
to be disciples of the Bab, as the following story shows.
During the persecutions in Yezd, a young man went to scoff and jeer,
but when he saw with what courage the martyrs endured torture,
and met death, he called out, "I am a Babi, kill me too." While we
were in Yezd the Babis were keeping very quiet, but, nevertheless,
a great work was going on amongst them, but none dared say, "I am
a Babi." A year or two after our departure from Persia we heard of
terrible cruelties and persecutions enacted against these suffering
people, but in spite of all, their number continues to grow and
increase throughout the whole land of Persia, and to-day the Babis
are stronger and more numerous than ever before.
The Parsees of Persia are another most interesting and important
sect: they live chiefly in Yezd and Kerman. They are a people within
a people, living in Persia, and with the Persians, yet keeping quite
distinct from the present inhabitants of the land. Only a few thousand
of this large and influential body of people, who up till the seventh
century were the inhabitants of the land, now remain in Persia. When
the armies of Mohammed conquered Persia, most of these people fled to
India; others preferred to adhere to the new religion, while a few
remained faithful to their old belief, and refused either to flee
to a new and strange country, or to change their creed, and so they
remain till this day a distinct people, following their own customs,
and holding to their own religion amidst a new and domineering nation.
The founder of the Parsee religion was one called Zoroaster. Very
little is known of his life; his birthplace is uncertain, though it
is known he lived for many years in Bactria of Eastern Persia, and it
is probable that it was in this place that he thought out the idea,
from which in later years he constructed his religious system. The
priests of this religion were the "magi" of the Old and New Testament,
and it is very likely that at least one of the "wise men of the East"
who went to offer their adoration to the new-born King was from these
Parsees of Persia.
The date of Zoroaster is very uncertain too. It is known, however,
that in the sixth century B.C., when Cyrus was king, the Zoroastrian
religion was firmly established in Western Persia. Some historians
give him a date between 1000 and 1400 B.C.
The sacred writings of the Parsees are called the Zendavesta, and are
said to be inspired by God through one of their priests. This priest,
having cleansed and bathed himself in the most careful manner, lay
down to sleep clothed in pure white linen. He is said to have fallen
into a deep sleep, from which he did not awake for seven days; at the
end of which time he awoke and recited the faith of the Zoroastrians,
while priests in waiting committed the whole to writing. In this way
was the Zendavesta reduced to the form of a book.
While fire-worshipping forms a large part of their religion, it is
quite a mistake to suppose it comprises the whole, for Zoroaster laid
down many laws concerning morality and the duties and destiny of man.
The Parsees of to-day, as seen in Kerman and Yezd, are a fine race;
their commercial ability is very much above that of the ordinary
Persian, and they are a much cleaner and more moral set of people
than their conquerors. They regard fire as something sacred, as being
the symbol of their god, and nothing will induce them to treat fire
lightly. For instance, we could never persuade our Parsee servants
to blow out a candle; and smoking is prohibited on account of their
religious principles, though nowadays many do smoke in secret. Their
habits of cleanliness and continual personal ablutions have perhaps
contributed to make them the healthy race they are to-day. A good
Parsee will wash many times a day, always before and after praying,
as well as on many other occasions.
All Parsees wear a girdle round their waists, twisted into three
knots in a most complicated and intricate way. Whenever they wash
they must take this off, and after their ablutions are over they
replace the girdle, repeating certain prayers for each knot. These
three knots represent the threefold cord, which is not easily broken,
of good thoughts, good words, good deeds.
There are said to be some thirty or forty fire temples still existing
in Yezd, and in these the holy fire is always burning; the light is
never allowed to go out, it being the work of the priests to keep it
continually bright and trimmed.
The office of priesthood descends from father to son, and besides
attending to the religious needs of the people, the priest is also
supposed to look after their temporal necessities, especially in the
case of poverty-stricken families.
Parsee women have a much freer life than their Persian sisters;
they go about the streets quite openly, never veiling their faces,
and altogether enjoy a much better position than the Mohammedan
women. In some cases the women are even allowed to eat with the men
of the house--a great concession indeed! The children are bright, and
in many cases clever. When seven days old an astrologer is consulted
as to the future of the infant; and when seven years old a boy is
blessed by the priest, who invests him with the sacred girdle, at the
same time throwing upon the child's head portions of fruit, spices,
and drops of perfume.
Girls are married when quite young, and the astrologer is again
consulted on this important matter. When in Yezd we were invited
to a Parsee wedding, and a very interesting sight it was. The
invitation--which was written in letters of gold, and arrived some days
before the date fixed for the ceremony--was acknowledged and accepted
by us with much pleasure, as we were anxious to see something of the
customs of these interesting people.
When the day arrived we arrayed ourselves in gala attire, and set
out to the house of the bride. It was just midnight when we arrived,
and already the guests, some hundreds of them, had been feasting
for hours--in fact, I might say "days," for this was the seventh
and last day of the wedding festivities, and many of the guests
had been present each day. They all looked thoroughly worn-out and
tired. A room had been set apart for the Europeans to dine in, and
just after midnight a most sumptuous dinner was served, consisting
of about a dozen courses. When this had been satisfactorily disposed
of we dispersed to visit the different rooms occupied by the guests,
my husband remaining with the men, while I and another English lady
sought out the bride to give her our salaams and good wishes. The
confusion was terrible--drums beating, cymbals clashing, women dancing
and singing, children yelling and crying, and amid it all, seated
upon the ground, sat the poor little bride-elect. No one seemed to
be taking much notice of her, every one apparently aiming to amuse
herself in the most noisy way possible.
By-and-by a large, silk-covered cushion was brought out from a
back room, and on this the bride was placed, and covered entirely
with a large silk shawl. I wondered what was going to happen next,
when suddenly a group of men appeared at the door. These were the
representatives of the bridegroom, who came to ask formally for the
hand of the bride. They came and stood in front of the covered-up
bride, and called in a loud voice, "Oh, my daughter, will you
consent to be the bride of this man?" (naming the bridegroom). This
was repeated six times amidst a silence which could be felt, all
listening for the answer of the bride. On their repeating the question
the seventh time, a very timid "Balli" (Yes) was heard coming from
the region of the shawl, upon which the commotion started again with
redoubled vigour, in the excitement caused by the acceptance on the
part of the bride of her bridegroom. Of course this was a mere form,
as everything had been arranged long beforehand. I shocked one good
old lady by asking what would happen if the bride had said "No"
instead of "Yes" to the oft-repeated question!
After receiving this very satisfactory answer to their inquiries the
men went off, and the women began to prepare the bride for the last and
most important part of the programme--viz. that of taking her to the
home of the bridegroom. They covered her with a large silk chuddar,
and over her head threw a thick shawl, so that the poor girl could
see nothing, and had to be led and supported on each side by her
proud relatives. The distance between the two houses might perhaps
have taken five minutes to walk in an ordinary way, but that night
we took quite an hour. The procession was headed by two "vakeels"
(agents), who were bargaining the whole way as to the dowry of the
bride. Every now and then they would come to a standstill, and the
bride's vakeel would refuse to go a step further till more money had
been paid, and after a great deal of shouting, gesticulating, and
wrangling, the bridegroom's vakeel would end by throwing some coins
into the other's hand, and then the procession would proceed for a few
steps till blocked once more, while the whole process of bargaining
was gone through again. Fireworks were going off the whole time,
and were apparently laid along the route, for every now and then we
were startled by having a rocket fly up from beneath our feet. About
every twenty yards or so we came across huge bonfires of dried faggots
right in our path, and the whole procession had to wait till these
had died down before they could pass on. Arriving at the door of the
bridegroom's house, a final and most exciting scene took place between
the two vakeels, the one threatening even then to take the bride away,
and the other, getting more wildly angry every minute, declaring he did
not want the bride, and would not pay a "para" (1/2d.) more for her,
and ending up by giving the sum bargained for. If we had not known
it was all part of the ceremony, we might have expected the two men
to come to blows; but it all ended happily, and we trooped into the
new home of the bride. Then came a long time of weary waiting, during
which my sympathies went out to the tired, frightened bride; but just
as we thought there was nothing more to wait for, three interesting
scenes took place. The first was the actual marriage ceremony, in
which a priest read many long prayers from a book, and then tied the
couple together with a silk thread and pronounced a blessing upon them.
The second scene took place in the open courtyard, in the centre of
which was burning the sacred fire placed on a pedestal. The priest
and parents of the bride and bridegroom now joined hands with the
happy couple and walked in solemn single file round and round the
fire, the priest chanting the whole time; this was done seven times,
and then all retired quietly, leaving the fire burning in the court.
To the third and final scene only a favoured few were admitted;
fortunately I was amongst that number. Into the room prepared for the
newly-married couple the little wife was now led, and for the first
time the coverings were taken from her head and face. She was placed
on a huge silk-covered mattress, then the husband came and took his
seat by her side: both of them were looking thoroughly miserable! One
of the women then brought a copper basin and ewer filled with milk,
and the bridegroom proceeded to wash his wife's feet in milk, and she
in her turn washed his hands. This done, we all bade farewell to the
newly-married couple and the wedding ceremony was at an end. Hastily
saying good-bye to our host and hostess, and expressing our good
wishes for the welfare and happiness of the young people, we made
our way homewards, to find it was not very far off dawn, but having
thoroughly enjoyed our first experience of a Parsee wedding ceremony.
The costume of the Parsee women is rather quaint and pretty; it
consists of very baggy trousers gathered in at the ankle. These
trousers are often made of very pretty pieces of embroidery joined
together. As soon almost as a girl can sew she begins to embroider
strips of brightly-coloured materials in order to have them ready
for her wedding trousseau. Over these garments they wear a loose
shirt reaching to just below the knees; this is also made of strips
of different coloured materials, or in the case of a bride is also
embroidered. Then comes the head-dress: it is far beyond my powers
to say of how many pieces this is composed, or as to how they are
arranged. The number of coverings on their heads is legion! First comes
a little tight cap fitting closely over the head and ears. Over this is
arranged in a most marvellous way some six or seven different pieces
of calico or linen, the top one of all generally being a very bright
calico, a mixture of red and yellow being the favourite pattern. The
men are obliged to wear dowdy colours as a mark of submission to the
powers that be. For the same reason also they are not allowed to ride
through the bazaars, and if a Parsee is riding outside the city and
meets a Moslem he promptly has to dismount and walk till he has passed
his more fortunate neighbour; then he may resume his riding. This is,
I believe, the case even if the Moslem be a poor man and the Parsee
a flourishing merchant.
To pass from life to death. A Parsee when he is dying sends for
the priest, who anoints him with sacred juice, repeats some verses
from the "Avesta," and prays for a safe crossing of the "bridge" and
admission into Paradise. As soon as the breath has left the body,
a dog is brought in from the street to ascertain if life is really
extinct. This idea originated evidently from the old Zoroastrian
idea that the evil spirit is expelled from a dead body by means of
a "four-eyed dog" being brought in and made to look at the dead,
the extra "two" eyes being represented by two black spots over the
brow of the dog. The body is then placed on a bier and carried to the
Towers of Silence, or "dakhmehs," by men specially set apart for that
purpose. These men are looked upon as unclean from their contact with
the dead, therefore only those whose work it is to do so will touch
the body, the cleansing necessary after defilement from contact with
the dead being so exacting and laborious.
On arriving at the dakhmeh, prayers are recited by the priests and
the body laid on an iron grating, so that when the vultures and other
birds of prey have done their horrible work, the bones fall down and
are safe from molestation by dogs and jackals.
The dakhmehs, always some distance from the town, are built in
a circular shape, some of the largest being 200 or so feet in
diameter. They are generally built on rising ground, and form a
landmark for many miles around.
Prayers for the dead are said for three or four days after the death,
and holy fire is kept burning in the house of the deceased during
the whole of that time, as the soul is not supposed to leave the body
till the fourth day after death.
The better-class Parsees "mourn" for a year after the death of a near
relative; that is, they keep up certain ceremonials for that length
of time, and offer flowers and fruits on behalf of their dead.
The Parsees have a governing body called the Anjiman. This consists of
a number of leading men, representatives of each class of society. The
Persian Government acknowledges the Anjiman, and accepts one of its
number to act as its representative.