The History of Antiquity, Vol. 5 (of 6)Duncker, Max
History
The History of Antiquity, Vol. 5 (of 6)
Duncker, Max
History, Ancient
While the ancient legends have lived on in Iran, the religion of
Zoroaster has passed beyond Iran, and survives on the Malabar coast.
Every day the Parsees utter their invocations before the sacred fire,
and present bowls filled with the juice of the Haoma. Each month, as we
have seen, belongs to one of the heavenly deities, who is then specially
invoked; each of the thirty days of the month has its own protecting
spirit, who is especially honoured on his own day. Six yearly festivals,
each of five days, celebrate the creation of the heaven, water, the
earth, the trees, animals, and men (p. 182); on each of which special
prayers are said. At the close of the year the Parsees purify and adorn
their houses, in order to receive worthily the souls of their ancestors:
sacrificial bread, fruits, milk, wine, and meat are put ready for them.
The Fravashis, now called Farvars, are invoked "to receive the
sacrifice, to lift up their hands to it, and depart in peace from the
dwelling."[443] On these days the priests read the liturgies appointed
as prayers for the souls of the damned, and for ten days the laity have
to repeat many thousands of times the prayers "Ahuna-vairya" and "Ashem
Vohu." Each morning, on waking, the Parsee prays: "The best purity is to
the just, who is pure. He is pure who does pure works. I pray with
purity of thought, of word, and act." When removing, and again when
putting on, his girdle (p. 217), he says, with face turned to the East:
"May Ormuzd be king; may Ahriman be defeated and destroyed; may the
enemies be confounded, and remain far off; of all my sins I repent."
Then he takes gomez for ablutions, washes his face and hands with it,
rubs himself with earth, and with gomez in his hand says: "May Ahriman
be destroyed; may the thirty-three Amshaspands and Ormuzd be victorious
and pure." After a prayer to Çrosh (Çraosha)--"the pure and strong, may
he increase to greater majesty, whose body is the word, and whose club
is victorious"--follows ablution with water, dressing of the fire with
wood and perfumes, and the proper morning prayer to Ushahin, the spirit
of the morning: "Praise to thee, high Dawn." When it is light, a prayer
is offered to Mithra, and two others at midday and sunset. In the
morning a prayer to Ormuzd is recited, in which all his names and
qualities are enumerated. Before eating, the Parsee must wash himself
and pronounce the prayer "Ahuna-vairya," and after eating, the prayer
"King Ormuzd." When the Parsee goes to rest he must arrange his bed in
such a way that he lies towards the fire, or the moon, or the East.
Before sleeping, a prayer is offered to Ormuzd. On turning over in bed,
sneezing, the discharge of natural or sexual functions, kindling a
light, approaching water or fire, special prayers are uttered, and the
sum of daily duties is increased on many occasions in family life--at
the time of a birth, or death, or festivals, and when impurities have
been incurred.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account