Parsi
The Parsis, numbering no more than eighty thousand, are a cultural and religious community centered in Mumbai (Bombay) but also living in some towns and villages of Gujarat State. Originally from Persia, they sought refuge from Islam at Sanjan on the west coast of India in (traditionally) 716 CE. Their identity hinges on their practice of Zoroastrianism, one of the world's monotheistic religions. The prophet Zoroaster's (Zarathushtra, c. 628–c. 551 BCE) teachings were preserved in the Avesta, a fragmentary compilation of praise and prayers to Ahuramazda and various guardians of the universe. Zoroastrianism includes the belief in two contending principles of Ahuramazda the good and Ahriman the evil, with men being soldiers in the army of Ahuramazda, and the worship of fire, in the home as well as in fire temples, as a symbol of life. There is a hereditary priesthood. The major life cycle ritual is the Navjot, an initiation ceremony for both sexes around the age of seven. The Parsis of India still expose corpses to birds of prey in stone structures known as towers of silence. Parsis have a 365-day calendar and celebrate communal feasts known as Ghambars, originally tied to the agricultural cycle. There is a strict rule of endogamy, and children of non-Parsi fathers were once denied Parsi status.
Although they began as an agrarian people, the Parsis moved into many other professions, especially under British rule when they accepted modern education. They contributed outstanding members to education, arts, sciences, jurisprudence, finance, politics, and the Indian civil service, out of all proportion to their numbers. Their most enduring efforts, however, have been in entrepreneurship. In the early twentieth century, individual Parsis built empires in shipbuilding, textiles, iron and steel works, banking, and overseas trade. The community has a well-deserved reputation for philanthropy, including endowing fire temples and schools and funds for the welfare of their community.
Since the 1950s many younger, well-educated, professional Parsis have emigrated, and sizable groups live in Canada, the United States, Australia, and Britain. Parsis tend to form social and religious organizations to keep alive as many cultural traditions as possible. Because exogamy is more common among the offspring of the emigrants, children of mixed marriages are now accepted into the community. The greatest challenge facing the Parsis is a precipitous decline in numbers. Due to late marriages, low birthrates, and high economic expectations of the young, demographers have predicted that the Parsis will die out well before the end of the twenty-first century if current trends persist.
Further Reading
Kulke, Eckehard. (1974) The Parsis in India: A Minority as Agent of Social Change. Munich, Germany: Weltforum Verlag.
Modi, Jivanji Jamshedji. (1986) The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Parsees. Mumbai (Bombay), India: Society for the Promotion of Zoroastrian Religious Knowledge and Education.
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