Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...
religious ceremony or the name given to a passage collection within the greater
Avesta
The Avesta () is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.
The Avesta texts fall into several different categories, arranged either by dialect, or by usage. The principal text in the l ...
compendium of texts.
Overview
The Visperad ceremony "consists of the rituals of the
liturgy
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
extended by twenty-three supplementary sections.". These supplementary sections (''kardag'') are then – from a philological perspective – the passages that make up the Visperad collection. The standard abbreviation for ''Visperad'' chapter-verse pointers is ''Vr.'', though ''Vsp.'' may also appear in older sources.
The name ''Visperad'' is a contraction of
Avestan
Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scri ...
''vispe ratavo'', with an ambiguous meaning. Subject to how ''ratu'' is translated, ''vispe ratavo'' may be translated as "(prayer to) all patrons". or "all masters" or the older and today less common "all chiefs.". or "all lords."
The Visperad ceremony – in medieval Zoroastrian texts referred to as the ''Jesht-i Visperad'',. that is, "Worship through praise (Yasht) of all the patrons," – developed as an "extended service" for celebrating the ''gahambar''s, the high
Zoroastrian festivals
Zoroastrianism has numerous festivals and holy days, all of which are bound to the Zoroastrian calendar. The '' Shahenshahi'' and ''Kadmi'' variants of the calendar do not intercalate leap years and hence the day of the Gregorian calendar year on ...
that celebrate six season(al) events. As seasonal ("year cycle") festivals, the ''gahambar''s are dedicated to the
Amesha Spenta
In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spenta ( ae, , Aməša Spəṇta—literally "Immortal (which is) holy/bounteous/furthering") are a class of seven divine entities emanating from Ahura Mazda, the highest divinity of the religion. Later Middle Persia ...
s, the divinites that are in tradition identified with specific aspects of creation, and through whom Ahura Mazda realized ("with his thought") creation. These "bounteous immortals" (''amesha spenta''s) are the "all patrons" – the ''vispe ratavo'' – who apportion the bounty of creation. However, the Visperad ceremony itself is dedicated to
Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazda (; ae, , translit=Ahura Mazdā; ), also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hoormazd, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmuz, is the creator deity in Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the ''Yasna''. ...
, the ''ratūm berezem'' "high Master."
The ''Visperad'' collection has no unity of its own, and is never recited separately from the Yasna. During a recital of the Visperad ceremony, the ''Visperad'' sections are not recited ''en bloc'' but are instead interleaved into the Yasna recital.. The ''Visperad'' itself exalts several texts of the ''Yasna'' collection, including the ''
Ahuna Vairya
Ahuna Vairya (Avestan: 𐬀𐬵𐬎𐬥𐬀 𐬬𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬌𐬀) is the first of Zoroastrianism's four Gathic Avestan formulas. The text, which appears in ''Yasna'' 27.13, is also known after its opening words yatha ahu vairyo. In Zoroast ...
'' and the ''
Airyaman ishya
The airyaman ishya (; ''airyaman išya'', ''airyə̄mā išyō'') is Zoroastrianism's fourth of the four Gathic Avestan invocations.
Name
The prayer is named after its opening words, ''ā airyə̄mā išyō''. In present-day Zoroastrian usage, ...
Yasna Haptanghaiti The ''Yasna Haptanghaiti'' (), Avestan for "Worship in Seven Chapters," is a set of seven hymns within the greater '' Yasna'' collection, that is, within the primary liturgical texts of the Zoroastrian Avesta. Chapter and verse pointers are to ''Yas ...
'' (''Visperad'' 13–16, 18–21, 23-24.) Unlike in a regular ''Yasna'' recital, the ''Yasna Haptanghaiti'' is recited a second time between the 4th and 5th Gatha (the first time between the 1st and 2nd as in a standard ''Yasna''). This second recitation is performed by the assistant priest (the ''raspi''), and is often slower and more melodious. In contrast to ''
barsom
A barsom is a ritual implement used by Zoroastrian priests to solemnize certain sacred ceremonies.
The word ''barsom'' derives from the Avestan language ''baresman'' (trisyllabic, '), which is in turn a substantive of ''barez'' "to grow high. ...
'' bundle of a regular Yasna, which has 21 rods (''tae''), the one used in a Visperad service has 35 rods.
The Visperad is only performed in the ''Havan Gah'' – between sunrise and noon – on the six ''gahambar'' days.
Amongst Iranian Zoroastrians, the Visperad ceremony has undergone significant modifications in the 20th century.. The ritual – which is traditionally an "inner" one requiring ritual purity – is instead celebrated as an "outer" ritual where ritual purity is not a requirement. Often there is only one priest instead of the two that are traditionally required, and the priests sit at a table with only a lamp or candle representing the fire, so avoiding accusations of "fire worship.".
Notes
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References
Bibliography
* (fasc., 1979, Berlin: de Gruyter)
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External links
* Geldner's transliteration and Mills' translation of the Visperad at avesta.org
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Avesta