Haoma.
Extensions to the Yasna ritual are possible through use of the
Visperad
Visperad or Visprad is either a particular Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrian religious ceremony or the name given to a passage collection within the greater Avesta compendium of texts.
Overview
The Visperad ceremony "consists of the rituals of the Yasna ...
and
Vendidad, but such an extended ritual is rare in modern Zoroastrianism. The Yasna itself descended from
Indo-Iranian sacrificial ceremonies and animal sacrifice of varying degrees are mentioned in the Avesta and are still practiced in Zoroastrianism albeit through reduced forms such as the sacrifice of fat before meals.
High rituals such as the Yasna are considered to be the purview of the
Mobeds with a corpus of individual and communal rituals and prayers included in the
Khordeh Avesta.
A Zoroastrian is welcomed into the faith through the
Navjote
The Navjote ( fa, سدرهپوشی, rtl=yes, ''sedreh pushi'') ceremony is the ritual through which an individual is inducted into the Zoroastrian religion and begins to wear the sedreh and kushti. The term ''navjote'' is used primarily by th ...
/Sedreh Pushi ceremony, which is traditionally conducted during the later childhood or pre-teen years of the aspirant, though there is no defined age limit for the ritual.
After the ceremony, Zoroastrians are encouraged to wear their sedreh (ritual shirt) and kusti (ritual girdle) daily as a spiritual reminder and for mystical protection, though reformist Zoroastrians tend to only wear them during festivals, ceremonies, and prayers.
The incorporation of cultural and local rituals is quite common and traditions have been passed down in historically Zoroastrian communities such as herbal healing practices, wedding ceremonies, and the like.
Traditionally, Zoroastrian rituals have also included
shamanic
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...
elements involving
mystical methods such as
spirit travel
Astral projection (also known as astral travel) is a term used in esotericism to describe an intentional out-of-body experience (OBE) that assumes the existence of a subtle body called an " astral body" through which consciousness can functio ...
to the invisible realm and involving the consumption of
fortified wine
Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Commanda ...
,
Haoma,
mang, and other ritual aids.
Historically, Zoroastrians are encouraged to pray the five daily
Gāhs and to maintain and celebrate the various holy festivals of the
Zoroastrian calendar
Adherents of Zoroastrianism use three distinct versions of traditional calendars for liturgical purposes, all derived from medieval Iranian calendars and ultimately based on the Babylonian calendar as used in the Achaemenid empire.
''Qadimi'' ...
, which can differ from community to community. Zoroastrian prayers, called , are conducted usually with hands outstretched in imitation of Zoroaster's prayer style described in the Gathas and are of a reflectionary and supplicant nature believed to be endowed with the ability to banish evil.
Devout Zoroastrians are known to cover their heads during prayer, either with traditional
topi
''Damaliscus lunatus jimela'' is a subspecies of topi, and is usually just called a topi. It is a highly social and fast type of antelope found in the savannas, semi-deserts, and floodplains of sub-Saharan Africa.
Names
The word ''tope'' or '' ...
, scarves, other headwear, or even just their hands. However, full coverage and veiling which is traditional in Islamic practice is not a part of Zoroastrianism and Zoroastrian women in Iran wear their head coverings displaying hair and their faces to defy mandates by the
Islamic Republic of Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
Demographics
Zoroastrian communities internationally tend to comprise mostly two main groups of people:
Indian Parsis and
Iranian Zoroastrians. According to a study in 2012 by the
Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America, the number of Zoroastrians worldwide was estimated to be between 111,691 and 121,962. The number is imprecise because of diverging counts in Iran.
Iran and Central Asia
Iran's figures of Zoroastrians have ranged widely; the last census (1974) before the
revolution of 1979
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
revealed 21,400 Zoroastrians.
Some 10,000 adherents remain in the
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
n regions that were once considered the traditional stronghold of Zoroastrianism, i.e.,
Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...
(see also
Balkh
), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001
, pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia
, pushpin_relief=yes
, pushpin_label_position=bottom
, pushpin_mapsize=300
, pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...
), which is in Northern Afghanistan;
Sogdiana;
Margiana; and other areas close to
Zoroaster's homeland. In Iran, emigration, out-marriage and low birth rates are likewise leading to a decline in the Zoroastrian population. Zoroastrian groups in Iran say their number is approximately 60,000. According to the Iranian census data from 2011 the number of Zoroastrians in Iran was 25,271.
Communities exist in
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, as well as in
Yazd
Yazd ( fa, یزد ), formerly also known as Yezd, is the capital of Yazd Province, Iran. The city is located southeast of Isfahan. At the 2016 census, the population was 1,138,533. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is recognized as a Worl ...
,
Kerman
Kerman ( fa, كرمان, Kermân ; also romanization of Persian, romanized as Kermun and Karmana), known in ancient times as the satrapy of Carmania, is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 821,394, in ...
and
Kermanshah, where many still speak an Iranian language distinct from the usual
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
. They call their language
Dari
Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī ...
(not to be confused with the
Dari of Afghanistan). Their language is also called ''Gavri'' or ''Behdini'', literally "of the Good Religion". Sometimes their language is named for the cities in which it is spoken, such as ''Yazdi'' or ''Kermani''. Iranian Zoroastrians were historically called
''Gabr''s, originally without a pejorative connotation but in the present-day derogatorily applied to all non-Muslims.
The number of Kurdish Zoroastrians, along with those of non-ethnic converts, has been estimated differently.
The Zoroastrian Representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq has claimed that as many as 100,000 people in
Iraqi Kurdistan have converted to Zoroastrianism recently, with community leaders repeating this claim and speculating that even more Zoroastrians in the region are practicing their faith secretly. However, this has not been confirmed by independent sources.
The surge in Kurdish Muslims converting to Zoroastrianism is largely attributed to disillusionment with Islam after experiencing violence and oppression perpetrated by
ISIS
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
in the area.
South Asia
India is considered to be home to a large Zoroastrian population - the descendants of migrants from Iran and today known as the
Parsis. In India's 2001 census, the Parsi population numbered at 69,601, representing about 0.006% of the total population of India, with a concentration in and around the city of
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
. Due to a low birth rate and high rate of
emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
, demographic trends project that by 2020 the Parsis will number only about 23,000 or 0.002% of the total population of India. By 2008, the birth-to-death ratio was 1:5; 200 births per year to 1,000 deaths.
India's 2011 Census recorded 57,264 Parsi Zoroastrians.
In
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, the Zoroastrian population was estimated to number 1,675 people in 2012,
[ mostly living in ]Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
(especially Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
) followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
. The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) of Pakistan claimed that there were 3,650 Parsi voters during the elections in Pakistan in 2013 and 4,235 in 2018.
Western world
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
is thought to be home to 18,000–25,000 Zoroastrians of both South Asian
South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, ...
and Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian background. A further 3,500 live in Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
(mainly in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
). As of 2012, the population of Zoroastrians in USA was 15,000, making it the third-largest Zoroastrian population in the world after those of India and Iran. It has been claimed that 3,000 Kurds have converted to Zoroastrianism in Sweden. In 2020, Historic England published ''A Survey of Zoroastrianism Buildings in England'' with the aim of providing information about buildings that Zoroastrians use in England so that HE can work with communities to enhance and protect those buildings now and in the future. The scoping survey identified four buildings in England.
See also
References
Citations
Sources
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* (note to catalogue searchers: the spine of this edition misprints the title "Zoroastrians" as "Zoroastians", and this may lead to catalogue errors; there is a second edition published in 2001 with the same ISBN)
*
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* pp. 684–687
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* pp. 813–815
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*
* pp. 35–44.
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External links
Encyclopedia Iranica - Zoroastrianism
*
FEZANA – Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America
Zoroastrianism
BBC Radio 4 discussion with Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis, Farrokh Vajifdar & Alan Williams (''In Our Time'', Nov. 11, 2004)
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Indian religions
Iranian religions
Ethnic groups in the Middle East
Religion in India
Religion in Iran
Religion in Kurdistan
Religion in the Sasanian Empire