Towers of silence, also known as Dakhma, are a type of building used for funeral purposes in Zoroastrianism. According to Zoroastrian belief, the dead are; It is not burned in order not to pollute the air, and it is not buried in order not to pollute the soil. Dead bodies are left in the towers of silence in the form of an open-air cemetery for birds of prey to eat. This funeral practice for the elimination of the dead was used extensively by Zoroastrians.
It is possible to see towers of silence built on low hills, mostly outside the settlements, in India and Iran. The Iranian city of Yazd is among the places where Zoroastrianism is most intense. According to Zoroastrian belief, the four elements fire, water, air and earth are considered sacred. Avoiding polluting these elements, Zoroastrians sought other ways to exterminate their dead and built towers of silence.
Features of the Towers of Silence and the Cremation of the Dead
The towers of silence are elevated by platforms with 3 concentric circles. The outer circle is designed for men, the middle circle for women, and the inner circle for children’s sizes. During the ceremonies, officials called “nasellars” carry the dead to the towers. No one but the officers can enter the towers of silence. The attendant who brought the dead enters inside by checking whether there are any birds of prey and leaves the dead body to the nature by laying it at the bottom of the wall.
The dead left behind are first eaten by the birds of prey, starting from the eyes. A priest watches through a hole in the wall which eye of the deceased is eaten first. If it starts from the right eye first, it is interpreted that the soul will have a good place, and if it starts from the left eye, the soul will suffer torment. Because the spiers are located in the desert, it is thought that birds began with the eye, the body’s wateriest organ.
There are small earthen huts just below the towers. These huts were built for the relatives of the dead to wait. After a long wait, the vultures completely devour the flesh of the dead. His relatives come and collect the bones and put them in a small coffin made of stone. If there are enough vultures, the removal of the bones of the dead from the meat is completed within an hour.
The bones remaining from the flesh stripped bodies are left to be dried in the sun and bleached. The remaining bones are deposited in or near the tower in a place where bones are collected. Sometimes, the whitened bones are taken to a room in limestone, where they are broken down and dispersed, passed through various filters and released to nature. Zoroastrians believe that this method is a very impressive purification process.
Today’s Use of Towers of Silence
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the use of towers of silence has decreased, and funeral rites have turned to cremation and burial. Especially the towers of silence funeral ceremony was banned by the government after the 1970s. It is said that there is a serious social pressure for funeral ceremonies to change.
With the increasing population, the towers built outside the city began to stay within the residential areas. For this reason, the method used became invalid due to the conditions of the time and the ceremony changed. At the same time, the population of vultures was low, so there were not enough vultures left for the extermination of the dead. Over time, Zoroastrians began to put their dead in tombs made of concrete so that they would not come into contact with the soil. The towers of silence, which still exist today, are used only for touristic purposes.
What is Zoroastrian Faith?
Zoroastrianism is a belief system founded by Zoroastrians who lived between 628 and 551 BC. Having a monotheistic belief, Zoroastrianism also left an impact on the religions that came after it. The basis of Zoroastrianism is the belief in Ahura Mazda, the supreme god. For this reason, Zoroastrianism is also called Mazdaism. It is known that Zoroastrianism had a widespread influence on Greek, Roman and Jewish thought.
Zoroastrianism was declared as the official religion during the Sassanid period from 224 to 651 AD. Thanks to the religious and political power he gained in this way, he put pressure on Christianity, Buddhism and other religions. It lost its influence with the spread of Islam. In the 8th and 10th centuries, Zoroastrians left most of Iran and migrated to various parts of India. It continues its influence among the Parsis in India today. The number of Zoroastrians in Iran is estimated to be between 40 and 50 thousand. Yazd is one of the oldest and most important Zoroastrian cities in Iran.
