Parsis and their quest with preservation of their identity
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This document discusses the cultural identity and assimilation of Parsis in India. The Parsis are descendants of Zoroastrians who migrated to India from Iran in the 8th century to escape religious persecution. While in India, the Parsis integrated into local culture by adopting the Gujarati language and other customs, but also preserved key aspects of their Zoroastrian religious identity and practices, such as maintaining separate fire temples. Over time, the Parsis evolved a distinct ethnic identity as a minority group in India, facing new challenges to their cultural survival in modern times due to declining population.
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Parsis and their quest with preservation of their identity
- 2. Culture The shared beliefs, values, traditions, and behavior patterns of particular groups. (Taylor et al., 2012)
- 3. The Self The self is first and foremost the collection of beliefs that we hold about ourselves (Taylor et al., 2012)
- 4. Sources of Self Knowledge Self- Knowledge Socializati on Reflected Appraisal Feedback from others Self- Perception Labeling Arousal States Environm ental Distinctive ness Comparati ve self- assessmen ts Social Identity Culture
- 5. Social Identity The “part of an individual’s self-concept which derives from the membership in a social group together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership” (Tajfel, 1981). Bicultural competence – Individuals may be able to gain competence within two cultures without losing cultural identity and without having to choose one culture over the other.
- 6. Parsis : Who are they? Maro Dikra Ideal next door elderly neighbour in Bollywood movies From Pre-Islamic Zoroastrian Iran Descendants of migrated Iranian Zoroastrians Parsis – Zoroastrians of India
- 7. Parsis : Who are they? Arrived in 8th Century BC Hesitantly welcomed by local Hindu ruler of Gujarat – Jadi Rana Conditions attached to their settlement • Explain their religion • Adopt the local language • Lay down their weapons • Parsi women to give up their traditional dress for the Indian saree • Conduct marriage ceremonies after sunset Cultural Assimilation
- 8. Preserving Identity while Integration Their arrival posed the question of how the minority would integrate itself in the new environment while retaining the essence of its identity Traditional narratives relate the process of assimilation and acculturation
- 9. Temple Worship Rise of temple-worship in India Indian social and religious environment influenced the nature of Parsi temple worship But, the Parsis safeguarded their practices Fire temples reserved exclusively for the Parsis
- 10. Towers of Silence First Dakhma built at Broach The dakhma is a circular, roofless walled structure, enclosing a central well, built to consign the bodies of the deceased to be devoured by vultures and carrion crows or dessicated by the sun Parsis retained and elaborated this practice known to them from Iran
- 11. Purity Laws Purity laws ecompassed rules for the protection of the ritually pure from defilement, and purification following contamination and pollution. Parsis observed the protection and purification of metal, earth, water, fire, plants, and animals, as well as the rules regarding personal conduct and purity in daily life. The Parsis remained doctrinally orthodox while adaptive in their ritual observance. Over time, many of the purity laws were looked on more as ideals than as practical observances.
- 12. Secluding women during menstruation Continued the practice of secluding women during their menstrual period Place of menstruating women – Dashtanestan Purification required of those who came in contact Observed until 19th century by Orthodox Parsis
- 13. Dietary Laws Divided living creatures into good and evil There were khrafstra or ‘noxious’ creatures and their destruction was considered religiously meritorious among Zoroastrians Parsis gradually eliminated their killing Maintained the theoretical between creatures and evil
- 14. Barashnom Ceremony Greatest pollution resulted from contact with nasa (carrion of dead bodies) Barashnom ceremony-the most elaborate Zoroastrian ritual purification Intended for the physical removal of extreme forms of pollution Process of reintegration undergone in order to renew contact with other Zoroastrians Barashnom-e noh-shab or ‘ablution of the nine nights’, consisted of a Parsi undergoing successive ritual cleansings in retreat for the nights in a secluded pit or area. Ceremony simplified and over time seen as a ceremony reserved predominantly if not exclusively for the priesthood. The Riman ritual effectively superseded the Barashnom ceremony Eliminated the nine days and nights retreat in favour of an individual ritually traversing nine enclosure or ‘pure’ spaces within a short period of time.
- 15. Veneration of Cows and Bulls Sacrifice of certain animals performed in Iran was abandoned in India. Parsis increasingly venerated the cow and bull, and employed the latter in certain rites. The use of ritual cleansing and ablutionary agents such as bull’s urine and hairs and ash from sacred fires has an ancient history among the Indo-Iranian peoples. The use of the varasyo or white bull was also unique to the Parsis, and had an important role in the development of priestly power in India.
- 16. Language Parsis increasingly employed Gujarati words or unique Parsi renderings to Zoroastrian ceremonies, and reassigned the names of ceremonies common to the Parsi and Iranian communities, thereby distinguishing their understanding of the ceremonies from that of the Iranian community.
- 17. Endogamy Reaffirmed endogamy as a means of safeguarding identity Parsis free to define their sense of group identity without fear of external threat. The caste customs and social structures of the Indian society, theoretically, constrained the ability of Parsis to intermarry with members of other communities. Parsis came to define themselves as a non-proselytizing community. Parsis of India evolved a strict endogamy along religious and ethnic lines. Religious identity as a Zoroastrian and ethnic identity as a Parsi became synonymous.
- 18. Minority within Cultural Diversity 1,10,000 Parsis all over the world Less than 70,000 in India Ethnic anxiety Marginalization within cultural hybridity Decline in membership Problems regarding final rites due to decline in vultures and unavailability of Towers of Silence “They feel insecure, experience identity crisis and feel threatened by possible submersion in the dominant Hindu culture. The factors which contribute to ethnic atrophy are the Parsis’ single minded pursuit of prosperity, extreme individualism, craze for urbanization, late marriages, low birth rate, the rather high incidence of cancer, Alzheimers disease, osteoporosis, mental illness, and low fertility rate” (Dharan 2001)
- 19. Nevertheless, successful “In numbers Parsis are beneath contempt, but in contribution, beyond compare.” – Mahatma Gandhi
- 20. Writer, R. (1989). Parsi Identity. Iran, 27, 129–131. http://doi.org/10.2307/4299826 Deshmukh, S. (2014). Ethnic Angst: A Comparative Study of Bapsi Sidhwa & Rohinton Mistry. Partridge Publishing Palsetia, J.S. (2001). The Parsis of India: Preservation of Identity in Bombay City. Vol 17. BRILL Publishing References