Digital Rare Book:
The Religion of the Iranian Peoples
By Cornelis Petrus Tiele
Translated by Gushtaspshah Kaikhushro Nariman
Published by The Parsi Publishing Co., Bombay - 1912

Read Book Online:

http://bit.ly/1Ix8Z2d

Download pdf Book:

http://bit.ly/1G0ckXp

Image:
Tower of Silence, Bombay - 1860

Watercolour of the Tower of Silence in Bombay by Colonel Stevenson c.1860. Inscribed on the back in pencil is: 'Tower of Silence, India. Col. Stevenson'.

The Parsi community, followers of the ancient Zoroastrian faith from Persia, are thought to have arrived in India in around the 10th century AD. In 1672, the English Governor of Bombay Gerald Aungier granted lands to the Parsi community on Malabar Hill for their burial grounds. The Towers of Silence or dakhma are roofless cylindrical structures made of stone. The bodies of the dead are placed here so that they are open to the elements as well as birds of prey. There are five towers at Malabar Hill. They date from c.1672, c.1756, 1778, 1832 and 1844. The circumference of the largest tower is over 90m.

Copyright © The British Library Board