Zoroastrian Funeral Traditions and the Towers of Silence

On a wooded hill in the middle of Mumbai stand open-roofed stone structures where, for centuries, the dead of one community have been laid out to the sun and the birds. They are called Towers of Silence, and they are part of one of the oldest funeral traditions still practiced. This article explains the belief behind them and why the tradition is now under strain. It describes only what is publicly shared, and it is not a substitute for the voices of Parsi communities themselves.

Who practices this tradition?

Zoroastrians, who in India are known as Parsis. KUER, a public radio station, reports that the Parsis came to India from Persia (Iran) about a thousand years ago, and 99% Invisible says Mumbai became their center in the 1600s. Al Jazeera put the Parsi population in Mumbai alone at about 40,000.

Why are the dead placed in towers?

To keep them from polluting the sacred elements. A reference summary explains that the doctrinal reason is to avoid contact with earth, water, or fire, all three of which Zoroastrians consider sacred. Yale’s Globalist adds that Parsis are believers in a cosmic struggle between good and evil, and that nothing associated with death can touch the pure elements. A Parsi quoted by Religion News Service says, “We don’t burn bodies because that would be an insult to fire,” and that burying would harm the earth. Zoroastrians believe bodies should be disposed of in the way that does the least harm to people or nature. The practice is called dokhmenashini, and 99% Invisible notes it went on for centuries in Mumbai.

What do the vultures have to do with it?

They were part of the ritual. For centuries the vultures of the forest around the towers consumed the bodies. Death Lab, a research group on death and architecture, reports that vultures can strip a body to the bone in about 30 minutes. In India, it says, the vulture population fell by 95 percent in about 15 years, and the birds are practically extinct in Mumbai. Religion News Service notes that vultures do not breed until age five and produce only one egg a year, so recovery is slow.

What have communities done?

Tried technology. The Bombay Parsi Panchayat, the community’s governing council, installed solar concentrators, large mirrors that focus sunlight on the bodies to speed up drying without using fire, according to 99% Invisible. They work only in clear weather, and KUER reports that they do not work during the monsoon. Death Lab notes that a vulture aviary has also been created on Malabar Hill to breed and reintroduce the birds. A Parsi interviewed for Religion News Service said that the process that once took hours can now take far longer.

Do all Parsis agree?

No. Al Jazeera reports that four of the seven officials of the Panchayat say the tower is the only religious method of disposing of a Parsi body, and that aviaries should be installed. Yale’s Globalist quotes a trustee who says over 97 percent of Mumbai Parsis prefer the tower to cremation. It also notes that some Parsis are turning to cremation and burial, over objections that burning defiles the holy fire. A reference summary adds that in the early 20th century, Iranian Zoroastrians gradually stopped using towers and began to favor burial or cremation.

Can outsiders visit?

Not the sacred site. Al Jazeera reports that non-Parsis are not allowed to enter, and that photography in the area is discouraged. KUER reports that Parsis forbid images of the ceremonies. For a related practice in Tibet, see Sky Burial: Why Some Tibetan Buddhists Offer the Body to the Birds, and for the wider picture of beliefs about death, What Religions Believe Happens After Death.