Tower of Silence

                        Many of us are aware of only two methods of funerals - Cremation or Burial. But, there is another tradition in Parsi (Zoroastrian) culture known as 'Dakhma'., which means 'Tower of Silence'. Zoroastrians avoid both burial and cremation as methods of disposal of human body because they believe that the body desecrates earth in which it is buried or the fire used to immolate it. It is believed that the body contaminates everything it comes in contact with. As a part of their culture, when a person dies, no one is allowed to touch the body and the deceased will be washed with bull's urine, covered with new clean clothes and will be taken to the so called towers of silence to perform the rituals.

The Towers of Silence:

                        The towers of silence is known as Dakhma. These are tower-like structures that are built atop hills or low mountains in desert locations distant from the towns and cities. These structures are open-top and have high exposure to sunlight. The priests bring the corpses to this place, perform prayers and place the body at the top of the tower. The body will not be placed on the ground. It is believed that any direct contact with the ground is contamination. It will be placed on a stone platform and left as such to be picked by vultures, a process which only takes few hours to complete. Meanwhile, sunlight allows the body to decompose naturally. The leftover bones are later deposited in a pit at the base of the tower. No one will be allowed to enter the house for 10 days where the body rested and a lamp is left burning during this time.

 The present day problem:

                           India and Pakistan have a significant Parsi population in Mumbai and Karachi, both being fast-developing cities. In the past several decades, the population of birds in the Indian subcontinent has declined by greatly 99.9%. The few surviving birds are unable to fully consume the bodies.

                           So, Parsi communities in India are currently breeding vultures and are using solar concentrators that are large mirrors to accelerate decomposition. In many parts of the world, due to lack of Dakhmas, some have been forced to resort to burial, as the solar collectors work only in clear weather. In Mumbai, we have Dakhma at the Malabar Hill.