Zoroastrians Towers of Silence

The Persian word for Dakhma is located on the southern outskirts of Yazd, consisting of two masonry buildings on a small mountaintop that look like two short and thick chimneys. Climb up the chimney, the top is actually solid, there is a small hole in the middle, throw a stone down, the time of the fall indicates its depth. You may not think that this is actually the site of the Zoroazeids used to perform celestial burials, where the leftover bones of vultures are dumped by the celestial burial master into the small hole in the middle. But don't be afraid, the two lonely towers have been in use since the 1960s, and the heavenly burial in Iran has almost disappeared. There is a cemetery at the foot of the mountain, which preserves the traditional funeral customs of Zoroazds except for celestial burials, and if you pay a certain fee, the cemeterykeeper will be happy to let you visit to learn about their culture.

In the desert city, in traditional houses, very quiet and peaceful, the silent tower, the architecture is majestic, but full of mystery, one hole at a time, you want to go in and see.

The Silent Tower is the celestial burial platform of Zoroastrianism, which was no longer used since the 1960s. Zoroastrianism is commonly known as the religion of fire, which is the state religion of ancient Persia. Jin Yong's "Ignoring the Dragon in the Heaven" mentioned in the Ming religion is also the religion of fire. The Church considers Ahurah Mazda (meaning “Lord of Wisdom”) to be the supreme Lord God, the creator of the universe, with virtues such as light, life, creation, and the embodiment of heaven, order and truth. Mazda created the material world and also the fire, the "infinite light," so Zoroastrianism made worshipping fire their sacred duty. The emergence of Zoroastrianism had a profound impact on later Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. To the left is two small wind towers. The building at the foot of the mountain was the accommodation of the people who were responsible for handling the bodies. After the silence tower was abandoned, some fire worshippers lived here and have now completely abandoned. The mountain is not high, and the sun in the morning is not too strong. Slowly walk up and breathe~ In fact, it is bare and there is nothing. It depends on the guide to explain~ The believers of the fire worship believe that the corpse is too dirty, the cremation will pollute the fire, the water burial will pollute the water, and the earth will be polluted. Stone or iron will not. So the Tower of Silence is a stone-shaped, topless building, usually built on top of a mountain, the size and complexity of which depend on the need and the wealth of the fire-worship community. The funeral ceremony of the fire religion is similar in form to the celestial burial in Tibet, but the starting point is completely different. The fire religion believes that when people die, the soul and the body are quickly separated, and the evil spirit "corrupt" enters the widow within three hours of the death of the person, and the body becomes very dirty. No one, including the relatives of the deceased, can touch it again. The whole post-processing of the body is the responsibility of the dedicated body-destroyer. The corpses were placed in uncovered sarcophagus inside the graveyard, and the uncovered sarcophagus was placed in the silent tower, allowing the eagles and other predators to approach the corpses freely and eat the flesh as soon as possible. The remains of the flesh were collected and piled up in a shallow well in the center of the silent tower, where the remains were weathered into powder dust under the sun. When the rainy season comes, rain soaked in bone powder, filtered through activated carbon and lime layers, and drained from the underground drainage pipes into the sea. From the top of the mountain overlooking the ancient city of Yazd, the wall in front is a cemetery for fire worshippers. The gate is closed, and non-believers are not allowed to enter. This bird burial method has gradually been abandoned, and now modern burial methods are being adopted. After going down the mountain, a bearded churchman suddenly appeared in the abandoned building, and his language was not understandable. He told us what he couldn't understand, and he was really anxious, otherwise it would be excellent to ask him. He crouched at this door and waved at us, and went over to see that it was a small reservoir, and if it was not for his guidance, we would have missed this humble door.

It’s quite interesting to have a tour guide. Many of the customs in the past sound very scientific. The tower is not high. The ladder is not high for a few minutes. It is 40 degrees high because it is dry and not sweating, so the body feels better than expected.

Very nice name, people are gone, the world is silent. This is the place where Zoroastrianism practiced heavenly burial, reminding me of the heavenly burial table I saw at Gannan Langmu Temple. The heavenly burial of Tibetan Buddhism is for vultures to eat, and the heavenly burial of Zoroastrianism does not know how it is carried out. Down the mountain those dilapidated buildings, completely Middle Eastern. We went down to the abandoned reservoir and felt shady. Standing on a high point and looking at Yazd, it was clear that the old town was really in the desert.