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| Ervad Homyar introducing Zoroastrian rituals to the participants. |
Zoroastrianism
is one of the oldest religions in the world, which originated in today’s Iran. The
followers are called Parsee or Parsi. In
the 8th to 10th century, many Parsees fled to northwest India in order to
escape from
the Muslim conquest of Persia. Many have since settled in Mumbai or further
migrated to different parts of the world.
In Hong
Kong,
the
Parsee community is made up of just over 200 people. The closely bonded
community
gather regularlyat the temple in Causeway Bay. The
temple
is overseen by an ervad, a priest who
is knowledgeable in religious teaching and takes care of the fire.
The Indian
Culture Workshop organized a visit to the temple in March 2014. During our
visit, Ervad Homyar shared an interesting story with us: When the Parsee
migrants arrived in India and requested to settle, the Indian king refused. The king then filled a glass to the brim
with milk, to show that there was no space for the Parsees to
settle in India. The wise
Zoroastrian priest asked for some sugar and put it
into the milk. The sugar instantaneously dissolved
without any overflow. The priest tried to provenot only would
the Parsees not overload India but would
make it even better. The
king was convinced and allowed the
Zoroastrians
to settle. From then on, wherever
the Parsees go, they would help to improve
the society they settle in.
The three basic
principles in Zoroastrianism are “Think with good
intentions”,
“Say
good words”
and “Do
good deeds”.
Many Chinese misunderstand
the religion, as its Chinese translation means “the religion
that worships fire”. In fact, the
Zoroastrians do not worship fire; instead, they use it as
a medium to communicate with their deity. They believe that all elements of nature
(including water, earth, air, fire) are sacred, but among these, fire is the
most special.
Zoroastrians inherit
their religious identity patrilineally, and they
do not actively seek to convert.
As
in all religions, Zoroastrians mark their life stages with specific rituals, like navjote. Between age six and puberty, Zoroastrian
children
go through navjote, a rite of
initiation overseen by their father. They wear a special white garment (sudra)
with a white rope (kusti), and recite a
prayer. Thereafter, the child
is considered a member of the church.
Due to different
kinds of restrictions, not all Zoroastrian traditions can be carried
out the way they had been. The
community has to
find
ways to adapt and localize.
Ervad Homyar led us on a visit to the Parsi Cemetery
in Happy Valley, where he explained that a Zoroastrian’s body
should return to nature after death. As only cremation and coffin burial are
allowed in Hong Kong, instead of a traditional sky burial, a burial is
practiced after the death of a Zoroastrian.
The
Zoroastrian community is relatively closed and low-profile, it is however not
difficult to find the footprints of famous Zoroastrian philanthropists in Hong
Kong. Sir HN Mody, a Parsee
real estate entrepreneur, was one of the
major donor of the University of Hong Kong. Recognising his social contribution, Mody Road
in Tsim Sha Tsui is named after him. Other Parsee merchants like JH
Ruttonjee and DN Mithaiwala also made important contributions to Hong Kong’s public health and transportation development.
The former established Ruttonjee
Sanatorium and the latter the Star Ferry.
