Page:The National Geographic Magazine Vol 16 1905.djvu/602

invariably sends his children home. The fact is there are but very few European children in Bombay, and the European population consists mainly of the adult class; hence the death rate among them would naturally be the minimum. The Parsee has many children; therefore it can be well stated that the mortality rate is decidedly in favor of the Parsee.

The reason that brought a custom into life in the East may have long since ceased to exist and is perhaps forgotten, yet the custom may be continued. On seeking to learn why, one is met with the answer, "It is an immemorial custom" or "It is part of religion," when in fact religion has little to do with it. But religion has a broad back.

After some devastating famine in times gone by cattle became scarce, and to encourage their increase became a necessity. The cow with the high hump was selected by the Brahmin caste or some powerful rajah and pronounced sacred; hence she was permitted to propagate and roam at will; yet today it would seem difficult to give a reason why one kind of a cow more than another, or even why any, should be considered sacred.

In the early days the use of soaps and disinfectants were unknown. The urine of cows was found to contain an element of ammonia. The Parsees were taught to use it for cleansing and purifying purposes and as a disinfectant. Surely the reason for the practice of this disgusting and filthy habit has long ceased; yet, strange to say, it is still continued in use today, and it is even said to have a religious sanction. A corpse, though it may have died of plague or other contagious disease, is first washed and disinfected (?) with the product of the cow before being borne on an open bier through the public streets of Bombay to the Towers of Silence.

In connection with the ceremony of the dead, the face of a deceased Parsee is exposed three or four times to the gaze of a dog during the funeral oration and the dog is finally led, following the corpse, to the Towers of Silence. One is told that the dog is supposed to guide the soul of the dead toward heaven and to ward off the bad influences of evil spirits to which it may be exposed. The exact object and meaning of this strange ceremony cannot be satisfactorily given. The better-educated Par-