From Dynasty To Dust

By Beth Green

During the time I’ve lived in China, I’ve been honored to take part in baby-naming ceremonies, birthday parties, festivals, graduations and a wedding. It seems that the only way-point marker on the trail of life that I haven’t seen first-hand here—thank goodness!—is a funeral. When Westerners think of funerals in China, they might imagine the scenes in Amy Tan’s books or movie adaptations. These and other books set in Chinese culture evoke professional mourners, wakes and plenty of rituals.

Incense burning in a temple atop Mt. Emei, Sichuan Province, China.

My students in China, though most of them have a superstitious dislike of talking about death, have shared a little information with me too—I remember one embarrassing (for me) incident well.

 A pre-teenage boy, who had just transferred into my class and who had been giving me plenty of attitude, came to our English lesson one day with a green cloth armband pinned to his sleeve. Trying to get on his good side, I asked him if it was a new fashion trend.

Nope, the armband marked a period of mourning for his great-grandfather—kind of like the Victorian English used to do with their black clothing that subtly, over time, mellowed in hue to grays, violets and finally other colors.

People attending funerals in China wear somber colors, black, blue, or, sometimes white. I have seen gatherings outside restaurants or homes where all of the participants were wearing white robes and white head coverings. At first—being Western—I thought it might be a wedding. My students, when I asked, though told me it was more likely a funeral.

An ancestor hall, where families can pay respects to departed loved ones, in Hong Kong.

In Guizhou Province, which is predominantly rural and which seems to have more people following tradition than in the city where I now live, I’d often see huge wheels of flowers set on the sidewalks. My co-workers explained that wreaths are an important tribute to the deceased and his or her family.

These modern anecdotes aside, I’m probably more knowledgeable about some ancient Chinese funeral customs, seeing that on my travels around China I'm about 200 times more likely to choose to visit a tomb complex or museum than a shopping mall.

One of China’s most famous tourist attractions, is, after all, a big monument to funeral traditions. The Terracotta Warriors, the emperor Qin Shi Huang’s army of life-size pottery soldiers, were buried so they could accompany him to the afterlife. However, it wasn’t only emperors who used have pottery replicas of things buried with them when they died. In museums throughout China visitors today can see pottery wares that were made specifically to represent after-life wealth. My favorite of these is in the Shaanxi Provincial Museum in Xian, near the Terracotta Warriors. It’s a small addendum to a terracotta mansion that some wealthy homeowner wanted take with him. Indeed, it’s a miniature outhouse, economically placed above a pigpen so that nothing is wasted.

An economical outhouse for the afterlife. Shaanxi Provincial Museum, Xi'an, China.

Many visitors to China feel that stepping into the airplane hangar-esque Pit One at the Terracotta Warriors is the epoch of their trip. This and the Ming Dynasty tombs near Beijing are some of the first things tourists usually learn about when they are planning a trip to China. But a tomb complex that not many visitors make it to is the “Chinese Pyramids.”

The foundations of the Western Xia Royal Tombs, near Yinchuan, Ningxia Province, China.

This site is found in Ningxia Province. Years ago, this area was was the cradle of the Western Xia Dynasty (1038-1227 AD). The Xia rulers, who were often involved in battles with the Mongols, created opulent mausoleums for their final resting places. They consisted of palatial gardens; replete with underground chambers, colorful ceramics and woodworking and mighty watchtowers to protect them. The Mongols did eventually besiege and sack the Western Xia capital, and destroyed the mausoleums as well. Now visitors can only see the packed-earth foundations, which rise above the surrounding dry earth in pyramidal mounds. Like many other extinct cultures, the Western Xia are now understood primarily by what they left behind, by what they buried at their funerals.

Keeping the Faith

An old photo of the
Parsee Tower of Silence in Bombay

Heidi’s column from Monday discussed the beautiful fire and water symbols of Zoroastrianism, Iran’s dominant religion until about the seventh century. That’s when Islam came to Iran and many Zoroastrians, fleeing persecution, migrated to India, where they blended their unique culture within the mainstream one.

Parsees (also spelled Parsis), as they are known on the subcontinent, are well educated, urban (most live in Mumbai), and relatively affluent. They’re a tiny group—estimates put their overall number at about 70,000—but even if you haven’t heard the name of this community, you’ve heard of some of its most prominent members: award-winning author Rohinton Mistry; the late Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen (his real name was Farrokh Bulsara); and conductor Zubin Mehta. Then there’s the billionaire Tata family, who own, among their numerous global ventures, Jaguar and Land Rover (through Tata Motors), Tetley tea (Tata Global Beverages), and the world’s tenth largest steel company (Tata Steel).

As a group, Parsees have maintained a relatively pure lineage (at one time, they were listed in the Guiness Book of World Records for having the most birth defects, because of their once-high incidence of intermarriage), but they are also uniquely Indian. They’ve adopted the Indian language of Gujarati, the women wear saris, and the religion has even borrowed a few Hindu customs, such as men wearing the holy thread around the shoulder and waist, the use of coconuts and rice during religious ceremonies, and the application of red powder to their foreheads (tilaks) during baptism and marriage.

They also meld some ancient Persian customs with Hindu ones. For example, one method for removing the evil eye in a number of Muslim countries, including Iran, is the burning of the espand seed (also known as esfand). In India, Parsees have modified this practice in a ritual called achu michu. The person performing the ritual says a traditional Zoroastrian prayer, known as the tandorosti, to wish the recipient a long and healthy life. Then they circle a tray, carrying a coconut, betel leaves, betel nuts, sugar, and yogurt (items commonly used in Hindu rituals), around the receiver’s head seven times. Sometimes a boiled egg is one of these items (definitely not a Hindu custom). Then water from a little flower vase known as a kutli is poured into the tray, and the tray is then circled again around the recipient’s head seven times. It’s interesting how similar this practice is to the Hindu custom of performing aarti to bless someone. In fact, in achu pichu, as in aarti, a tilak is placed on the recipient’s forehead and a sweet placed in his or her mouth, then the recipient touches the feet of the person giving the blessing. Still, it’s believed the practice evolved from the tradition of burning of esfand/espand seeds.

There’s at least one age-old Parsee custom that always seemed ultra exotic to me, even for India. It’s the method by which Parsees dispose of their dead. Zoroastrianism forbids burial, cremation, or disposal at sea because it would contaminate the sacred elements of earth, fire, and water. So instead, mourners in Mumbai carry the deceased up the steep Malabar Hill, an upscale part of town, to place the body atop the Parsee Bawdi, or the Tower of Silence. The idea is that vultures, other scavengers, and the scorching sun eventually decompose the remains, allowing the soul to join the spiritual world. India is one of the few places that hasn’t banned this ancient tradition, which makes it one of the few places, perhaps the only place, where Zoroastrians can continue it.

That may not be the only reason the community continues on in India. It’s believed that India and Iran share the same Aryan roots from Central Asia, which was once the stronghold of Zoroastrianism, before the two split off and the Indic people migrated south. One tantalizing remnant of this link is that the name for the Zoroastrian god, Ahura Mazda, sounds much like asura, the Sanksrit word for demon. Had there been a war separating the Indo-Iranian cultures?

Either way, worldwide, Zoroastrians only number about 200,000 today. Estimates in Iran range wildly, from 20,000 to 90,000, depending on the source (many have emigrated since the 1979 revolution), with another 20,000 in the States and Canada, plus the 70,000 in India. It’s no wonder theirs is a small community. Zoroastrians have a low birth rate, they don’t proselytize, and their numbers keep dwindling as they marry outside their culture.

But in an interesting twist, the religion is staying alive in other ways. In recent years, a Mazdean-Christian Universalism philosophy emerged, which says that the ideas of a benevolent god and the existence of evil in the world were originally Zoroastrian ones that Judaism adopted and which eventually made their way into Christianity. Swedish music producer Alexander Bard is a well-known convert. There’s even a Mazdean-Christian Alliance in Brooklyn, New York. While it’s not exactly a revolution, this beautiful, ancient faith carries on.

When Luck Isn't Enough

We’re only two weeks into the new year and for some, the celebrations continue. So to honor those who love wiping the slate clean and need some preparation for this year’s end (come on, it will be December before you know it!), here are some rituals popular in most Latin American countries.

What color are your undies? For those who want to be swept off their feet and have their desires for a grand love met, wear red underpants. If you’d prefer happiness and money, go for the yellow. If it’s prosperity you want, green’s the go and pink will help you out in the friendship stakes. White is for peace and hope. Or, if you’re after a new wardrobe, wear new clothes on NYE or put your underpants on backward (the color won’t matter). New lingerie will give you luck, but if someone buys it for you, you’ll get even more luck (or lucky!). 

Itchy feet? If you have the travel bug and need some help in that department, grab a suitcase and walk around the block at the stroke of midnight. The heavier the suitcase, the further you’ll travel. Others like to walk in and out the front door with the suitcase as the night progresses. 

Ball and chain, anyone? If getting hitched is on your agenda, then you’ll need to sit down and stand up 12 times when the clock strikes midnight. Tie a red ribbon around a photograph of the person you want to marry (don’t choose Antonio Banderas—he’s mine), and then sleep with the photo under your pillow. If you do this, then you increase your chances of the person asking you to marry them before the year’s end.

Business troubles? Lentils are the way to go if you want to improve the prosperity of your business. Eat a spoonful of lentils (preferably cooked) or give a handful to a friend. Some people like to take money out of their pocket and count it as the clock hits midnight while others prefer to stash money inside their shoes.

Broken heart? To avoid bad luck, pain and tears, fill a glass with water and throw it onto the street. Write down all the crappy things that have happened to you in the past year, and burn the list to erase the past. And as the clock strikes twelve, don’t forget to yell out “I will be happy this year!”

Holding a flame? Peace for your family and friends can be helped along with burning blue candles. Yellow brings abundance, red is for passion, green for health and white will help you possess a clear mind. And if you’re lacking in the brains department, try burning an orange candle.

Disharmony in the home? A clean house with dust-free corners and nothing broken will stop disagreements. Cinnamon sticks will attract luck while sweets in a dish will bring love. If you place three stones on the doorstep then you’re ensuring health, love and money. Throw in some thorns with your holiday decorations and you’re family will have good luck and peace.

Lacking in love? If your dinner table is decorated with your finest tableware and has at least one red candle burning, then there will always be love in your family. Something gold on the table will attract prosperity and before you eat dinner, make sure everyone eats at least one teaspoon of cooked lentils for prosperity.

Want to bubble from happiness? Toasting the New Year with bubbly is common amongst many cultures, and in many places the bubbles represent happiness. If you’re after prosperity, throw a gold ring into your champagne before you drink it. For the tee-totallers, bite the ring instead (I’m not sure how prosperous it is if you have to fork over money to the dentist if you break your teeth). For those with sweet teeth (that aren’t broken), make sure the baked dessert has three coins in it. Whoever gets the slice of cake with the coins has a prosperous year ahead of them.

Wishing away your life? Don’t worry about popping open a bottle of vino. When the countdown is on, eat 12 grapes. Pause after each one, make a wish and wait for the luck to happen (one of the wishes might be not to choke on a gob full of grapes). 

So the next New Years Eve when someone asks you what color underwear you have, don’t be offended—especially if the asker is from a Latin American country. With so many chances to increase your luck in love, money and happiness, why wouldn’t you start planning now?

What’s your favorite ritual to create wealth, love or happiness?