the descendants of a colony of ancient Persians, who took refuge at Bombay, Surat, and in the vicinity of those cities, when their own country was conquered 1100 years ago by the Mahometan Arabs. They are a gentle, quiet, and industrious people, loved by the Hindoos, and living in great harmony among themselves. The consequence is, that they multiply exceedingly, whilst their countrymen in the province of Kerman are visibly diminishing under the yoke of the Mahometan Persians. Of the manners and customs of this amiable race, we have the following account in Heron's elegant translation of Niebuhr's Travels.
"The Persees (says he) make common contributions for the aid of their poor, and suffer none of their number to ask alms from people of a different religion. They are equally ready to employ their money and credit to screen a brother of their fraternity from the abuses of justice. When a Persee behaves ill, he is expelled from their communion. They apply to trade, and exercise all sorts of professions.
"The Persees have as little knowledge of circumcision as the Hindoos. Among them, a man marries only one wife, nor ever takes a second, unless when the first happens to be barren. They give their children in marriage at six years of age; but the young couple continue to live separate, in the houses of their parents, till they attain the age of puberty. Their dress is the same as that of the Hindoos, except that they wear under each ear a tuft of hair, like the modern Persians. They are much addicted to astrology, although very little skilled in astronomy.
"They retain the singular custom of exposing their dead to be eaten by birds of prey, instead of interring or burning them. I saw (continues our author) on a hill at Bombay a round tower, covered with planks of wood, on which the Persees lay out their dead bodies. When the flesh is devoured, they remove the bones into two chambers at the bottom of the tower.
"The Persees, followers of the religion of Zerdusht or Zoroaster, adore one God only, eternal and almighty. They pay, however, a certain worship to the sun, the moon, the stars, and to fire, as visible images of the invisible divinity. Their veneration for the element of fire induces them to keep a sacred fire constantly burning, which they feed with odoriferous wood, both in the temples and in the houses of private persons, who are in easy circumstances. In one of their temples at Bombay, I saw a fire which had burnt unextinguished for two centuries. They never blow out a light, lest their breath should soil the purity of the fire. See Polytheism.
"The religion of the Persees enjoins purifications as strictly as that of the Hindoos. The disciples of Zerdusht are not, however, obliged to abstain from animal food. They have accustomed themselves to refrain from the flesh of the ox, because their ancestors promised the Indian prince who received them into his dominions never to kill horned cattle. This promise they continue to observe under the dominion of Christians and Mahometans. The horse is by them considered as the most impure of all animals, and regarded with extreme aversion.
"Their festivals, denominated Ghumbars, which return frequently, and last upon each occasion five days, are all commemorations of some part of the work of creation. They celebrate them not with splendour, or with any particular ceremonies, but only dress better during those five days, perform some acts of devotion in their houses, and visit their friends."
The Persees were till lately but very little known; the ancients speak of them but seldom, and what they say seems to be dictated by prejudice. On this account Dr Hyde, who thought the subject both curious and interesting, about the end of the 17th century attempted a deeper investigation of a subject which till then had been but very little attended to. He applied to the works of Arabian and Persian authors, from whom, and from the relations of travellers, together with a variety of letters from persons in India, he compiled his celebrated work on the religion of the Persees. Other accounts have been given by different men, as accident put information in their way. But the most distinguished is by M. Anquetil du Perron, who undertook a voyage to discover and translate the works attributed to Zoroaster. Of this voyage he drew up an account himself, and read it before the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris in May 1761. A translation of it was made and published in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1762, to which we refer our readers. The account begins at page 373, and is concluded at page 614. Remarks were afterwards made on Du Perron's account by Mr Yates. See the same Magazine for 1766, p. 529.