Published originally in 1977 by Oxford University Press, this book contains the fruits of a year spent by the author in the Zoroastrian village of Sharifibad in Iran. What is recorded sheds new light on many Zoroastrian customs and ceremonies, and these in their turn illumine the beliefs of Zoroastrianism, which is not only the oldest but also the most influential of the revealed religions of the world, having contributed greatly to later Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Contents: The Village of the Two "Cathedral Fires"; The Worship of Ohrmazd and the Creations; Some Individual Rites of Piety and Charity; Sacred Fires and Empty Shrines; The Laws and Rites of Purity; Death and the Mysteries of the Dog; The Spring New Year and the Hundredth-Day Feast; Some Rites of Expiation and Comfort for the Living and the Dead; The Festivals of All Souls and the Religious New Year. Co-published with the Persian Heritage Foundation.
