Which religion exposes the corpses of dead believers on "Towers of Silence"?

Zoroastrian tradition considers a dead body (in addition to cut hair and nail parings) to be potential pollutants. Specifically, the corpse demon was believed to rush into the body and contaminate everything it came into contact with, hence the ecclesiastical code "given against the demons" has rules for disposing of the dead as "safely" as possible.

To preclude the pollution of earth or fire, the bodies of the dead are placed atop a tower and so exposed to the sun and to scavenging birds. Thus, "putrefaction with all its concomitant evils... is most effectually prevented."

Although there are superficial similarities with Tibetan "Sky Burial" the Towers of Silence are purely Zoroastrian.

Indian Parsi communities have resorted to "solar collectors" in recent times because of the decline in the number of vultures, resulting from diclofenac poisoning.

More Info: www.theguardian.com

Test your knowledge

What are your thoughts on this subject?

23 Comments

Coral Harvey

Having a rather limited knowledge of Zoroastrian apart from the fact it preceded all the Abrahamic religions. I didn't know this. But a thought puzzled me. How come cows are treated with diclofenic. See Guardian article at the end of the explanation. Apparently the cows had been treated with this anti arthritic drug the vultures fed on the decomposing corpse of the cows and had subsequently died off with diclofenic poisoning so the corpses left on the towers of silence were not being devoured . Diclofenic is a rather unpleasant drug for arthritis so we can only assume cows are being treating as a matter of routine for skeletal problems. And I thought cows were sacred in India or are these natural deaths of the few domestic animals who die in the wild ? The trouble is the wormholes I go down with these quizzes.! Reassuring to know the Tibetans also have a similar system as I mistakenly chose them as they are an ancient peace loving formation.