Zoroastrianism: Ancient History in Melbourne
Melbourne is home to many religions and is often regarded as a melting pot of various migrant cultures. Among these religions lies one of the oldest religions known to man, writes Samuel Trask-Marino.
You may not know it but Melbourne is home to an active Zoroastrian community.
Some of you may be thinking “Wait, what is Zoroastrianism?”
Well this week I was lucky enough to sit down with Kaivan Antia from the Zoroastrian Association of Victoria, who was able to explain it much better than I could.
We don’t know as much as we should about Zoroastrianism because of its age and history, however what we do know is that it was the state religion of ancient Iran, then Persia, and spread primarily by the Sassanids, one of the largest empires Persia had ever seen. See the map below to get a proper idea about the astounding size of the Persian empire at its height.
Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest religions spanning back to the life of Zarathustra, also known by the Greek name Zoroaster, whose teachings came sometime in 1700–1500 BC. It is said to have had a great influence in the way that religions are practiced today. Not only did it pre-date all Abrahamic religions like Christianity, Judaism and Islam but it was also one of the first monotheistic religions in the world, worshiping the creator Ahura Mazda, Ahura meaning “mighty” or” creator” and Mazda meaning “infinite wisdom”.
An interesting and positive aspect to the Zoroastrian community is that unlike some faiths that demand weekly congregation they have a mentality that your faith is your own responsibility. This means that many people can practice Zoroastrianism globally, with most prayers and rituals often occur in people’s homes and not in a church. Within the city of Melbourne the Zoroastrian Association of Victoria (ZAV) is an essential resource that connects the community and organises a plethora of events for not just Zoroastrians but the surrounding local community as well.
The Zoroastrian community is quite exclusive in many rights. You are welcome to come enjoy and witness some of the meetings, however to be classified as a Zoroastrian you need to be born of Zoroastrian parents. This makes things a bit difficult for their community, as the 2006 Australian census indicates that Zoroastrians make up only 0.01% of the population equivalent to around 2,112 people. This greatly limits the potential growth of the community and raises the issue of members leaving Zoroastrianism to marry outside the faith. Though there has been some unrest recently in Iran as some of the dissatisfied populace are attempting to convert back to Zoroastrianism from Islam.
Throughout history Zoroastrianism has suffered through great turmoil as Iran was eventually conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate in 651 AD which lead to the destruction of many Zoroastrian texts and places of worship, and Iran’s steady conversion to Islam. Due to this persecution a lot of Zoroastrians fled to the outer reaches of the empire, namely to India, but even today some Zoroastrians persevere in Iran.
During it’s time of influence a lot of the Zorastrian faith only had a select few physical temples and instead preferred to practice their faith in the open air. Many surviving sites of worship can be seen around Iran today especially around the holy city Yazd. The picture below depicts two towers of silence outside the city of Yazd.
Another curious fact about the religion is their different practices when it comes to the treatment of the dead. “You cannot cremate the body in flame because that makes the flame impure” Kaivan said, “The Zoroastrians have the tower of silence where they would lay the body of the dead, and it would take 20 minutes for the vultures to come and pick them clean.”
Although shocking to us by our western standards, this practice was actually implemented in accordance with the Zoroastrian reverence of nature. The body of the deceased would naturally be reused by the surrounding environment and would minimise any ecological and theological difficulties that would have arisen from creating large cemeteries or cremation.
Zoroastrianism has been around for thousands of years, and hopefully in the diverse city of Melbourne it can truly thrive for many years to come.
Samuel Trask-Marino is currently completing his post-graduate degree at La Trobe University. You can follow him on Twitter: @SamTraskMarino