Zorostrian Funerals

Whoever said funerals are for the birds was right! If cremations make you yawn, and graves feel �so last century,� then we�ve got the perfect funeral service for you: the air burial. All you have to do is try your best to die somewhere in the vicinity of one of the Towers of Silence, where one of the neighborhood�s Zoroastrians might give you a chance to have the exciting, air burial you�ve always dreamed of. Per their religion, Zoroastrians leave their dead atop a local Tower, where vultures handle the nasty business of disposing of the spiritually impure flesh. From there, it�s as simple as throwing the bare bones down into the Tower�s pit, where they can rest for all eternity (in a pile with all the others). And while the Zoroastrians do offer several convenient locations thoughout the deserts of India and Iran for disposing of remains, you should probably act fast. Remember, the recently declining populations of vultures make this a limited-time-only offer, so don�t delay.

REally so will you state that the relegion is in decline mood, or is it tampering with  its ritual?

Why is this relegious practice valued in that region! Obviously as you state, historicaly the relegion values respect to certain elements, but its ethical obligation in abiding by its belifes is unrecognized. Stating that its really has no basis for today's standards in regards to health issues.

well, the Zaroastrians believe that the flesh will poison the earth, and to some extent they are right since decomposing bodies do pose potential health sanitation problems.

I think the idea of leaving corpses out to be consumed by wild animals seemed somewhat outlandish to other members of society, bearing in mind that by the time it was banned Islam had been prominent in Iran for just under a millenium and the norm was for corpses to be buried.

Was this practise a practical one, or was there some abstract, reach towards the heavens reasoning behind it?

Interesting topic, didn't know anything about it

^ Very interesting... I didn't know it still happened, thanks for the info.   It is pretty creepy, but I suppose it is one of the most efficient ways to dispose of corpses.

here is a very good article on the one in Karachi

I thought that every human society has evolved to a degree where they dispose bodies in a sanitary manner. Like burning or burying. I'd imagine this was highly unsanitary, and probably wasn't as widespread.