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The functions to celebrate weddings and navjotes may be fewer, the gatherings smaller, the patru more expensive, but the presence of priests remains constant and reminds hosts and guests that they are participating in a religious event.

Parsiana approached 13 of the High Priests, scholar priests and panthakies to ascertain whether: the number of invitations to officiate at wedding/navjote ceremonies has declined in the last five years, if there are sufficient priests to join in the prayers, if the ashodad (compensation/gift) offered is adequate, whether there are any changes in the performance of rituals performed, if they perform marriages of interfaith couples or navjotes of children born of such unions, and whether they insisted on the initiation ceremony being performed before a particular age.  

We got responses from Dasturs (Dr) Firoze Kotwal of Bombay’s H. B. Wadia Atash Behram, Khurshed Dastoor of Udvada and Keki Ravji Meherjirana of Navsari, and Ervads (Dr) Ramiyar Karanjia of the Dadar Athornan Institute, (Dr) Parvez Bajan of Mevawala Agiary, Jehangir Mobedji of Dadysett Agiary, Hormuz Dadachanji of Vachagandhy Agiary,  Viraf Pavri of Batliwala Agiary, Merzi Dastur of Boyce Agiary and Kersi Bhadha of Wadia Fire Temple and Framroze Mirza of the Worli Prayer Hall. 

At a Zoroastrian wedding, two priests officiate, usually selected by the bridegroom’s family. In addition, there is one priest each from the bride and groom’s side who lead them respectively through the purificatory nahn prayers before the wedding. 

At a navjote, for one child, most often there is the officiating priest plus four other priests who join in the prayers on the dais. If there are two children, there are two officiating priests plus five priests who participate. An odd number on the stage is considered auspicious at religious ceremonies. Some will include only the priests in their count and others may include even the child/children to be initiated into the faith to justify an odd number. While full-time mobeds may be scarce in the community, there are fortunately sufficient part-time priests available to participate in lagan/navjote ceremonies. If a family wishes to invite a High Priest to officiate, they have to inform their panthaky and route the invitation card via him. This indicates that the panthaky has consented to this arrangement and confirmed both parents are Parsi Zoroastrians. Some high priests insist both sets of grandparents are also Parsi Zoroastrians. Around 50% of marriages in Bombay are Parsi to non Parsi. 

Describing himself as a "young-old man nearing 90,” Kotwal said that he has stopped attending and performing navjote/wedding ceremonies for he is now devoting all his "attention and energy to the publication of my books.” He observed that "priests are readily available for ceremonies such as navjotes and weddings, which take between 30 and 40 minutes to perform,” as compared to longer death related ceremonies in fire temples that take time to perform.   

A navjote should be held in a religious place such as a fire temple to keep intact its sanctity while the festive celebrations could be kept at separate venues like baugs and open spaces in colonies. "Only then can something blessed accrue from it. If the community keeps the religious path intact, we can preserve our ancient faith; otherwise, we could lose our practices in the future,” reinforced Kotwal.  

The navjote ceremony should have no unwarranted additions, asserted Kotwal, citing the manuscript written over 300 years ago by Mobed Burjor Kamdin as also the introduction to the Persian Rivayats of Hormazdyar Framarz by scholar Bahmanji Dhabhar. "Unfortunately, nowadays, most priests, when performing the navjote ceremony, after reciting the introductory passage, (the Dibache) of Hormazd Yasht, do not stop at the words vidhvaao mraotu where the Dibache ends. Without realizing it they wrongly recite the next phrase peresat zarathushtro ahurem mazdaam  which is the beginning of the Hormazd Yasht after which they begin the rite of tying the kusti with the recitation of the Hormazd Khodaae prayer.” 

Further, when reciting the Doa Tan Dorosti prayer towards the end of the navjote ritual, a child should not be sprinkled with rose petals and grains of rice but finely sliced coconut, dried dates and nuts "which symbolically represent strength and wisdom being showered upon the child. By showering the child with the traditional dry fruits of Iran, it is a recognition and a remembrance of our ancient link with Iran.”

Another significant practice that has disappeared is the important hamazor or ritual handshake with the words "hamaa zor hamaa asho bed (may we be united in strength and righteousness).” After completion of the navjote ceremony, the child should perform hamazor with the senior most priest, all priests who have participated in the ceremony and all the Parsi and Irani invitees who have witnessed the ceremony, urged the High Priest.  

After the navjote, it is incumbent upon a child to follow the ancient practices of the faith and always keep the religious sudreh-kusti vestments on the body during his or her lifetime. As reinforced by the learned Sasanian dasturs in the Pahlavi text Chim-i kustig: "Everyone indeed ought to wear it; not to wear it is unfitting, very sinful, and a rejection of the command (of Ahura Mazda).”

"Our ancestors left Iran and came to the tolerant shores of Hindustan for the sake of the religion and to preserve it in its most pristine form,” mentioned Kotwal adding, "My faithfulness to religion does not allow me, nor does my conscience permit me, to go astray from the path of my ancestors, whose righteous departed souls would be gladdened to perceive spiritually that this humble soul has never performed the marriage ceremony or the navjote of such interfaith cases. It goes against the religious vows I have taken as a priest…to protect and preserve the Zoroastrian religion in all matters.”

Considering it "one of the duties of his profession to accept invitations to perform weddings and navjotes, whether in Udvada or Bombay,” Khurshed Dastoor stated that the number of invitations to officiate has certainly decreased. In the current leap year (when many Parsi couples consider it inauspicious to wed) he has been mainly asked to perform navjotes. Barring one or two events at banquet halls, over the years the ceremonies he has conducted have been at baugs. 

For weddings performed in the mornings, the Hindu custom of aara-antar adopted by Parsis (where the couple initially sits facing each other, partitioned by a cloth that is held by two individuals) is usually not included in the ceremony, revealed Dastoor. There have been a few cases in Udvada where the introductory part of the wedding ceremony was performed in the morning and  resumed in the evening when the couple received the Ashirwad blessings.

Meherjirana states he has no objection to officiating at a wedding or navjote in a banquet hall and had performed one such ashirwad ceremony during the monsoons this year. He is particular though that he performs navjotes only of children whose parents and grandparents are Parsis. For a wedding ceremony, he is among the few priests in Bombay offering to recite the benediction in both Pazend and Sanskrit if he is joined by one of his sons. While a regular ceremony in Pazend lasts about 30 to 35 minutes, when the Sanskrit component is added, it stretches by 20 more minutes. If a couple specifies that they do not wish to include the Sanskrit recitation, it is omitted. 

  3rd row: Merzi Dastur, Kersi Bhadha, Viraf Pavri, Framroze Mirza

While last year during the peak season there were seven to eight weddings at which Dadachanji had officiated, this year there are invitations for six to seven navjotes, he said. He referred to the salgirah of Vachaghandhy Agiary when two navjotes and a wedding coincided on the same day. Since there are 33 priests who join him during muktads, he believes that "khushali na vakhaté badhané chance aapvu joiyé (at auspicious events all priests should be given an opportunity to join in).” His well patronized agiary will see nine youngsters this December training for their navar and maratab priestly qualification, he announced. 

Fifty percent of his clients request him to invite a High Priest. While the scriptures say a navjote should be performed before the age of 15, Dadachanji is more concerned about the lower age limit which parents tend to disregard because they are keen to initiate their children together. The navjote should not be performed for a child below seven to eight years because "that is the time bachu samajhtu thai, he knows what is right and wrong and starts taking responsibility for his deeds.” 

In the days leading up to the wedding, traditionally priests would pray Varadhpata ni baaj (seeking blessings of the family’s deceased forebears) and Asho Farohar ni baaj but some families specify they only want the wedding ceremony prayers for the couple. While Allbless Baug and Saher Agiary are popular venues among his parishioners, he has also been asked to officiate at banquet halls at Krishna Palace Hotel at Nana Chowk and the Oberoi Rooftop at Nariman Point. He knows of a few priests who will only perform a navjote at an atash behram.

The number of occasions to perform wedding/navjote ceremonies has "definitely declined,” stated Pavri, adding that "as of what I have heard, people prefer banquet halls” and small gatherings. While he does not officiate at interfaith marriages, he would perform navjotes of children of interfaith marriages where the father is a Parsi. According to him, "the proper pronunciation of prayers is the most important part of the ceremony.” Even though boys could be initiated at the age of eight, nine or 10 years he recommends that girls be initiated at a younger age because their menstruation could start early.

Bajan too observed that the opportunity to officiate at weddings/navjotes had declined. With baugs lying vacant, he felt these venues should be patronized instead of banquet halls. It is the duty of all priests to ascertain whether the parents are Parsis, mentioned Bajan. He referred to "scriptural injunctions” that specify that children be initiated before puberty and no later than 15 years of age. "As per the Zoroastrian tenets, a marriage ceremony is a sacrament,” more than a legal contract, he stated.

Bhadha stated that the number of occasions to officiate at wedding/navjote celebrations had declined by 50%. These ceremonies that have continued without change over the years "should be compulsorily performed in fire temples only,” he believed. While baugs continue to be used by most, banquet halls are gaining in popularity. He does not officiate at interfaith weddings and navjotes of such unions. He prescribes that girls be initiated before 12 years and boys before 14.

Karanjia, who usually officiates at navjote ceremonies, feels there is no significant change in the number of invitations. He insists that navjotes be performed after a child completes six years of age and before the child completes the ninth birthday. He would neither perform interfaith marriages nor initiate children born of such unions. "The most important part of a wedding or navjote is the religious rituals involving the chanting of sacred texts.” While baugs are the favoured venue for nearly 60%, other venues are gaining in popularity.

Merzi Dastur recommended that children should be initiated between the age of seven and nine years. He did not feel that the number of wedding/navjotes had declined and observed that baugs continue to be the popular venue for celebrations. He recommended that navjotes be performed "inside an agiary or atash behram in the morning and the kusti prayers should be learnt with right pronunciation which is very important.”

"We are Zoroastrians. I don’t like to differentiate between Parsi and Irani,” asserted Mobedji who performs around five to six navjotes and 10 weddings in a year for both Kadmis and Shahenshahis. Since the kusti prayers that the Iranis recite start with a Sarosh baaj, the navjote ritual is different. So also the wedding ceremony for the Iranis for which Mobedji has laboriously compiled a hand-written ready reckoner that other priests also consult.

Although most of the ceremonies he has performed have been at baugs, he feels a fire temple is the best location to perform a wedding or navjote after which a celebration could be held at any venue. These ceremonies should be performed during daylight to maximize the good influence of sunlight or Khurshed Nagirashni that counters darkness, considered evil, he opined. He referred to one event when the child to be initiated was brought to him close to sunset so he told the family to go ahead with the celebrations and bring the child to him the next morning for the navjote. 

In his 62 years of practice as a priest he takes pride in upholding his religious principles. He cited two instances when he walked out of a baug when he learnt that the child to be navjoted had a non-Parsi mother, not divulged to him earlier. He faced the abuses silently because he believes "pugree ni ijjat raakhvaani (it is important to uphold the honor of a priest) and "never argue with a fool!”

Interfaith couples planning on a Zoroastrian wedding ceremony or a navjote for their children often have to turn to Mirza. In the last 24 years, besides Bombay he has been invited to perform ceremonies in Bangalore, Madras, Calcutta, Poona as also overseas in Johannesburg, Pakistan, Russia, Bangkok, he states. Recently he was invited to Nagpur at the last moment to perform a navjote because the priest who was due to officiate backed out. "Hu nahi ké koiné rakhraav ké chhupai thi kaam karu (I would never leave anyone stranded at the last minute nor do anything surreptitiously). I am very open and completely straightforward. I am not bothered,” he stated. Since Mirza is content with his "saadi jeevan (simple life) and is not associated with any fire temple he believes he has an advantage over other "mobeds who have been made into dancing dolls.” Seeing priests jéoné paisa bhi kamavach pun badnaam nathi thavu (want to earn money but not have their name besmirched),” Mirza regrets, "Nobody wants to take responsibility.”

When accepting an assignment for an interfaith wedding, he gives a nahn to the Parsi bride or groom after which he performs the regular marriage rituals, on stage. When reciting the names of the couple for the non-Parsi partner he uses the prefix ‘Khud (as used for a child who has not been navjoted),” instead of Ervad, Osta/Osti, Behdin. He is willing to perform an initiation at any age but is emphatic that he wouldn’t do any conversion.” Since baugs are not willing to permit ceremonies for outmarried Zoroastrians most of the events at which he has presided have been at residences or banquet halls. 

For weddings and navjotes among Parsis, the panthaky usually recommends that the officiating priest at a navjote be paid a minimum Rs 5,000  as ashodad. The other priests who join in would get Rs 3,000. For a wedding, the officiating priests get ashodad from both the bride and groom. For a high priest, the ashodad would be almost double.

Marriage as per Parsi customs

In the book The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Parsees Jivanji Modi writes: "The reason why marriage is recommended in Parsi books is that there is a greater likelihood for a married person than for an unmarried one to be able to withstand physical and mental afflictions and to lead a religious and virtuous life (Vendidad IV, 48, 49)… It is difficult to determine how many and which of the present several marriage customs of the Parsis are originally Zoroastrian or Persian. But this much can be said with well-nigh a certainty that the strictly solemn or the religious part of the ceremony wherein the priests take part is more or less originally Persian.” 

The chapter on marriage lists certain requisites for a proper marriage:

•The marriage should be celebrated before a specially called assembly which need not be very large…five persons may for the purpose form an anjuman or assembly… (who) serve as witnesses.

•As part of hathevaro, or hand fastening, the couple initially is made to sit facing each other with a piece of cloth held between them as a curtain. To the recitation of Yatha Ahu Vairyo the senior priest gives the right hand of one into the right hand of the other. Then a piece of cloth is passed round the chairs of both to enclose them in a circle with the ends of the cloth tied together in a marriage knot. The right hands are fastened by a raw twist wound seven times after which the raw twist is passed round the pair seven times and then seven times round the knot of the cloth. Once the cloth curtain is dropped at a signal from the priest, it signifies that the separation that existed between the couple no longer exists and they are made to sit beside each other.

•The process uniting them is followed by a benediction which is accompanied with the sprinkling of rice. After the introductory blessing the senior priest asks the bridegroom’s witness whether the family has agreed to accept the bride. The question to the bride’s witness asks if her family has  agreed to give the bride. Likewise the bridegroom and bride’s consent is sought. The questions are asked three times. The Paevandnameh or Ashirwad is an address made up of admonitions (avoid being angry, do not entertain jealousy, do not be haughty, avoid evil passions), benedictions (praying to God to bestow on the couple moral and social virtues which are characteristics of the yazatas and other worthies of yore). A part of this address is repeated in Sanskrit, if requested. For the final Tandorosti blessing in Pazend, the priest prays for the couple’s "health and long life (to progress)…with piety…honest endeavor and good demeanor.”

Marriage as per Irani customs

In his eight-page handwritten guide, Mobedji explains the marriage ritual and its symbolism as per Irani customs. 

Invoking the blessings of Ahura Mazda, the head priest asks the bride for her consent to the marriage. Seven lit candles are held by seven elderly married gentlemen in the congregation who represent the seven Amesha Spentas of the Zoroastrian religion, presiding over certain virtues and different creations in nature. 

While invoking different angels, the head priest asks the bride seven times whether she is willing to marry the groom. For the first six times, she evades the question, and her family members offer different excuses like she is busy at her driving class, at the beauty parlor, browsing the net, stuck in traffic jam, packing her suitcase, at the fire temple. At the seventh attempt she agrees and says "Balé (yes, in Persian)”, echoed by the men folk shouting "Balé, balé.” And the congregation cheering with "Obro (hurray); Pasande Kardam.”

In the next part of the ritual the priest is with the groom and the bride’s father on stage who are made to sit facing each other while holding each other’s hands. A handful of dry fruits are placed in the palm of the groom asking him to share it with his wife at night. A bachelor from the groom’s family (generally his younger brother) stands behind the groom holding a prayer cap consisting of dry fruits, an egg (fertility), scissors kept open (to drive away evil), a pomegranate (good health) and a green colored Iranian handkerchief (family and tradition) over the groom’s head. While reciting prayers in accordance to the tenets of the Zoroastrian religion and in the divine presence of Ahura Mazda, the Amesha Spentas, two priests and members of the respective families, the head priest thrice asks and takes a promise from the father of the bride whether he is willing to hand over his daughter to the groom and to the groom whether he is willing to accept the responsibility of his wife.

The bride, seated in the front row of the congregation, is given a lock and key which she should keep covered in her hands while continuously turning the key and praying Yatha Ahu Vairyo indicating that happiness and misery are part of wedded life. After obtaining the consent of the bride’s father and the groom, the bride is instructed to keep the lock unlocked. The priest asks the groom to select a Zoroastrian calendar roz (day) of his choice and on that roz the couple is expected to visit a fire temple every month throughout their lives, and if a fire temple is not available, then to perform at least a good deed of charity etc. The couple is advised to leave the lock unlocked and the scissors in an open position in their house for the next 40 days to invite good fortune and drive away negative forces.

Thereafter the bride is invited onto the stage to sit beside her husband with two men (preferably fathers) on either side of the groom and bride as witnesses. Seven married women from both families stand behind the couple. The two priests recite prayers for good health (Tandorosti) and blessings (Ashirwad).