Monthly Archives: December 2013

Discoverer of “proto-Zoroastrian” Civilization in Turkmenistan Passes Away

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Prominent Greco-Russian-Uzbek archeologist, Victor Sarianidi (or Sarigiannidis), who discovered a “proto-Zoroastrian” civilization in Turkmenistan (ancient Margiana) died on December 23, 2013 at the age of 84. According to Russian archeologist Dr. Pavel Lurje of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg “Sarianidi was a monumental figure in Middle [Central] Asian archeology” whose main discoveries were “rich Kushan burials of Tillya-tepe in Afghanistan and the Bactria-Margiana archeological culture, with its reflections of what he called proto-Zoroastrianism.”
 

In his book “Necropolis of Gonur” (Kapon Pub. 2007) Sariniadi, a member of the Russian Science Academy, portrayed the Zoroastrian roots of the necropolis: “Funeral rites are believed to be the most conservative and traditional ones. It is common knowledge that the first world religion, Zoroastrianism, could appear only on the foundation of ‘Iranian paganism.’ The funeral rites of the Gonur necropolis demonstrate the origin of funeral traditions that later in a reformed way were included in Zoroastrianism. Linguists long ago have come to the conclusion that Zoroastrianism was based on a complex system of funeral rites, the centralidea of which was to save sacred Nature (first of all the earth) from profanation by decomposed corpses. The funeral customs revealed at the Gonur necropolis fully correspond to the known Zoroastrian rites. There, the ‘unclean’ dead body was moved away from the living ones, then it was ‘cleaned’ to avoid ‘profanation’ and to restore the state of ‘ritual cleanness.’ (pg. 160).

Gonur, located in southeastern Turkmenistan at the delta of the ancient Murgab River, consists of a Temple of Fire, a Temple of Water and a necropolis, representing a “unique monumental complex of palaces and temples marking the administrative and religious centre of the ancient kingdom of Margus (Margiana).”http://blacksandsfilm.wordpress.com/gonur-tepe/     The site dates from 2300-2250 B.C.  Sarianidi believed that “Gonur is the capital of a people who came from the west with a religion that evolved into Zoroastrianism.”  Andrew Lawler, “Central Asia’s Lost Civilization,” Discover Magazine, Nov. 30, 2006.
For further information on the life and discoveries of Victor Sarianidi, see:

Parsis and the Art of Automobile Maintenance

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Mumbai’s tiny Parsi community has been defying Akerlof’s theory for decades. The used car market in India likely has more lemons than peaches, buyers remain equally blind while making a choice, but one type of used vehicle fetches a premium over all others—one owned and maintained by a Parsi.

Here in the city, newspaper classifieds for used cars often state ‘Parsi-owned’ upfront, a mention almost always made ahead of the brand name and model of the vehicle. And popular internet portals like Quickr and OLX have reams of web pages with used cars on sale that highlight how they are ‘Parsi-owned’, how they are in ‘immaculate condition’ and how they are looking for ‘an owner to take care of their car’. A glance at these portals even reveals used cars that were once owned by a Parsi, have changed several other hands since and yet flaunt their ‘Parsi-owned’ label.

It all points to the extraordinary demand for cars owned by Parsis. While most vehicles collect dust for weeks before a buyer is found, these get sold within days of going on sale. Just what makes Parsi car ownership so special?

Freddie Turel, a Parsi well known for his passion of collecting cars, lifts his large right arm in the air, points his index finger to his head and proceeds to unscrew an imaginary screw in his head. “Because,” he says by way of explanation, “we [Parsis] are mad about our cars.”

Click Here for the full story in OPEN Magazine by Lhendup Bhutia

 

2013 in review

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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 160,000 times in 2013. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 7 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Thank you soooo much for your continued support !

Yazdi Tantra