Relational Religion

Front matter

Hakon Naasen Tandberg

Fires as Confidants in Parsi Zoroastrianism aik

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Contents

Acknowledgments moses wie a e a E E E ee Abbreviations. «i. 6460 68.4 e ee a e a eee a ee List of Illustrations... s 226 ee eh ee Se ee a ee ye FOLeWOrd: sys Soe Ged es ed CS, Sa ee ee a le Bo ees

1:2:1: \Pets:and:robots: os. ai ise Risser sere fe Ses Bs By ar ee eos 1.2.3. Beyond mere interaction: operationalizing relationships 1.4.7. Data analysis: From sound, to text, to deep coding 1.5. Conclusion and way forward... 12... aaa

Chapter 2: The Portraits .... oaa ee eee 2.1. Portrait wordlist... . i ee eee 2.2.2. -Arnaz and her fires... . 2.0... ee ee ee

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8 Contents

“Human relationships do have their limitations.” .... 83 2.96 RUSTOM: piene ae a ge Se a Oa Wee EE a 86 2.3.2. Rustom and “his fire? 2... 2.0.0.0... 000, 89 “I know that there’s somebody looking after me.” .... 91 “My fire doesn’t expect large chunks of sandalwood HOMMES EES ea ea cb dere or oly Tages AE Soe ler ats bes 97 ZA Saros see (i s as Sse GS: ten, e we le a ee PY doses Hee 99 2.4.2. Sarosh and “his fire’... nuana ee ee 101 “The formative years”... 1... ee ee ee 101 2:9 Feroza a ee ie toes ia a) 2 Mt Hire AA A Beg he Bh sap 107 “The son is being glorified and this daughter has no Statuses ey bk a a ee eS ead ES, OW Baa 112 “So it’s like one celestial mother and one earthly mother? fai eae se Aeon Gee aoe wae A 114 2.6. The portraits: synopsis... 6... ee ee ee 119 Chapter 3: Analyzing the Fires... 1... . ee ee 123 3.1.3. Developing relationships with fires: who and how MANY is BN hele Re a, ae A ate we Bhs 130 3.2; ATOrding fires: s y eere u E e e RPS a ae 135 3.2.2. Ontologizing the fires ... naaa 137 3.2.3. Redefining affordances . .. nonan 140 3.3. Fires in gift exchanges .... noaa aaa 144 33.1. Introduction: s iedos dist a a a Be A E eee 144 3.3.2. Zooming in on the boi ritual .... onsas anaana aaa 146

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Contents 9

3.3.4. The Atash Niyaesh: from spiritual sustenance to 3.3.6. Thanks-gifting . . . . 0... 0.0.0... eee eee ee 159 3.3.9. Polytropic gifting... 2.0... . 0... ee ee eee 166 3.4. Coping with fires .. 1... ee ee 174 “It’s not instant coffee.” 2... 2... 0... 0. ee ee 177 “In God’s house there may be delay, but there’s no dar kiessen rescuers nea le Levis dad ve, ean ee, Boss 181 3.4.3. Fires and availability... 2... 0.0.0... 0.004. 182 3.5. Superhuman relationships with human-like non-humans .... 188 3.5.3. From human-likeness to superhuman relationships . . . 194 3.6. The afterlife of questions . . .. ao ssaa 201 3.6.2. Modes of interaction between “insiders” and Casé TeArnaz.. oss arte ot E E E SS 209 Gase-2: RUSTOD a ios) sy: ft ei os hod oe oboe 8S a ES 211 327: CONCLUSION: se sesso o's feet ee Gey ehh ee, GES 216 Chapter 4: Conclusions . . . 1... ee 219 Bibliography: 2. fs ow eae ale A AE Ee le Ge 229 TRUEX oN is Goh tote os sake ee Seals vas E N es Sp arose eh ena eee A 243

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Acknowledgments

I wish to convey my heartfelt appreciation to all the welcoming and generous Parsis I met in Mumbai and beyond—especially my respondents, who so willingly shared their stories of both joy and sorrow, and to all the other helpful people, Ramiyar Karanjia, Parvez Bajan, and Havovi Hyderabadwalla in particular, who made my stays in Mumbai an experience filled with memories I will always cherish profoundly.

A number of people have contributed, in different ways, to making this book possible. I wish to thank the Department of Archeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion (AHKR) at the University of Bergen; the Faculty of Education and all my colleagues at Ostfold University College; the editors of Critical Studies in Religion/Religionwissenschaft; and an anonymous reviewer for her/his constructive criticism. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Knut Melveer, Knut Aukland, Jane Skjoldli, Steven Engler, Alan Fiske, Nicolas Stylianou, Christer Wibe, Tomas Husnes-Moe, and Elin Corneliussen. A special thanks also goes to Dimitri Kakos for his moral support and meticulous proofreading, and to Jenny Rose for her kind words in the foreword to this book.

Seven people have, in very different ways, been and will continue to be essential to me both personally and professionally: Michael Stausberg, for being a valuable friend and a source of determination; my dear parents, Bergljot and Ulf Tandberg, for their constant support and care. Above all, I wish to thank my dearest Ida, Mons, and Ingrid, for letting me love and be loved.

And finally, Janemil—deeply missed but forever present.

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Abbreviations!

Arab. Arabic

Av. Avestan

MP. Middle Persian Pahl. Pahlavi

Pers. Persian

PGuj. Parsi Gujarati San. Sanskrit

1 In this book, I use simple phonetic spelling rather than a specific transcription system for two reasons: my own lack of philological expertise in the various languages pertaining to this study and my desire to make the text more accessible to the general audience.

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Figure 1: Figure 2: Figure 3: Figure 4: Figure 5: Figure 6:

Figure 7: Figure 8:

Figure 9:

Figure 10: Figure 11: Figure 12: Figure 13: Figure 14: Figure 15: Figure 16: Figure 17:

Figure 18: Figure 19:

Figure 20: Figure 21:

Figure 22: Figure 23:

List of Illustrations

Components of a “basic relationship.”

Components of a “personal relationship.’

A fireplace for the home/hearth fire.

From the Iranshah temple in Udvada.

Coding in HyperRESEARCH.

Zoroastrians gathering in front of the ocean on Marine Drive (Mumbai) for the celebration of Ava Roj, Ava Mahino.

Arnaz’s representation of her relationship with her father (2™ field trip).

Arnaz’s representation of her relationship with her mother (2 field trip).

Arnaz’s representation of her relationship with the fires (1* field trip).

Arnaz’s representation of her relationship with Ahura Mazda (2"¢ field trip).

Arnaz’s representation of her relationship with the fires (2™ field trip).

Rustom’s representation of his relationship with his father (2™ field trip).

Rustom’s representation of his relationship with his mother (2"* field trip).

Rustom’s representation of his relationship with his fire (1* field trip).

Rustom’s representation of his relationship with Ahura Mazda (2"* field trip).

Feroza’s representation of her relationships with water and fire respectively (1“ field trip).

Diagram showing potential connections between concepts in the “energy cluster.”

Rustom Framna Agiary by night.

The ritualized exchange interaction between the worshipper, the priest, and the fire.

The gift exchange between worshipper and the fire.

Picture displaying a machi (“throne”), taken from the Zoroastrian Museum and Information Center in Udvada (Sanjan).

Different sizes (and prices) of sandalwood sticks.

The “vertical” and “horizontal” model of relationships between fires and worshippers.

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16 List of Illustrations

Figure 24: A wayside shrine in Dadar Parsi Colony.

Figure 25: A garlanded image of Zarathustra.

Figure 26: Diagram showing potential connections between concepts in the “Ahura Mazda cluster.”

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