Ritual Matter(s): Nowruz Ceremonies of the Zoroastrian New Year in Tehran
The following is a photo essay by Behrad Nafissi Mistry. Behrad is half Indian Parsi, half Iranian. He is a photo-journalist at Amordad Zoroastrian News Agency and Humans of Tehran. He holds a B.A. in English Literature and an M.A. in Comparative Literature from Shahid Beheshti University.
This photo essay extends the focus of an earlier one addressing Tehran’s Zoroastrian community and the annual ritual of Nowruz, or the ushering in of the new year. Here Behrad describes the contents of a ceremonial table setting that features in this annual ritual. The following text has been translated from Persian by Behzad Sarmadi and Shima Houshyar.
The Zoroastrian New Year coincides with the Spring Equinox. It marks not only the beginning of the calendar, but the renewal of life in its perennial struggle with death. This annual milestone is an occasion for celebration, and involves a series of ritual arrangements and acts.
Perhaps the most widely known among these is the ceremonial spread called the Khan-e Nowruz or the Haft Chin. It features a variety of objects that symbolize key figures and values of Zoroastrian cosmology. The arrangement of this spread — or most of its elements — has historically emerged as a cultural practice shared among numerous peoples across West Asia, the Caucasus, and India.
However, despite its popularity, the Zoroastrian symbolism of the Haft Chin’s contents are less widely known. This is partly as a result of the minority status of Zoroastrians in their societies; these are primarily Iran (estimated to be about 25,000) and India (estimated to be about 70,000). This article will elaborate this content and the celebration of the Zoroastrian New Year.
In the hour before the beginning of Nowruz, Zoroastrians lay out a special table setting, called the Khan-e Nowruz or the Haft Chin. Zoroastrians spread the Khan-e Nowruzi in their homes, religious centers, and temples and will leave it for the nineteen days following Nowruz.
In the Zoroastrian tradition, these seven items represent the Ahura Mazda and the six major Ameshaspand — divine angels, whose responsibilities are represented in the Haft Chin.
1. Vohumana: the angel of thought and wisdom.
2. Ashavahishta: the angel of truthfulness, also the fire-guardian. Represented by the mirror and the sugar cane.
3. Xshatra Vaeiriya: the angel of kingship, also the guardian of the metals.
4. Spanta Armaeiti: the angel of patience and humility, also the guardian of the earth.
5. Haurvataat: the angel of completion and maturity, also the guardian of the waters.
6. Amerataat: the angel of immortality and the everlasting, also the guardian of plants.
The seven main items of the Khan-e Nowruzi include garlic, sumac, sabzeh (wheat sprouts), samanu (wheat pudding), senjed (Russian olives), vinegar and apple. Other non-essential items include pomegranate with coins, painted eggs, a spool of thread and needle, mirror, a portrait of Zoroaster, noql (sugar-coated almonds), rosewater, the Khorde-ye Avesta or Avesta-ye Kuchak (the “Little Avesta”), which includes Zoroastrian daily prayers.
Zoroastrians are not adamant about including the hyacinth flower, coins, or goldfish as these depart from the historically earlier version of the spread. Unlike their Iranian counterparts, Indian Parsis also include tropical fruits, a silver statue of a fish, and a bouquet of flowers. Both Iranian and Indian Zoroastrians include a cup of wine as well. However, as wine is prohibited among the priestly class, their arrangements do not feature them.
Zoroastrians of the cities of Yazd and Kerman include sweet komaj, milk bread, and an assortments of other homemade pastries. Their spreads also feature a silk bag of nuts and a bowl of dried fruits that were soaking in marinated water the night before. A metal bowl filled with water is also placed. In cities of Kerman and Bam, a new broom and box of matches is also placed on the spread which, following the Nowruz holidays, are donated to the fire temple. A popular Zoroastrian pastry from Kerman called chaimaal –made of dates and rolled into a ball — can also make an appearance on the spread.
In the moments leading up to the Nowruz family members gather around and recite prayers. These prayers are known the “Haftan Yasht” (seven songs) of the Avesta. Immediately following the arrival of the New Year, the male head of the household (usually either the father or the grandfather) immediately closes the Avesta, kisses it, touches it upon his eyes and forehead, and proceeds to individually offer it to family members so that they may do so as well. The other head of the household (usually either the mother or grandmother) pours rosewater on the hands of family members and puts to them a ceremonial mirror to gaze into. This ritual action of looking into the mirror is imagined to enhance one’s honesty and cleanse away any impurities.
The apples, senjed, eggs, milk, bread, cheese and basil leaves should be eaten after the New Year. But the overall arrangement of the spread should not be disrupted, so these items will be replaced after consumption. This continual replacement will continue until the 19th of Farvardin (the first month in the Iranian calendar), so that the spread always remains fresh.
