“Non-Parsi believers…”

I read Berjis Desai’s "Non-Parsi believers are on the rise” (Bawa Musings, Parsiana, October 21, 2014) just after completing a review of Wouter Henkelman’s well researched book, The Other Gods Who Are wherein he contends that the Elamites, who ruled over Iran for millennia before the Persians migrated there, lived in harmony for 500 to 1,000 years. They were allowed not only to worship their own Gods but also to worship Ahura Mazda. They were even given provisions for this as clearly established by the statements in the Persepolis Fortification Tablets (PFT). The number of offerings to the Elamite God Humban far exceeds those made to Ahura Mazda.
Henkelman concludes that PFT "can yield a world of new insights into Persian religion” so as to challenge "the thesis of separated and pure ‘Iranian’ and ‘Elamite’ religious spheres.” While thoroughly analyzing his work and conferring with him does not convince me of his thesis for many reasons, it does remind me of the adoption by the Parsis of Hindu customs, names, dress, festivals, food, omens, astrological beliefs and many more practices and pujas.
On the other hand, my Gujarati friends say they would like to pray at our fire temples and always halt their wedding processions when they approach a fire temple, as a mark of respect. Although this has not resulted in the fusion of the two systems of belief, as Henkelman claims for the Persian and Elamite faiths, the moving force behind it is the Hindu belief of Vasudeva Sah-kutumb (the whole universe is my family). There is clear evidence that the kings Cyrus and Darius prayed to the deities of the nations they conquered. No surprise then that this phenomenon is still in existence.
Dr KERSEY ANTIA
Illinois, USA
kerseyantia@yahoo.com