Shortage of Vultures Threatens Zoroastrian Burial Traditions

Traditional Zoroastrian burial practices are facing increasing challenges due to the rapid decline of vultures in India, Iran, and Pakistan.

For generations, Parsi communities have laid their deceased to rest in structures known as dakhma, or “towers of silence.” These circular, raised structures are designed to prevent the contamination of the sacred elements—earth, fire, and water—by human remains.

Bodies are placed atop the towers to decompose, a process facilitated by vultures and other scavengers. After exposure to the elements for up to a year, the bones are collected in an ossuary pit at the tower’s center. Lime is used to accelerate their decomposition, and the remaining material, along with rainwater runoff, is filtered through coal and sand before flowing out to sea.

“We are no longer able to fulfill our traditions,” lamented Hoshang Kapadia, an octogenarian resident of Karachi. “We’ve lost a way of life, our culture,” he added, emphasizing that the Parsi burial customs aimed to “take less and give more” to the world.

Karachi, situated on the western bank of the Indus River delta, is home to just 800 Parsis amidst a population of 20 million. The city now has only two functional towers of silence, both in a state of disrepair.

Vultures, unlike many scavengers, are “obligate” and rely solely on locating and feeding on animal carcasses. However, their numbers have plummeted across the Indian subcontinent due to inadvertent poisoning from the anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac, commonly administered to cattle.

Efforts to conserve vulture populations include banning diclofenac use in livestock and releasing captive-bred vultures into the wild. However, the Parsi community is exploring alternative disposal methods, such as cremation or burial, due to the dwindling vulture numbers.