North Pole, &c. (1827). In April 1829 he was knighted. He was subsequently selected for the post of comptroller of the newly created department of steam machinery of the Navy, and held this office until his retirement from active service in 1846, when he was appointed captain-superintendent of Haslar Hospital. He attained the rank of rear-admiral in 1852, and in the following year became a governor of Greenwich Hospital, and retained this post till his death on the 8th of July 1855. The religious side of Sir Edward Parry's character was strongly marked, and besides the journals of his different voyages he was also the author of a Lecture to Seamen, and Thoughts on the Parental Character of God.
See Memoirs of Rear-Admiral Sir W. E. Parry, by his son. Rev. Edward Parry (3rd ed., 1857).
PARRY (from Fr. parer, to ward off), to turn aside a blow from a weapon. The term is used especially of a defensive movement of the sword or foil in fencing, hence, by transference, to ward off any attack, to turn aside an objectionable question. (See Fencing, &c.)
PARSEES, or Parsis, the followers in India of Zoroaster (Zarathustra), being the descendants of the ancient Persians who emigrated to India on the conquest of their country by the Arabs in the 8th century. They first landed at Sanjan on the coast of Gujarat, where the Hindu rulers received them hospitably. To this day their vernacular language is Gujarati, which they have cultivated in literature and journalism. Their settlement in Bombay dates only from the British occupation of that island. In 1901 the total number of Parsees in all India was 94,000, of whom all but 7000 were found in the Bombay presidency and the adjoining state of Baroda, the rest being widely scattered as traders in the large towns.
Among Parsees the men are well formed, active, handsome and intelligent. They have light olive complexions, a fine aquiline nose, bright black eyes, a well-turned chin, heavy arched eyebrows, thick sensual lips, and usually wear a light curling moustache. The women are delicate in frame, with small hands and feet, fair complexions, beautiful black eyes, finely arched eyebrows, and a profusion of long black hair, which they dress to perfection, and ornament with pearls and gems. The Parsees are much more liberal in their treatment of women than any other Asiatic race; they allow them to appear freely in public, and leave them the entire management of household affairs.
The characteristic costume of the Parsees (now frequently abandoned) is loose and flowing, very picturesque in appearance, and admirably adapted to the climate in which he lives. The head is covered with a turban, or a cap of a fashion peculiar to the Parsees; it is made of stiff material, something like the European hat, without any rim, and has an angle from the top of the forehead backwards. It would not be respectful to uncover in presence of an equal, much less of a superior. The colour is chocolate or maroon, except with the priests, who wear a white turban.
A Parsee must be born upon the ground floor of the house, as the teachings of their religion require life to be commenced in humility, and by “good thoughts, words and actions” alone can an elevated position be attained either in this world or the next. The mother is not seen by any member of the family for forty days. Upon the seventh day after the birth an astrologer is invited to cast the nativity of the child. He has first to enumerate the names which the child may bear, so that the parents may make choice of one of them. Then he draws on a wooden board a set of hieroglyphs in chalk, and his dexterity in counting or recounting the stars under whose region or influence the child is declared to be born is marvelled at by the superstitious creatures thronging around him. This document is preserved in the family archives as a guidance and encouragement to the child through life. At the age of seven or thereabouts, according to the judgment of the priest, the first religious ceremony is performed upon the young Parsee. He is first subjected to the process of purification, which consists of an ablution with nirang (cow-urine). The ceremony consists in investing him with the kusti, or girdle of his faith. This is a cord, woven by women of the priestly class, composed of seventy-two threads, representing the seventy-two chapters of the Yasna, a portion of the Zend-Avestā, in the sacredness of which the young neophyte is figuratively bound. The priest ties the cord around the waist as he pronounces the benediction upon the child, throwing upon his head at each sentence slices of fruit, seeds, perfumes and spices. He is thus received into the religion of Zoroaster, and is henceforth considered morally accountable for his acts. If a child die before the performance of this ceremony he is considered to have gone back to Ahurā-Mazdā, who gave him, as pure as he entered into this world, having not reached the age of accountability.
The marriages of children engage the earliest attention of the parents. The wedding day having been fixed by an astrologer, who consults the stars for a happy season, a Parsee priest goes from house to house with a list of the guests to be invited, and delivers the invitations with much ceremony. The father of the bride waits upon near relatives and distinguished personages, soliciting the honour of their attendance. A little before sunset a procession is formed at the house of the bridegroom, and proceeds with a band of music, amid great pomp and ceremony, to the house of the bride's father. Here a number of relatives and friends are collected at the door to receive the bridegroom with due honour. Presents are sent before, according to the time-honoured custom of the East. Upon the arrival of the procession at the house of the bride the gentlemen gallantly remain outside, leaving room for the ladies to enter the house as the escort of the bridegroom. As he passes the threshold his future mother-in-law meets him with a tray filled with fruits and rice, which she strews at his feet. The fathers of the young couple are seated side by side, and between them stands the priest ready to perform the ceremony. The young couple are seated in two chairs opposite each other, their right hands tied together by a silken cord, which is gradually wound around them as the ceremony progresses, the bride in the meantime being concealed with a veil of silk or muslin. The priest lights a lamp of incense, and repeats the nuptial benediction first in Zend and then in Sanskrit. At the conclusion of the ceremony they each throw upon the other some grains of rice, and the most expeditious in performing this feat is considered to have got the start of the other in the future control of the household, and receives the applause of the male or female part of the congregation as the case may be. The priest now throws some grains of rice upon the heads of the married pair in token of wishing them abundance; bouquets of flowers are handed to the assembled guests, and rosewater is showered upon them. The bride and bridegroom now break some sweetmeats, and, after they have served each other, the company are invited to partake of refreshments. At the termination of this feast the procession re-forms, and with lanterns and music escorts the bridegroom back to his own house, where they feast until midnight. As midnight approaches they return to the house of the bride, and escort her, with her dowry, to the house of the bridegroom, and, having delivered her safely to her future lord and master, disperse to their respective homes. Eight days afterwards a wedding feast is given by the newly-married couple, to which only near relatives and particular friends are invited. This feast is composed entirely of vegetables, but at each course the wine is served, and toasts are proposed, as “happiness to the young couple,” &c.
The funeral ceremonies of the Parsees are solemn and imposing. When the medical attendant declares the case hopeless a priest advances to the bed of the dying man, repeats sundry texts of the Zend-Avestā, the substance of which tends to afford him consolation, and breathes a prayer for the forgiveness of his sins. After life is extinct a funeral sermon is delivered by the priest, in which the deceased is made the subject of an exhortation to his relatives and friends to live pure, holy and righteous lives, so that they may hope to meet again in paradise. The body is then taken to the ground floor where it was born, and, after being washed and perfumed, is dressed in clean white clothes, and laid upon an iron bier. A dog is brought in to take a last look at his inanimate master in order to drive away the evil spirits. This
