Presumably in the early days of the faith converts clung so strongly to these age-old observances that the religious authorities were forced to allow them to be continued, "zoroastrianizing" them as far as possible and blending them with new ones that had the wholly different intention of helping the soul to attain heaven above, after which it should have no further need of anything. Indeed, according to Zoroaster's teaching, the soul's fate depends solely on the sum of the individual's thoughts, words, and acts, the good being weighed against the bad, so that no observances should avail it in any way. But human weakness (including the force of natural affections) and human illogicality enabled his followers to maintain this doctrine while at the same time performing many rites for the departed soul's benefit.

The oldest attestation of the rites of Hama-spathmae@daya is in Yaæt 13.49-52. Those for the individual soul during the three days after death, termed comprehensively in Pahlavi sedo@æ (stwæ), were apparently referred to in the lost Huspa@ra@m Nask, or more probably in its Pahlavi commentary, according to a citation in the Ne@rangesta@n. They are known in more detail from texts set down in post-Sasanian times (notably the supplement to the ˆa@yest ne@ æa@yest, the Pahlavi Riva@yat, the Saddars, and the Persian Riva@yats) and from living usage. They are a mixture of "inner" and "outer" rituals and (unlike the necessarily more public funerary rites) attracted little attention in the past from foreign observers. There are some imprecise allusions by Greek writers in Achaemenid times, but the first detailed account by a non-Zoroastrian was given by A. H. Anquetil du Perron (II, pp. 585-87). This was amplified by Delphine Menant (pp. 195-204), whose description was further expanded by J. J. Modi (pp. 72-82). Details in which Irani usages differed from those of the Parsis were later recorded by Ardaæ^r AÚdòargoæasp and Ardeshir Khodadadian.

The sedo@æ rite which was regarded as the most important (Anquetil du Perron, II, p. 587), having apparently the most ancient component, is that solemnized in the last watch (uæahin ga@h) of the third night. This, called by the Iranis the yaæt-e æavg^re, approximately the "dawn service," consists of a set of yaæt-e keh, the "lesser service" (to the Iranis a dro@n service, to the Parsis ba@j-e panj-ta@y; see Boyce and Kotwal, pp. 63-65). The last of these has the dedication (kòænu@man) for the "fravaæis of the just," aæaona…m fravaæayo (Pahlavi arda@ frawaæ or fraward), and during it food and clothing are consecrated so that their essence may sustain and clothe the newly departed soul in the hereafter. The clothing is called by the Iranis sedra (because it includes the sacred shirt) or æavg^re after the service (Boyce, Stronghold, p. 154), by the Parsis æiav or simply ja@me (Persian Rivayats, tr. Dhabhar, p. 422 n. 3; Modi, p. 81). "New clothes, newly washed" are required (Persian Rivayats, ed. Unvala, I, p. 152.19; tr. Dhabhar, p. 168; Boyce, Stronghold, p. 154), and these belong thereafter to the celebrant priest; hence they were also called ja@me-ye aæo@da@d (Persian Rivayats, ed. Unvala, II, p. 41.7; tr. Dhabhar, p. 422). He may keep them, share them with the family, or give them to the poor. All kinds of food may be consecrated except meat, from which the bereaved family abstains for the three days. The go@æoda@, or sacrificial offering, is therefore represented by eggs (Persian Rivayats, ed. Unvala, I, p. 153.1; tr. Dhabhar, p. 168). The special Avestan text for the consecration is the Staomi, that is, Yasna 26 (so called from its first word, "I praise"). This consists of praise and worship of the fravaæis, among them those "of all near relatives who have died in this house" (Y. 26.7). In the Yazdi region among the objects consecrated is a coin or piece of silver, a custom going back conceivably to Seleucid times and reflecting the Greek one of placing Charon's obol with the dead (Boyce, Stronghold, p. 155; Boyce and Grenet, Zoroastrianism, pp. 66, 191).

Two other yaæt-e keh are solemnized before that to Arda@ Fravaæ. The first is dedicated jointly to Raænu, who holds the scales of justice, and Aæta@d (q.v.), yazata of justice itself. This part of the service is thus linked with the specifically Zoroastrian belief that the departing soul is about to face judgment. The second yaæt-e keh is dedicated to the "good Vayu," of whom it is said "When the soul of a just person passes over the Ùinwad way, the good Vayu takes (its) hand and bears it to its own place" (ruwa@n ^ aæawa@n ka pad *±inwad widarag wide@re@d, Wa@y ^ weh dast abar g^re@d ud o@ a@n ^ xwe@æ ga@h bare@d; Bundahiæn, tr. Anklesaria, chap. 26.29). These three short acts of worship made up the yaæt-e æavg^re according to the oldest sources (ˆa@yest ne@ æa@yest, suppl. 17.4; Da@desta@n ^ de@n^g 21.2; Pahlavi Riva@yat of AÚturfarnbag 128.2; Saddar Nat¯r 87.2; see Kreyenbroek, p. 152 n. 51). The earliest authority for the current practice of solemnizing a fourth yaæt-e keh dedicated to Sraoæa after that to Vayu is the Persian Riva@yat of Ka@ma Bohra, dated A.Y. 896 (=1525-26; Persian Rivayats, ed. Unvala, II, p. 41.6; tr. Dhabhar, p. 422). It is noteworthy that still in this late development the yaæt-e keh dedicated to Arda@ Fravaæ is kept as the last, that is, the one nearest to dawn and the soul's departure.

The addition of this fourth service was remarkable, for three is the dominant number in Zoroastrian observances, but it was in the spirit of the declaration that "during three days all worship should be performed for Sro@æ, because for three days Sro@æ can save his (the dead man's) soul from the grasp of demons" (andar 3 ro@z hama@g yaziæn ^ sro@æ aba@ye@d kardan e@d ra@y ±e@ ruwa@n az dast ^ de@wa@n 3 ro@z sro@æ be tuwa@n buxtan; ˆa@yest ne@ æa@yest, suppl. 17.3). The oldest source, the Ne@rangesta@n, refers only to "a Yasna (being performed) three times during the sedo@æ" (pad sedo@æ se ba@r yaæt-e@; ms. HJ, ed. Sanjana, fol. 70r l. 5; tr., p. 155). In known usage these Yasnas all have the kòænu@man of Sro@æ, as do the five yaæt-e keh performed daily, one in each of the five watches (ga@hs). The last "inner" ritual to be added to the sedo@æ was a V^de@vda@d with the kòænu@man of Sro@æ, solemnized in the uæahin ga@h (midnight to dawn). This observance is mentioned in the 9th-century Pahlavi Riva@yat of AÚturfarnbag (chap. 144), where it is said that for the sedo@æ the V^de@vda@d is "very proper" (*æa@ye@ndadar; ed. Anklesaria, 1969, I, pp. 80/146; II, p. 122). In the Persian riva@yat of Ka@ma Bohra three V^de@vda@ds are enjoined (Persian Rivayats, ed. Unvala, I, p. 155.5; tr. Dhabhar, p. 169 and glossary, p. 656, s.v. "Vendidad of Sarosh"). For modern times Menant (p. 198, followed by Modi, p. 76) says only that the three V^de@vda@ds were "sometimes" solemnized, and latterly this usage has been abandoned (ˆa@yest ne@ æa@yest, suppl., p. 109 n. 3).

The "outer" observances of the sedo@æ are performed usually at the home of the deceased. On each of the three days in the e@vsru@srim ga@h, just after sunset, priests recite the Sro@æ Yaæt sar-e æab (Y. 57), solemnize an AÚfr^naga@n of Sro@æ, and say the Pate@t ^ Vidardaga@n, the formal confession of sins on behalf of the dead. In the uæahin ga@h, the Ma@h Niya@yeæ is recited, with Sro@æ Yaæt Hado@xt (Yt. 11), and again the Pate@t. A number of other prayers are said daily by priests and members of the family (ˆa@yest ne@ æa@yest, suppl., p. 109 n. 3), with all the obligatory prayers uttered twice, the repetition being on behalf of the departed soul. Throughout the three days food used to be given regularly for the soul's sake to a dog (q.v. ii). In the third ga@h of the third day priests, relatives, and friends gather for what the Iranis call the Yaæt-i sevvom "service of the third (day)," the Parsis u@thamna@ "Last (of the outer observances)." They recite the ga@h prayers, Sro@æ Yaæt Hado@xt, and Pate@t. A Pa@zand prayer is said imploring Sraoæa's protection for the departed soul, and either now or at the ±aha@rom "(service of the) fourth (day)" those present undertake to perform meritorious acts on behalf of the soul. Among the Iranis these take the form of saying specific numbers of Avestan prayers (Khudayar Dastur Sheriyar, p. 433), among the Parsis of gifts to charities or pious foundations (Modi, p. 76). In the small hours of the third night an animal was sacrificed (in latter-day usage a sheep or goat), and fat from it was offered at dawn on the soul's behalf to a sacred fire. This act is referred to in the Ne@rangesta@n and later works as the Ho@m dro@n, the sacrifice being consecrated by a dro@n service with the kòænu@man of Haoma (Boyce, pp. 77-78 with n. 107). So much importance was given to this offering that Dastur No@sherva@n Kerma@n^, writing to the Parsis in A.Y. 967 (=1596-97) declared that, if it were not made, all previous ceremonies performed for the soul were useless (Persian Rivayats, ed. Unvala, I, p. 75.14-15; tr. Dhabhar, p. 70).

The ±aha@rom service was held just after sunrise on the fourth day, its distinctive element being an AÚfr^naga@n ^ Dahma@n (see DAHM YAZAD), solemnized as a blessing for the soul at its moment of judgment. Afterward those attending shared the meat of the sacrifice, thus marking the end of the period of abstinence. In Persia blood sacrifices came to be offered again for the departed soul on the thirtieth and anniversary days, s^ro@za and sa@lro@z (Boyce, Stronghold, p. 157), the æavg^re and food offerings being consecrated then also. But only the ±aha@rom sacrifice is enjoined in the Persian Rivayats. On the two latter occasions, and on the tenth day after death, the Iranis solemnize an AÚfr^naga@n ^ Dahma@n just after sunset in the e@vsru@srim ga@h, whereas the Parsis celebrate an AÚfr^nagan of Arda@ Fravaæ then. The rites of the sa@lro@z are then maintained for thirty years as fully as family means allow or piety suggests, and are sometimes continued long beyond this obligatory term.

There are references in the Persian Rivayats to reciting the Staomi on commemorative days for the dead, presumably that is, to what Parsis call the Satum rite. This is a domestic one, and consists of consecrating, by recital of Yasna 26, ritually pure food for the soul's sake, a share being set aside for the dog (Modi, pp. 402-04). In pious Parsi families this rite was performed thrice daily (at mealtimes) during the first month, and monthly thereafter, and was then continued in conjunction with the anniversary ceremonies. The observance appears to have been alluded to by Theopompus in the 4th century B.C.E. (cf. Athenaeus, Deip-nosophistae 6.60.252; Clemen, 1920a, p. 25; idem, 1920b, p. 131). The Farokòæi ceremony was also regularly performed for the departed. With the accumulation of family rites, pious individuals could thus devote an immense amount of time to the service of the dead, but in duty and affection, not grief, which, unduly indulged in, is a sin for Zoroastrians.

Pahlavi and Persian texts give yet other observances that it is good to perform for the soul's benefit: founding a gaha@mba@r, paying for the baraænom-e no@ æabe (the purification of nine nights) to be undergone vicariously, or the performance of the get^-kòar^d (lit., "world purchased"). The first two are still frequently carried out by traditionalists, the former chiefly among Iranis, but the soul ceremonies generally are greatly curtailed by reformers in both communities.

Bibliography: B. T. Anklesaria, ed., The Pahlavi Riva@yat of AÚturfarnbag and Farnbag-Sro@æ, 2 vols., Bombay, 1969. H. A. Anquetil du Perron, Zend-Avesta, 3 pts, 2 vols., Paris, 1771. A. AÚdòargoæasp, AÚ÷^n-e kafn o dafn-e Zarto@æt^a@n, Tehran, 1348 ˆ./1969. M. Boyce, "Haoma, Priest of the Sacrifice," in M. Boyce and I. Gershevitch, eds., W. B. Henning Memorial Volume, London, 1970, pp. 62-80. Idem and F. Kotwal, "Zoroastrian ba@j and dro@n I," BSOAS 34/1, 1971, pp. 56-73. C. Clemen, Fontes Historiae Religionis Persicae, Bonn, 1920a. Idem, Die griechischen und lateinischen Nachrichten über die persische Religion, Giessen, 1920b. A. Khodadadian, Die Bestattungssitten und Bestattungsriten bei den heutigen Parsen, Ph.D. diss., Berlin, 1974. Khudayar Dastur Sheriyar, "Chaharum Ceremony (in Persia)," in J. J. Modi, ed., Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy Madressa Jubilee Volume, Bombay, 1914, pp. 432-34. G. Kreyenbroek, Sraoæa in the Zoroastrian Tradition, Leiden, 1985. D. Menant, Les Parsis, Paris, 1898; repr. Osnabrück, 1975. J. J. Modi, The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Parsees, 2nd ed., Bombay, 1937; repr. Bombay, 1986. Ne@rangesta@n, ed. D. P. Sanjana, Bombay, 1894; tr. S. J. Bulsara as Ae@rpatast@a@n and N^rangasta@n, Bombay, 1915.