Frawardigan is a ten-day period at the end of the

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...

religious year during which the souls of the dead are commemorated. The name ''frawardigan'' is a Zoroastrian

Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle ...

() allusion to the ''

fravashi Fravashi ( ae, 𐬟𐬭𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬴𐬌, translit=fravaṣ̌i, ) is the Avestan language term for the Zoroastrian concept of a personal spirit of an individual, whether dead, living, or yet-unborn. The ''fravashi'' of an individual sends ...

''s, which—among other aspects (including the souls of the living and the not-yet born)—also include the souls of the dead. The practice is however much older than this name, and it is already attested in the

Avesta The Avesta () is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language. The Avesta texts fall into several different categories, arranged either by dialect, or by usage. The principal text in the lit ...

, specifically ''

Yasht The Yashts are a collection of twenty-one hymns in the Younger Avestan language. Each of these hymns invokes a specific Zoroastrian divinity or concept. ''Yasht'' chapter and verse pointers are traditionally abbreviated as ''Yt.'' Overview The wor ...

'' 13.49, where it is called ''Hamaspathmaidyem'' in Avestan, of uncertain meaning. In modern times the festival is also called ''mukhtad'' or ''panji'', and in English "all souls" festival. Like all other

Zoroastrian festivals Zoroastrianism has numerous festivals and holy days, all of which are bound to the Zoroastrian calendar. The '' Shahenshahi'' and ''Kadmi'' variants of the calendar do not intercalate leap years and hence the day of the Gregorian calendar year on ...

, Frawardigan was originally a one-day festival, in this case observed on the last day of the religious year. That day, the last day of the religious year, is now known as

Pateti Zoroastrianism has numerous festivals and holy days, all of which are bound to the Zoroastrian calendar. The '' Shahenshahi'' and ''Kadmi'' variants of the calendar do not intercalate leap years and hence the day of the Gregorian calendar year on ...

, from ''patet'', "confession", a day of self-reflection prior to the celebration of Zoroastrian New Year's Day. As is also the case for other Zoroastrian festivals, the calendar reforms initiated during the 3rd or 4th century resulted in the one-day observance being extended to a five-day observance, in this case during the last five days of the twelfth month. The calendar reforms also introduced five

intercalary days Intercalation or embolism in timekeeping is the insertion of a leap day, week, or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases. Lunisolar calendars may require intercalations of both days and months. ...

("Gatha" days) following the twelfth month, and so, because the "all souls" festival was conventionally observed on the last day of the year, the festival was then also observed during the newly introduced last day''s'' of the year, i.e. the five intercalary days. Taken together, Frawardigan thus came to span the last five days of the last month of the religious year (called the "lesser five" days of Frawardigan), plus the "greater five" intercalary days at the end of the religious year. Among

Indian Zoroastrians Zoroastrianism in India has significant history within the country. Zoroastrians have lived in the Indian subcontinent since the Sasanian period. The Zoroastrians also moved to India in successive migrations during the Islamic period. The init ...

, an extended ''mukhtad'' of eighteen days is also observed. ''Frawardigan'' should not be confused with '' Fraward Jashan'', which is a name-day feast celebrated on the 19th day (named ''frawarden'') of the 6th month (also ''frawarden'') of the

Zoroastrian calendar Adherents of Zoroastrianism use three distinct versions of traditional calendars for liturgical purposes, all derived from medieval Iranian calendars and ultimately based on the Babylonian calendar as used in the Achaemenid empire. ''Qadimi'' ...

. In medieval times, as known from

Al-Biruni Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973 – after 1050) commonly known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian in scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously the "founder of Indology", "Father of Co ...

's 10th-century ''Chronology'', for the ten days before Zoroastrian New Year's Day consecrated food was set out to feed the spirits of one's ancestors, and the spirits of the pious were believed to return for a while—invisible to the living—to be among their families. Still today, in both Indian Zoroastrian communities (

Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...

and Irani), houses are meticulously cleaned and made ready for the annual coming of spirits, and a lamp is lit to welcome them, and kept alight for the duration of the festival. Frawardigan is colored by a sense of happiness and family piety, and is hardly touched by any dread of the other world. Frawardigan is also seen as a period of reflection: an opportunity to examine one's conscience and repent for past wrongs. In the present day, Zoroastrians congregate in the fire temples to offer prayers on behalf of their ancestors. After the worship, families will offer fruit, flowers, incense, wood, and money in individual rituals conducted by a priest around a small temple fire.

References

;Citations ;Works cited * . * . * . * . {{refend Zoroastrian festivals

See also

References