Most people in the UK will recognise this face; he is the BBC's newsreader Matthew Amroliwala; and we just happen to have attended the same school. For an unrelated matter, I was looking him up on Wiki.
The first thing that grabbed my attention was that he is a ZOROASTRIAN.... A what?... Is that a fan of Zoro movies?... Never heard of it!
So, I looked it up (again on Wiki), and was surprised to read that it was once one of the world's largest religions; founded in the 6th Century BC in Greater Iran (although Zoroastria himself dates from aprox 1500-1200 BC).
I was also surprised to read that, rather like Judaism, all adherents must cover their heads at all times, which, I can assure you, Matthew doesn't... I wonder if they're also supposed to wear black capes?
Anyone heard of Zoroastrians?
Funny you should mention Zoroastrianism, I had never heard of this ancient religion until I read Salley Vickers' delightful novel "Miss Garnet's angel" in which it makes an appearance. I was very intrigued by it and set out to find out more about it, not so easy in those pre-Google days. I have to admit i'd forgotten all about it.
ReplyDeleteWell you're way ahead of me; I only discovered it yesterday. I didn't really have time to read too much about it, but did see that 'virgin birth' plays a part in there somewhere. Interesting to see where all these myths originate.
Deletehow interesting, I had never heard of this until now.
ReplyDeleteI seem to remember that they are the last of the fire-worshipers too. 'Thus spake Zarathustra' - wasn't that Zoroastrian?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely no idea, but I do know they had a thing about fire and water... but then I suppose we all do.
DeleteNow that's all I'm going to thinking about when I see him on the news! :)
ReplyDeleteNever heard of it, obviously they don't advertise their presence.
ReplyDeleteLearn something new everyday!
ReplyDeleteIt's new to me!
ReplyDeleteIf you're interested, you also might want to Google "Mazda" (like the automobile) and "Parsi" or "Parsee" (for established communities in India).
ReplyDeleteThanks Grimnir...I'll do that!
DeleteYes, i have heard of Zoroastrians, but to my knowledge, i don't know any.
ReplyDeletemegan
All I can say is I've HEARD of it before, but evidently, it didn't make much of an impression on me, because I can't remember a darned thing about it.
ReplyDeleteI love their depictions of their winged gods - Mazda maybe? I had a friend in Wellington who was a Parsee. She spoke Kiwi like the rest of us but definately had the exotic looks. Freddy Mercury was another famous Zoroastrian I understand.
ReplyDeleteZoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest religions. Some say that the 3 major religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, have their roots in Zoroastrianism. The 3 Main teachings are Good Thoughts, Good Words, and Good Deeds. It was one of the first of the time to teach Monotheism.
ReplyDeleteThis was the main religion in Persia, or what is now, part of the different countries making up the Middle East.
The fire is a symbol of Purity. The Prophet is Zoroaster or Zarathustra, as known to some. The Name of our God is "Ahura Mazda".
Freddy Mercury was also another Well known, as well as Orchestra Conductors, Mehli and Zubin Mehta. The Tata Company, or Tata Industries is also founded by a Zoroastrian family.
During the Arab invasion, some Zoroastrians fled their homeland to avoid persecution, and came to India. They are called Parsi, meaning Persian.
-Mehernosh Amroli (mamroli@yahoo.com)