Development of Zoroastrian Funeral Ceremony after Islamic Era

Rituals are among the first and most important elements of religion that change over time. This article, which is written in a descriptive-analytical method, surveys how internal factors (Such as reduction of priests) or external factors (such as the rules of the majority) affected on Zoroastrian funeral ceremony after Islamic era. These effects occur in three forms: decreasing, constant and increasing which lead to deletion, conversion, change, justification, establishment, consolidation, imitation and imposition in some of the Zoroastrian funeral ceremony. The objective results of developments can be seen in a variety of matters such as: maintaining the credibility of rituals as a tool to support the dead and relieve the survivors, strengthen the foundations of Zoroastrian doctrines with new interpretation, adaptation of ancient ritual forms to modern conditions, utilizing the death rituals as a recovery agent of historical and religious identity, keeping up with the host community and reducing critical pressures, maintaining the exclusive position of religious people in the implementation of some rituals and introducing some other rituals to the general public.