Zoroastrian Diaspora Funeral: Adapting Parsi Rites in the US, Canada, and Australia

The Diaspora Reality

Roughly half the world's estimated 100,000–120,000 Zoroastrians live outside India and Iran. Major communities exist in the United States (concentrated in New York, New Jersey, California, Texas, and the Washington DC area), Canada (Toronto, Vancouver), the United Kingdom (London), and Australia (Sydney, Melbourne).

None of these places has a Tower of Silence. Most have only a handful of ordained mobeds (priests) spread across vast geographic areas. Professional nasesalars (corpse-bearers) do not exist outside India. The community infrastructure that makes traditional Zoroastrian funerals possible in Mumbai — the Doongerwadi complex, the BPP's hearse service, the network of bunglis and fire temples — simply does not exist.

Yet the theology remains the same. The soul still needs to cross the Chinvad Bridge. The Druj-e-Nasu still possesses the body. The prayers still need to be recited in the correct sequence and timing.

The question every diaspora family faces is: how do you honor these spiritual requirements with the resources actually available?

What Can Be Maintained Fully

Several core elements of the funeral process can be performed anywhere in the world without modification:

Deathbed prayers. The Patet Pashemani, Ashem Vohu, and Yatha Ahu Vairyo require no consecrated space, no priest, and no specialized equipment. Any family member can recite them at the bedside, in a hospital, or at home.

The divo. An oil or ghee lamp can be maintained in any home. In hospitals or care facilities where open flames are prohibited, a small electric lamp is an accepted substitute. The three-day continuous flame can be maintained with standard supplies.

Dietary restrictions. The vegetarian mourning diet and the prohibition on cooking in the home are logistically simple to observe. The community meal-delivery tradition translates well to diaspora settings, where local Zoroastrian associations typically organize meal support.

The memorial calendar. The Uthamna, Chaharum, Dasma, Seeom, Chamsi, and Varsi ceremonies can all be held in a home, a community hall, or any clean space. They require a mobed for the formal prayers, but the family portions (charitable announcements, rose water distribution) need no clergy.

What Requires Adaptation

The Sachkar

Without nasesalars, the body preparation falls to the mobed and/or family members. This is emotionally demanding — performing intimate ritual care on a deceased parent or spouse under strict theological requirements while managing acute grief.

The taro (consecrated bull urine) used for the ritual bath is difficult to source outside India. Families should ask their local mobed what materials and adaptations are accepted in their community, while following applicable health requirements. The dressing, kusti-tying, and bunds-binding should likewise follow local ritual guidance.

The biggest practical challenge is negotiating access to the funeral home's preparation room. The family needs to coordinate with the funeral director and mobed before the mortuary applies its standard procedures, so that traditional handling requirements can be followed.

The Geh Sarna

This requires two ordained mobeds. In cities with active Zoroastrian communities — Houston, Toronto, London, Sydney — availability is generally better; in smaller communities, the family may need to fly a mobed in from the nearest major city.

The Geh Sarna must take place during daylight hours. A funeral home chapel, a community hall, or even a clean room at a private residence can serve as the venue, though the setting is far removed from a traditional bungli in Mumbai's Doongerwadi forest.

Disposition

Three options are available:

Cremation. Some diaspora Zoroastrians choose cremation. Cremation facilities are available in many diaspora locations, but local law and facility policies govern the arrangements. The theological debate about fire contamination is generally resolved at the family level; reformist families view electric cremation as acceptable.

Burial. Standard cemetery burial, sometimes with a concrete-lined grave or vault as a nod to the aramgah principle. Some Zoroastrian associations have arranged dedicated sections in local cemeteries.

Repatriation to India. Possible but rare. It requires coordination with funeral directors, consular authorities, and airlines, and may conflict with the traditional no-embalming practice and preference for rapid disposition.

The Sagdid

Almost universally omitted. Many funeral homes cannot accommodate dogs in their facilities, and the repeated timing requirements make it impractical even in a private home setting. This is the one ritual that diaspora communities have largely accepted as impracticable outside traditional settings.

The Community Support Network

FEZANA (the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America) maintains directories of mobeds, local associations, and community resources across the US and Canada. The ZTFE serves the same function in the UK. The Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York, the Zoroastrian Association of Houston, the Zoroastrian Society of Ontario, and similar organizations in other cities can mobilize community support — meals, transportation, mobed coordination — within hours of a death.

Building a relationship with your local association before a death occurs is one of the most practical things a diaspora family can do. Knowing which mobed to call, which community members can help with the Sachkar, and which funeral director in your area has experience with non-standard religious requirements eliminates hours of confusion during the worst possible moment.

For the complete diaspora funeral framework — including a printable funeral director briefing sheet, prayer transliterations, and checklists for every ceremony — see the Zoroastrian (Parsi) Funeral Guide.