Ū (Av. staoma-, MPers. ū, ū, stum, Pers. satumi, Guj. astam) “(ritual of) praise” in Zoroastrianism, in serving as a means of commemorating the mortal soul (Av. uruuan-, MPers. ܷ, Pers. and Gujerati ) and the immortal spirit (Av. frauua&Dz;̣-, MPers. frawahr, Guj. ڲō) of each Zoroastrian (Figure 1). It persists in contemporary Indian practice and also has an equivalent Iranian rite.
The ū is an outer ritual, that is, one performed in the outer precinct of a fire temple or even in a clean area of a home, often on a carpet or table. The ritual’s name comes from Av. stav- (Pahl. ū岹, ī岹, -, Pazand ī岹, Pers. sotudan, setudan; cf. Skt. stóm- < IE *st-, *st(ə)) “to praise, to profess.” It is mentioned in the first line of recitation, derived from Y.26.1: a&Dz;̣ܲą vaŋuhīš sūrā̊ spəṇtā̊ frauua&Dz;̣ō staomi “I praise the good, strong, holy immortal spirits of the orderly ones.” Its practice is attested during late medieval and premodern times by references in the Persian Rivāyats (composed 1478-1773 CE) and the Rahbar-i dīn-i Jarthushtī (composed in Gujarati by Dastur Erachji Sohrabji Meherjirana in 1869).
The act of performing this ritual itself is termed ū-nō kardō by Parsis, while the ceremony with consecration of a food offering is termed ū-nu bhōnu. The offerings (Av. miiazda-, MPers. ŧ, Pers. and Guj. myazd), usually cooked food items or raw fruits, plus the scents of those items were thought to attract the frauua&Dz;̣i- (see FRAVAŠI) to gather together (cf. Yt. 13.64) to be propitiated (Y. 26.7) by living Zoroastrians who seek their blessing (Yt. 13.51). So the ū became an obligatory performance for the dead (Modi, 1937, pp. 402-4). The ū can be performed for living persons too as a preemptive ritual to ensure that the religious path to the afterlife has been prepared properly for an individual’s mortal soul and immortal spirit in case death transpires within a setting where funerary rites cannot be performed appropriately. In that situation, the corporeal existence (MPers. īԻ岹-ܷ, Guj. zinda-) of the person(s) whose uruuan- and frauua&Dz;̣i- are honored prior to death is mentioned. Parsi practice permits the ū for a living person to be performed in conjunction with a year-long zinda- and when the Բ () feasts are celebrated (Modi, 1937, pp. 417-18).
The ū consists of five stages: &Dz;ū (Av. &Dz;ūԱ-) or dedicatory formula, Yasna 26 or the rite proper, the ī峦 or prefatory recitation, a series of propitiatory recitations, and the (MPers. ) which serves as a closing recitation.
Recitation of the &Dz;ū (Meherjirana 1954, pp. 613-27) should be dedicated by the magus to the yazata- (MPers. yazad) or worship-worthy spirit in whose name the ū is performed. This &Dz;ū consists of īō 1.1 (or litany for the spirits presiding over the days of month) honoring Ahura Mazdā and the Aməša Spəntas, together with īō 1.19 honoring the ardā fravaš or all righteous immortal spirits: ahurahe mazdā̊ raēuuatō xvarənaŋuhatō amə&Dz;̣anąm spəṇtanąm “For Ahura Mazdā the radiant and glorious, for the Aməša Spəntas,” and aṣ̌ܲą frauuaṣ̌inąm uγranąm aiβiθūranąm “For the mighty, victorious, immortal spirits of the righteous ones.” In addition, a &Dz;ū can be performed in honor of Sraoša without mention of Ahura Mazdā at the beginning because that yazata manifests ą&ٳٲ;.əԳٲ- (MPers. Բ-貹Ի, 貹Ի), “the holy word” and is in charge of prayer itself (Kotwal and Boyd, 1991, p. 91; Kreyenbroek, 1985, pp. 29-130, 143-45).
Next, Y. 26.1-11 is recited. The first stanza is omitted in the ū. So this prayer begins with the words staomi zbaiiemi “I praise, I invoke,” followed by the names of frauua&Dz;̣i-: Ahura Mazdā, Aməša Spəntas, the earliest devotees, of Gayo Marətan (see ҴŌѴ), the legendary first androgyne, Zarathushtra, Kavi Vištāspa (see KAYĀNIĀN ix), and Isa̰.vāstra, the eldest son of Zarathushtra, of living, dead, and future Zoroastrians, and finally of the Saoshyant (Av. Saošiiant-, MPers. ō&Dz;Բ) or future savior (see ASTVA̰.ƎƎմ).
Then the ī峦 is whispered by the priest in or undertone, because it is a Pazand passage recited between two sections of the Avestan scripture (Kotwal and Boyd, 1991, pp. 149-53). The ī峦 recounts the hope that through the good thoughts, good words, and good deeds of living Zoroastrians—especially those persons commissioning and performing the ritual—the ū would be efficacious and religiosity will be spread throughout the world. It seeks to please the frauua&Dz;̣i- through the offering so they will reciprocate by bestowing joy, prosperity, and wellbeing to residents of the province, city, town, or village named in the recitation. After Ahura Mazdā, the Aməša Spəntas (as a group), and all the frauua&Dz;̣i- are invoked, the deceased or living individual on whose behalf the ū occurs is named; so is he or she who commissioned the ritual (if different from the person being honored). The names of Zarathushtra and, often, other legendary and historical Zoroastrians like Gayo Marətan, Saoshyant, Ādurbād ī Maraspand, and Neryosangh Dhaval also can be invoked in with the words: nāmcištī anaošah i … [name of individual] … aēdar yāt bāt “May the soul of … [name of individual] … be especially remembered here among the immortal souls.” Each person’s religious title of ŧ (MPers. ŧ, “teacher priest, theologian”), Dz (Pers. Dzd “teacher” < MPers. ɾ&Dz;, “disciple, pupil”), and ī (MPers. ɱŧ, “member of the good religion”) is prefixed to his or her name. Then hamā ašō ڲō “all the righteous immortal spirits” are aēdar yāt bāt “remembered here” again in connection with especial mention of the particular Zoroastrian for whose soul and immortal spirit the ritual has been commissioned. The collective immortal spirits of Zoroastrians past, present, and future, of family members, of the societal classes, and of people on every continent will be invoked, as well, in order to expand the sphere of devotion to include the good deeds of all devotees.
Next, a series of propitiatory recitations are undertaken by the priest, commencing with Y. 26.11.1 (the rest of 26.11 is not recited during the ū ritual) vīspā̊ frauua&Dz;̣ō a&Dz;̣ܲą yazamaide iristanąm uruuąnō yazamaide yā̊ a&Dz;̣aonąm frauua&Dz;̣ō “We venerate all the immortal spirits of the righteous ones, we venerate the souls of the deceased, who are the immortal spirits of the righteous ones.” Y. 6.19 a&Dz;̣ܲą vaŋuhīš sūrā̊ spəṇtā̊ frauua&Dz;̣ō yazamaide “We venerate the good, strong, holy immortal spirits of the righteous ones” and Y. 6.20.1 vīspe a&Dz;̣auuanō yazata yazamaide “We venerate all the righteous veneration-worthy spirits” follow. Y. 6.20.2 is skipped, because it refers to the ratu- or spiritual chiefs of ritual. Y. 6.20.3 is recited, however, with variation according to the or period (watch) of the day, followed by the Yeŋ́hē hātąm prayer (Y. 27.15.3) yeŋ́hē hātąm āa̰ yesnē paitī vaŋhō mazdā̊ ahurō vaēθā a&Dz;̣ā̰ hacā yā̊ŋhąmcā tąscā tā̊scā yazamaide “In accordance with order, Ahura Mazdā knows those male and female entities who are better for veneration. We venerate those male and female entities.” Then the priest utters, in , a short Pazand formula based on the Xwaršēd ⾱&Dz; (⾱&Dz; 1.16.2): hōrmezd i xᵛadāe i aβazūnī mardum mardum sardagą hamā sardagą hambāyast i vahą vaem vahə dīn i māzdayasną āī āstuuąnī nēkī rasąnā̰ ēduṇ bā̰ “Lord Ahura Mazdā, increaser of people, the human species, all species, and all good coreligionists, may knowledge, steadfastness [of belief], and virtue come to the good ones of the Mazdean religion. So may it be.”
The or closing recitation commences thereafter. First, the Ahunawar (q.v.) prayer is chanted twice. Then comes yasnəmca vahməmca aojasca zauuarəca āfrīnāmi “I bless the veneration, adoration, power, and ability of” plus the name of the yazata in whose honor the ū ritual is being performed, followed by one Ašəm vohū (q.v.) prayer. Thereafter, the standard unit of four prayers—namely, Ahmāi raēšca, Ჹŋə, Jasa mē avaŋhe Mazdā, and Kərfə muzd—are to be recited to conclude the ū ritual.
The ritual is conducted in the presence of a holy fire on a small altar (Guj. ڰīԲԲ, ڲԲ) to which sandalwood (Guj. sukhar, sukhad) and frankincense (Guj. ō) are offered by the magus. Family members of the person for whose soul the ritual is undertaken offer sandalwood and incense to the fire afterwards. The food offering, representing the sacrifice, is placed before the priest, next to the fire vase before the ritual commences.
In Iran an equivalent ritual called yašt-i šavgīra “hymn of the night period” used to be conducted during the 1960s in memory of a deceased Zoroastrian’s mortal soul and immortal spirit during the ušahin of the third night after the fourth ō service in honor of ardā fravaš has been performed. It seems to have parallels as well with the four services performed by Parsis in India (Modi, 1937, p. 81). This custom may have arisen from late medieval practice, where recitation of the ū was substituted if the ō service in honor of ardā fravaš and faroxši could not be performed (Persian Rivāyats: Unvala, ed., I, p. 502; Boyce, 1977, pp. 154-55; Boyce and Kotwal, 1999, pp. 311-12; Choksy, 1996, p. 554). Zoroastrians in the region of Yazd included cloth for the ritual undershirt (MPers. &Dz;ī, Pers. sedra, &Dz;ī, &Dz;ī, Guj. sudra), a ritual cord (MPers. ܲī [q.v.], Pers. ō&Dz;ī, Guj. ܲī), and a silver coin or ring among the offerings to be consecrated.
Parsis perform a ū with its food offering on the fourth day after death, following the yasna, ڰīԲ, and rituals, during the hāwan around midmorning. The priests who undertook the rites in honor of Sraoša during the three preceding days for the spiritual welfare of the deceased person are requested to honor Ahura Mazdā and the departed soul by gratefully consuming the food after taking the of Ohrmazd. Other Zoroastrians may partake as well, because the food items are a charitable good deed. Another ū-nu bhōnu is performed during the uzērin or evening. The ū also can be performed by Parsis three times each day—in the early morning and midmorning (hāwan ) and in the early evening (uzērin )—on the fifth through tenth days after the death occurred. Further ū rituals for the soul of a deceased or living individual may be commissioned on monthly and annual anniversaries of a death.
The ritual is popular too on the six āmbār (see ĀĀĀ)—especially on the all souls’ days (Av. 貹&ٳٲ;ŧ岹-, Pahl. ڰɲī, N.Pers. 貹ī, Guj. ܰ). Other occasions for undertaking a ū include frawardīn rōz or day of the immortal spirits (which is the nineteenth day of each month), jašn (Guj. jašan) or festival days (where the day and month dedicated to a divine entity coincide). Traditionalist Parsi men and women still pay priests to perform the ritual on the day before their marriage (Guj. varadh patra < varadh “ancestor” + patra “correspondence”) in honor of bygone relative (Modi, 1937, p. 20). Magi, relatives, and friends consume the consecrated food on each occasion, except at the varadh patra, when it is reserved for family members and their friends.
In contemporary Parsi practice, the traditional food offering for the early morning ū consists of sweet dishes (Guj. mīthī vāṇī), porridge (Guj. ī), and well water (Guj. ܱ-nu pāṇī) in a metal vessel placed in the center of the individual items of the offering. The midmorning food offering may include rice and lentils or split peas with sheep, goat, or chicken meat (Guj. gosht-nu Բ) or without meat (Guj. Բ), meatballs (Guj. 첹), fried fish (Guj. tarelī machhī), gourd with meat (Guj. dōdhī-nu gosht), a vegetable salad with radishes plus limes and lemons (Guj. kachumbar-linbu), wine, and a pot of well water. At the early evening ritual, the consecrated meal comprises thin flat wheat bread (Guj. ōٱī, ōī), potatoes with meat (Guj. papetā-nu gosht), fried fish, cream custard, wine, and a pot of well water. Some orthodox families, at locales like Navsari, Surat, and Udvada, continue to follow this pattern of food offerings. The more common custom among Parsi families in large Indian cities and in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Western countries is to prepare a sweet, a couple of fried eggs, a flat bread, and a pot of water, or even more frequently to purchase and present fruits in lieu of cooked food, for the early morning ū. A couple of cooked dishes and a pot of water constitute the offerings for the midmorning and early evening ū. The varadh patra offering, less frequent in recent years, may include large crisp cream of wheat doughnuts (Guj. varadh-), vermicelli (Guj. sev), fried fish, and pieces of unrefined palm sugar or jaggery with wafers (Guj. DZ-ī, ǰ-ī). All purity laws relating to preparation of food should be followed for each offering—including ensuring that the metal cooking utensils and containers are clean and that the food is cooked at home by Zoroastrians (Choksy, 1989, pp. 103-4). Moreover, if the site where the ritual is to be conducted is outside the home—such as at a fire temple—then purity of the offerings must be ensured during transportation. Consequently, fruits are often substituted for cooked food, as the issue of loss of ritual purity does not arise.
Essentially a soliloquy of remembrance, the ū ritual links living Zoroastrians to deceased coreligionists by reminding them that righteousness during life ensures salvation after death (Kotwal and Choksy, 2004).
Bibliography:
M. Boyce, A Persian Stronghold of Zoroastrianism, Oxford, 1977; repr., Lanham, Md., 1989.
M. Boyce, “The Absorption of the Fravašis into Zoroastrianism,” Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungarium 48, 1995, pp. 25-36.
M. Boyce and F. M. Kotwal, “Farōkši,” in EIr. IX, 1999, pp. 311-12.
J. K. Choksy, Purity and Pollution in Zoroastrianism: Triumph over Evil, Austin, 1989.
Idem, “Drōn,” in EIr. VII, 1996, pp. 554-55.
F. M. Kotwal and J. W. Boyd, A Persian Offering, The Yasna: A Zoroastrian High Liturgy, Studia Iranica, cahier 8, Paris, 1991.
F. M. Kotwal and J. K. Choksy, “To Praise the Souls of the Deceased and the Immortal Spirits of the Righteous Ones: The Staomi or ū Ritual’s History and Functions,” in Zoroastrian Rituals in Context, Studies in the History of Religions, vol. 102, ed. M. Stausberg, Leiden, 2004, pp. 389-401.
Ph. G. Kreyenbroek, Sraoša in the Zoroastrian Tradition, Leiden, 1985.
R. D. Meherjirana, ĀڰīԲō, ڰīō, frawaši stōmnā kardā temaj dharnā sāthē, Bombay, 1954; repr., 1988, 1991.
J. J. Modi, The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Parsees, 2nd ed., Bombay, 1937; repr., Bombay, Society for the Promotion of Zoroastrian Religious Knowledge and Education, 1986.
M. R. Unvala, ed., Dârâb Hormazyâr’s Rivâyat, 2 vols., Bombay, 1922.
(Firoze M. Kotwal and Jamsheed K. Choksy)
Originally Published: January 1, 2000
Last Updated: June 14, 2013
