Keeping The Waters Dry The Semiotics of Fire and Water in The Zoroastrian Yasna

American Academy of Religion
Keeping the Waters Dry: The Semiotics of Fire and Water in the Zoroastrian "Yasna"
Author(s): William R. Darrow
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 56, No. 3 (Autumn, 1988), pp. 417442
Published by: Oxford University Press
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LVI/3
Academy
of Religion.
Journalof theAmerican
Keeping
the
Waters
Dry
The Semiotics of Fire and Water in the

ZoroastrianYasna
William R. Darrow
"Howmanyarethe Agnis(fires),how manyarethe suns? Howmany

arethe dawns,and how manyreally(svid)arethe waters?"
Not to vex you do I dispute,O fathers!I questionyou,O poet-seers,to
trulyknow.
Rg Veda10.88.18Hymnto Agni(Johnson:9)
IT IS DIFFICULTto know what to make of Lady Drower's impassioned conclusion about the role of fire in Parsi (i.e. Zoroastrian)ritual.
In the Yasna,
thezoti,orofficiating
PanjTaiandAfringanceremonies,
is
the
the
or
whilst
priest,
principalactor,
raspi fire priest plays a
subordinate
mimic
revival
Ablutions,
by water,all the symbolsof
part.
livingvegetation,havenothingto do withfire. Thesole functionof the
sacredfireduringtheseritualproceedings
is to provide"asweetodour"
when fragrantfuel is castinto it.
It is waterwhich is the magic,regenerating,
and purifyingagent.
Notone of the implementsor objectsusedis passedthroughthefire;all
arein perpetualcontactwith water. Beforetheybeginto officiate,the
bath. Eventhe firetemple,withits well of
priestsmusttakea purifying
water,andits sacredtrees,bears
runningwater,itspaviforthepurifying
witness to the essentialpart playedby water in the Parsi rituals.
(1944:89)1
It is not clear whom she is attackingin her vehement affirmationof
the centralityof waterratherthan fire in Zoroastrianceremonies;no one
claimed, except polemically, that Zoroastrianswere fire worshippers.
Alreadyin the last centuryC.P. Tiele went so far as to say Zoroastrians
could be called water worshippersratherthan fire worshippers(Boyce,
William R. Darrow is Assistant Professor of Religion at Williams College, Williamstown, MA
01267.
IDasturKotwalpointed out to me that the PanjTai and Afringanceremoniesmay be conductedby
a single priest.
417
418
Journalof the AmericanAcademyof Religion
1975:155). Her views, in fact, arose from her assumptions about the
connection between Zoroastrianand Mandaeancults. The central role
of wateramong the Mandeansled her to emphasizeits role in Zoroastrianism. She thoughtZoroastrianismhad wedded a Mandaeanwater cult
to a fire cult (Drower, 1956:16). Despite the oddness of both her claim
and vehemence, Lady Drower provides a key to elucidate the dramatic
unity of theyasna. The interconnectionand apparentinequalityof fire
and water provide an indispensible startingpoint for interpretingthe
yasna and recognizingits dramaticunity.
THE YASNA
Theyasna is a daily liturgyperformedby two priests, a chief priest,
zSt, and a fire priest,raspi. Theyasna can only be performedin a temple
complex, in a chamberdedicatedsolely to the performanceof theyasna.
That chamberis dividedinto a numberof rectangularspaces,paw, each
of which contains a sacred fire fed by the rasptand a low table before
which the chief priest sits. All the ritualimplements are arrayedbefore
the chief priest. Consecration and consumption are the two main
actions of theyasna. At the beginning, the chief priest consumes a portion of wheatbreadand butter and a sacred drink called paraholm.He
then consecratesthe barsom,metal wires always at his left hand. In the
middle part of the yasna, the chief priest preparesa second portion of
the sacred drink that is later mixed with milk. After this mixture is
preparedand receivesconsecrationfrom the sacredwords recitedby the
chief priest, a series of deconsecrationsof the sacredspace occur. At the
conclusion of theyasna, the sacreddrinkis poured into a well. (For full
descriptions,cf. Darmesteter;Modi: 246-310; Drower, 1956:199-221).
Theyasna is precededby the paragndceremonyin which the implements used in theyasna are consecratedby the priest who will play the
role of rdspiin the yasna. The barsom,metal wires tied togetherby a
datepalmleaf; water;milk; twigs of pomegranateand hoimare all gathered and initially consecrated. The paraholm,the sacred drink that the
chief priest will consume, is preparedby pressing togetherthe twigs of
the pomegranateand the hcm. Theyasna then follows. It can only be
performedduring the morning watch and takes about two and a half
hours. Its daily performancesare normallydone in honor of a patron,
either living or dead, the sacrifierin Hubert and Mauss's terms (10).
Most of the liturgyis the recitationof the sacred text in the languageof
Avestan without any accompanying ritual actions. The Avestan text
Darrow: Keepingthe WatersDry
419
includes the sacred songs, gdthds,ascribed to the founder of the tradition, Zoroaster.
The yasna is the most importantritual in the tradition. It has two
purposes. The firstis to make present and satisfythe divine beings (the
yazatas, "those who receive worship or sacrifice"), including Ahura
Mazda and his pantheon of supporting angels, the Amesha Spentas.
These form only a portion of the wider pantheon of divine beings who
are satisfiedby theyasna. The specific divine beings to be honored vary
accordingto the calendar,and the rules for which of them are honored
on specific days are part of priestlyknowledge. The benefits of the performanceof theyasna go to the patron. The second purpose is to provide the priests with the necessary ritual powers that can only be
obtained by the performanceof ceremonies. In order to maintain his
ritual powers, a priest must regularlyperformtheyasna.
The founderof the tradition,Zoroaster,was a priest and thus participated in the performanceof theyasna. It was also by the performanceof
theyasna that AhuraMazdacreatedthe materialworld. It is within the
materialworld that the weapons necessaryto struggleagainstthe forces
of evil that threatenedthe world are gathered. Evil is not material,but
the materialworld was createdas the arena in which evil is to be combatted. Theyasna is a key weapon in the struggleagainstevil. At death,
the individualpasses out of the materialworld into the spiritualworld.
But at the end of historythe materialworld createdby AhuraMazdawill
not cease; it will be completely transformed,renovated, and purified
from evil (Shaked:85). This eschatologicaltriumphwill be inaugurated
by the finalyasna which Ahura Mazdawill performat the end of time,
just as his performanceof theyasna at the beginning of time createdthe
materialworld. Spatiallynow theyasna is the meetingpoint of the spiritual and the material;temporally,it exists at the midpointbetween creation of the material world and eschaton when the world will be
renovated.
THE NOTION OF DRAMATIC UNITY OF THE YASNA
In comparativeparlance,theyasna is appropriatelycalled a liturgy.
Grimeshas recentlydefined liturgyas one of six modes of ritual sensibility and comparedit with the other modes.
Whatis uniqueto liturgyis not thatit communicates
(decorumcommunicates),proclaims(ceremonyproclaims)or exclaims(ritualization
one approaches
the sacredin a reverent,"interexclaims).Liturgically,
rogative"mode, does necessaryritualwork (makes a "sacrificeof
420
praise,"for instance),waits"in passivevoice,"and finallyis "declarative" of the way things ultimatelyare. . . . Liturgyoccurs when power
doesnot needto be seizedandheld,as in the caseof ceremony,or put

to immediateuse, as in magic. In liturgywe waituponpower. (43)
Liturgiesusually 're-present'events that are definitiveand 'event-ualize'
the structuresthat patternevents (44-5). The frame of referenceof liturgyis ultimate,its mood reverence,and its motivationcosmic necessity
(50). The yasna is only performedwithin a temple and requires no
audience;very few remainfor the entire performance. It is thus primarily a priestlyritual,apparentlyinwardturningand private. However,the
priests affirmthat performanceof theyasna is vital;without it, the world
would collapse. Despite appearances, the yasna makes connections
between the priests and the outside world that are criticallyimportant.
There are several reasons why the yasna has not been viewed as a
dramaticunity. First, liturgies in general have received less attention
from students of ritual in recent years than have other forms of ritual
activitysuch as pilgrimage,festivals,rites of passage,and curingceremonies. Liturgies were the focus of the myth-ritual school, but that
approach has been eclipsed in recent years (Doty:73-79). That
approach was built upon recognizing the cultic context of myth, but
having done so, focused primarilyon the narrativestructuresof those
ritualsthat were dictatedby myth. Thus the focus of this approachwas
on generalpatternssuch as that of cosmogony,sacrifice,sacralmarriage,
royal installation,and resurrectionor the recollectionof specific events
such as the Exodus or the Passion. Ritualwas central,but it was ritual
as the re-enactmentof a narrativemyth.
Recent work on liturgiesexhibits two trends. First, there has been
discussionof the characterof liturgicaltexts. This has been informedby
the illocutionaryforce of ritualspeech derivingfrom linguisticperformance theory(Tambiah). Wheelock has studied the interrelationof word
and action in the case of Vedic ritual (1980) and the Roman Catholic
Mass (1985). This notion of ritual as performancehas been very productive in recent years, but remains text-bound and assumes a dichotomy between thought and action that it then seeks to overcome (Bell).
AlthoughI think there are implicationsfor the approachto the Avestan
text containedin this study, I want to focus only on actions ratherthan
text in what follows. This is because the gap between text and action
appearsto be wide in theyasna because its Avestantext is valued not for
its meaning but for its sacrality. Researchon the relation of word and
action has hardly begun, though Schlerath (xiv) has made a start by
421
directingattentionto the separatelitanies that compose the bulk of the

text.
The other trend in the study of liturgies is representedby Staal's
brilliantif truculentsuggestionabout the meaninglessnessof ritual. His
focus, like mine, is on action. Ritualactivityis intensivelyrule-governed
behavior. However, the rules are totally arbitraryand the activityas a
whole completelymeaningless. Rules of ritualactions stronglyresemble
rules of syntax,but take on a life of their own; they are not unlike a null
programin a computerthat runs automaticallywhen a computerhas no
other work to do. Staal's analysis directs attention from narrative
schemas of rituals to the unending complexity of rule-governedritual
action. In Staal'sterms, this study is an extended considerationof two
syntactic rules of the yasna: fire is singularwhile water is plural, and
water always follows fire. However, in opposition to Staal I will argue
that these two rules have meaning (Clooney:202).
A second reason for the neglect of the dramaticunity of theyasna is
that no narrativeappearsto underlie it. If there were a common IndoEuropeanmyth of creation throughthe sacrificeof a primordialbeing,
as BruceLincolnhas argued(1-63), theyasna only very distantlyreflects
it. Like the Vedicsrrautarituals,theyasna seems to combine a sacrificial
rite with the preparationand consumption of soma (Smith, 1986). But
in the yasna neither sacrifice nor the consumption of soma (i.e. h6m)
occurs. As now performed, the yasna is deliberately anti-sacrificial.
Priestlyinterpretationunderlines the fact that the sacrificialanimal is
now only representedby butter on the wheatbread. The priest consumes the wheatbreadand parah6mpreparedin the precedingparagnd,
but does not consume the h6m consecratedin theyasna itself. This hOm
is, accordingto DasturKotwal, "for the waters and the laity" (personal
communication).
Third,for severalgood reasons,it is difficultnot to see the actionsof
theyasna as a conglomerationof smallerritualswith no overallprinciple
of unity. There are.several differenttextual layers. The 72 chaptersof
the yasna text are a composite. The central core of the staotayesnya,
presumablyY. 14-59,2 is preceded by invocations, texts to accompany
2Referencesto yasna chapters and verses are preceded by a Y. The staotayesnya was one of the
twenty-onenasksof the Avesta. It was placed first in the list of gathicnasks,the most exaltedof the
three types of nasks. However,it was the last actuallydescribedin Denkart8's descriptionof the
nasks. The actualcontent of this text is debated,but we know that it contained thirty-threechapters. I follow the suggestionthat it contained chapters 14-59, countingthe seventeengathic poems
of Zoroasterin the traditionalway as five. For other suggestionscf. West (169) and MaryBoyce
(1975:265).
422
the consumptionof the wheatbreadand the parahdmby the priest. It is

followed by the litanies to fire and water and closing texts. Even in the
core of the staotayesnya there is a varietyof texts, including the gdthds
and theyasna haptanhditi.
At the level of actions, severalceremoniesin theyasna are performed
independentlyof one another. Offeringsto fire and water, the tastingof
the wheatbread,preparationof parahomare separaterituals,some practiced outside the precinct of the fire temple in a way analogous to the
relationbetweenghrya and srrautaceremonies in Vedic practice(Smith,
1986). In the yasna, the ritual meal of the wheatbread and parahom
forms an isolatable unit. On the other hand, theyasna ceremonycomposes one unit of the larger rituals of the Visperadand the Vendidad.
Finally,we have evidence from theyasna text that certainriteswithin the
yasna have fallen out of use, e.g. the sacrificeof an animal, the fat offering to the fire. This all suggests a changingconstellationof ceremonies
broughttogethersomewhat arbitrarily(e.g. Boyce, 1975:158-60, 265-6).
The clusterhas usuallybeen describedas a combinationof a soma ritual
with a fire ritual (Benveniste,Caland, and Henry).
This studyfocuses on the ritualactions,specificallythe interactionof
fire and water, and arguesthat such a focus allows one to recognizethe
dramaticunity of theyasna. I have chosen the heuristicnotion of 'dramatic unity' to emphasize that it is as performancethat I am approaching the ritual (Sullivan). Following Turner,I want to focus not on the
form of yasna, but ratheron the process of bringing to completion, the
accomplishingthat is achievedby the performance(91). I find Turner's
notion of the processualform of performanceparticularlyuseful because
it allows one to hold to the non-narrative character of the yasna.
Attempts to see a myth tying together the yasna are not convincing.
Mole suggestedthat at the level of text there is a story specificallyconnected with Zoroaster,but it is not reflectedin the ritual actions that a
focus on performancedirects us towards.
If there is no narrative,I still want to recognize that there is a dramatic flow to the processualform. This notion of dramais also heavily
influenced by Turner, although his focus was on social drama. In
choosing the metaphor of drama, I want to recognize that there is a
climactic structureto yasna. The processualform establishes a conflict
between the two material representationsof spiritual principles that
culminates in the climax at the well. The conflict and its resolution
authorizeone to speak of a drama,and the affirmationthat it is a unity
allows one to treattheyasna as it now stands as a unity. Admittedly,this
interpretationis ahistorical. Theyasna as text and ritualis a composite.
Darrow Keepingthe WatersDry
423
But while we cannot be precise about its history,the currentform of the

yasna has persisted intact for centuries, if not millenia, and deserves
analysis that treatsit as a unity.
TRADITIONAL AND RECENT ATTEMPTS TO CONCEIVE
THE DRAMATIC UNITY
The Zoroastriantraditionappearsto have grappledwith the problem
of the dramaticunity of the ritualand providedthree modes of conceiving it: the cosmogonic, the eschatological,and the mantric. Two texts
may be adduced from the Pahlavitradition.
The firstand richestis the forty-seventhquestion(Chapter48) of the
Dddistdn-^D6nig. It discusses the meaning of the yasna and weaves
together cosmogonic and eschatological themes. It begins by laying
ample stress on the satisfaction that Ahura Mazda and the Amesha
Spentas derive from the yasna (3). The more specific purpose of the
yasna is to give outwardphysicalexpressionof the spiritualwisdom contained in the tradition(6-7). The text places special emphasis on the
exegesis of the symbolicelements of theyasna, for in it are many tokens
and signs of spiritual mysteries (35). Five elements are highlighted.
Two are spiritual (fire and water), and two are material (metal and
plants). The priest, who is the fifth element, mediates between these
two sets (14). Above all, the preparationof the h6m is the most important rite in the ceremony: it vexes the demons and makes the divine
beings rejoice (29). The eschatologicaldimension is seen in the fourfold squeezingof the hdm,which is a symbol of the millennial coming of
Zoroasterand his three sons, and the finalyasna (30-31). The water
representsthe formationand fecundityof rain (32). The milk is historicized. It was originallytaken by two milkmaids and divided between
the sage Osnar and the king Kai Kavad(33). The priests in particular
gain by makingthe many ceremonialconnections. The hdmlibation is a
remedy as powerful as the Atash Bahram fire, which can smite the
demons. It will be equal to the greatestlibation that will be taken from
the Hadhayans cow at the renovation of the world, which will give
humanityimmortalityby its fiery power (34). This text thus combines
an exegesis of individualelements in the yasna and homologizes each
one with the final yasna at the renovation of the world. It does not
address the processualform of the yasna.
The second text is a summaryof the staotayesnya,found in the summary of the twenty-one books of the Avesta in Dinkard 8 (West:169171). Chapter46 describesthe staotayesnya. Its focus is the wholeness
424
of the text. It suggeststhat the text is a whole in the same way as is the
Ahunavarprayer,the most sacred prayerin the Zoroastriantradition. It
appearsthat the actualtext addressedin this chapterwas the text of the
gdtha that begins and ends as does the Ahunavarprayer. We know
that there were in fact thirty-threechaptersto
from the Persiann6vdydts
the staotayesnya, so it is not clear how to define the limits of the staota
yesnyatext. The overallintent is clear;the unity lies in a verbalstructure
of encirclingholiness. This interpretation,focused on the text, stresses
the mantricpowers that reside in the sacred words of the yasna text.
Three scholars have elaboratedon these three modes of accounting
for the overallunity of theyasna. Boyceemploys a cosmogonicinterpretation based on the seven elements that compose the created world:
water, vegetables, animals, earth, sky, fire, and man. Each element is
connected with one of the Amesha Spentas, the guardianangels, and
with the seasonal festivals. Theyasna possesses these elements of creation. The process of creation is recalled, although there is nothing in
Boyce's analysis to suggest a processualform to this recollection(1975:
220); the seven elements are simply there. Althoughthe seven-fold creation is a majorZoroastriandoctrine,it is not enacted in theyasna. We
saw above a five-foldschema was used to interprettheyasna. Windfuhr
has recently argued for a twelve-fold schema based upon his earlier
analysis of the Zoroastriancalendar(1976). Finally, the traditioncontains evidence of a schema of thirty-threeelements (Desai). These
schema are all possible, but they are not reflectedin the processualform
of theyasna.
Mole has provided a most fascinatingeschatologicalinterpretation.
In his view, the primarymeaning of the yasna is eschatological. The
performanceof theyasna prefiguresthe final performanceof the rite at
the time of the renovationand is also a repetitionof the primordialrite
of sacrifice by which the order of the world was established. Ahura
Mazdaperformedthat primordialyasnahimself and will act in the final
one. The last material sacrifice will be conducted by Saoshyans, the
34:23. There Saoshyanswill
final savior,accordingto GreaterBundahisin
kill the bull Hadhayansand mix the fat of that bull with the white hdm,
which will make all immortal. This scene is also describedin chapter
35:15-16 of the Selectionsof Zdtspramwhere, on the eve of the renovation of the world, Saoshyanswill be seated in the seat of the zst, accompanied by six helpers from the six regions surroundingIran. Ahura
Mazdawill take a seat in the heartof the zdt and the six Amesha Spentas
will aid the six helpers. In the service before the sacred fire a drink
composed of the white hdm and the milk of Hadhayanscow will be
425
preparedand drunkby all to achieve immortality. Thereis a rich ambiguity as to whether the Hadhayansbull/cow provides meat or milk for
the final elixir.
Behind the yasna stands a familiar doctrine of sacrifice, which
homologizes beginning and end (Mol6:174-5).
Thecosmicliturgythatwill bringaboutthe resurrection
of the dead
and
is the modelof the Zoroastrian
each
Zoroastrian
cereceremony
it.
and
its
durmost
celebration,
monysymbolizes During
particularly
ing the recitationof the Gathns,eachpriestidentifieshimselfwith the
that is alreadyvisible in the
futuresaviour,but also with Zoroaster;
Gathasand is attestedby all the latertradition(Mol:86).
Butthere are problemswith this interpretation,which arisefrom its context in a myth/ritualmode of interpretation.Mole confusedhis analysis
by turningto the centralityof the new year celebrationin Vedic religion
(cf. Kuiper:116)and the Babylonianakitu ceremony. The king was the
crucialactorin the Babyloniancult. Followingthe model of a royalNew
YearceremonyMole seems to slip into an explanationof the Persepolis
cult, which he appeared to equate with the yasna.3 Mole asserted an
identificationof the royal Persepolis cult with the celebration of each
yasna, homologized to both creation and the eschaton, that cannot be
proven in the texts.
The confusion of the Persian royal new year cult and priestly cult
weakens Mole's argument. More important,while he has convincingly
shown that the eschatological resonances of the yasna are profound
within the tradition,he has providedno tools to interpretthe actions of
the yasna. His interpretation is text-based. Furthermore,he only
addressesthe text of thegdthds,and we have no way of knowing what, if
any, ritual activitieswere earlier connected with these texts. This said,
the eschatologicalis an importantand multifacetedterm of referencefor
the interpretationof theyasna by the Zoroastriantradition.
Windfuhrhas proposed anothermode of seeing the structureof the
yasna that focuses on the text and emphasizes a tripartitestructure. He
sees theyasna haptanhditi(Y.35-41) ratherthan the gdth^sas the center
of the text and thus the liturgy. This collection of seven hymns comes
3Thisis in partbecausetheexegesisproposedassumesthreelevelsof initiation,thatof the common man,thatof theking,andthatof thepriest.Thedifficultyarisesbecausethe"eschatological
secret"of theyasna,if I maybe allowedto coin a phrase,was the inneraspectof the royalcult
celebrated
at Persepolis,
to Mol&.Butwe do not knowin detailwhatthatcultconsisted
according
of. Archaeology
confirmsthatthe pressingof hdmwas a partof the cult, but muchelse was
involved,perhapson a pan-NearEasternmodelas Fennellyhas argued.
426
Academy
of Religion
afterthe recitationof the first and longest collection of gdthdsand is of

great antiquity. It consists of hymns to Ahura Mazda, the fire, the
frawahrs, the waters, the soul of the ox, and specific prayers (von
Wesendonk; Narten). This text is central and is surroundedby the
gdthdsand the sacredmantras(Windfuhr, 1984:147-9). Windfuhrproposes a constructionaccordingto the formulaof thought/word/deed.
by the haoma. . while the outer'frame'chaptersare accompanied
ceremonies,the sacredlibationand while the seven chaptersin the
centeraddressthe fire,whichis the incarnatesymbolof truthandhighest purity,the two gatha-sections
are not directlyrelatedto the ritual.
Thus, the threemajorlayersof the Yasnaappearto reflectthe triad
as follows:the outerframefocuseson action,the
'thought-word-deed'
Gathicsectionfocuseson thought,whereasthe centralsectionfocuses
on the fire,the truthand the word(156).
This proposalhas the merit of takingthe structureof the text at face
value, with the yasna haptanhditiat the center, but not privilegingthe
gdthdsas philological and pious assumptionsusually dictate. Nevertheless, Windfuhr'sproposal is as textboundas Mole's. It is also misleading. The second pressing of the hom occurs duringthe recitationof the
first gdthd, and the focus of the yasna haptanhditiis not just the fire.
Since no ritual actions occur during theyasna haptanhditi,it is impossible to identifyits ritualfocus. Windfuhralso does not providetools for
interpretingthe yasna's symbols and actions.
There remainsa place for the interpretationof the dramaticunity of
the yasna that focuses primarilyon the ritual actions and the symbolic
content of the enacted rite. I have selected the term 'dramaticunity' to
highlighttwo featuresof this analysis. The first is that the enacted ritual
as it now exists is a unity. Second, while the yasna does not have a
narrative,it does have a processual form that culminates in a climax.
Observingthe multifacetedroles played by the element and symbol of
water is a useful heuristicdevice that reveals the overall dramaticunity
of the yasna. Specifically,I want to begin with the hypothesis that the
dramaticclimax of theyasna is the pouring of the h0m into the well at
the conclusion of the ceremonyand work back from that to a full exegesis of the meanings connected by this act. The libation into the well is
usually taken as a sort of an anti-climax, which follows a series of
deconsecrationsin the pdwrâsthe priest preparesto conclude theyasna.
The movement to the well is the dramaticclimax.
I also want to pay special attentionto the explicit substitutionsthat
are part of the exegesis of the yasna, for example the replacementof
vegetal twigs by metal rods in the barsom,and the absence of animal
427
sacrificeand offeringsof fat to the fire in theyasna. These two substitutions, of which the Zoroastrianexegeticaltraditionis very self-conscious,
are centralto this analysis and highlight the place of substitutionas an
interpretativekey for understandingtheyasna. Other substitutionswill
later contributeto our analysis.
THE SPACE OF THE WATERS
Within the ritualprecinct, the pdwr:three featuresof the placing of
the waters are the startingpoint for our reading. First,the watersare in
the northwestcomer in the large containercalled the kundiand in the
smaller pot used for hand washing. North is the directionwhence the
demons come. The fire is placed at the extremeother end of the implein the south.4 The west is the weakest of the good
ments in the
pad,
the
are in the most inauspiciousplace. This northso
waters
directions,
of
the
waters
is also reflectedon the ritual table, where
westerly place
the two water cups occupy the northwestcomer.
The second featureof the placementof the waters is plurality;water
is never in one place. The plurality of water containers double one
anotherand underlinethe multilocalityof water. This multilocalitycontrastswith the single placement of fire.
In additionto the differencein placement of water and fire, there is
also a difference in plane. The water exists on a horizontal plane, a
point emphasized by the pluralityof its locations. On the other hand,
the fire exists in one location on a verticalplane. Bothfire and waterare
in motion along their planes. Fire is in an upward motion along its
verticalplane. This verticalityis reinforcedby the actions of the priests.
The rdspi'remainsstandingthroughoutthe ceremony. He raises the fuel
to the fire and returnsany embers that should fall to the fire. The zst
stands upon his seat to deliver the praise of fire (Y.62).
The multilocalityof the watersshows its motion along the horizontal
plane. The waters also contain an importantasymmetrybecause they
can also move downwardas well as laterally. When the surfaceof the
kundi is agitated,the waters overflow. The fire-vase is slightly higher
than the kundi, and this difference in verticalityis reinforced by the
upward motion connected with the fire and the downwardone of the
4Modi'sdiagramof the layoutof theyasna (255) shows the fire vase off the centralaxis towardthe
south-east. Dastur Kotwalassures me that this is simply an error.
428
waters. The highest point reachedby water is the lip of the kundi,and
in all its ritual usages it flows downwardsfrom there.
Two furtherfeaturesconnected with the spatial arrayof the waters
are significant. First,the bordersof the kundiare round,which is analogous to the shape of the fire-vase. Butwhile the base on which the firevase rests is square, the base on which the kundi rests is also round.
There is no clear demarcationbetween the kundiand its base. In fact,
unlike the base of the fire-vase,the base on which the kundirests has no
separatedesignation. Thus, unity of shape contrastswith opposition in
shape to elicit one final contrast: the waters contain or supportthings,
while the fire is contained or supported. This unity of shape may also
be read as resolving the contradictionbetween plane and direction of
movement. The uniformityof round shape holds the two competing
directionsof lateraland downwardtogetherin tension.
The kundicontains two implements that are involved in downward
motion and with the breaking of boundaries, the pestle that is struck
againstthe inside of the mortarto crush the twigs and the sieve through
which the hOmis strained. These two objects are kept in the wateruntil
the moment they are needed for the preparationof the hom,gaining the
water's powers to move and separate.
An examinationof the spatialmeaningsof the fire and wateryields a
thoroughgoingcontrastingpair between the fire and the waters we may
illustrateas follows:
water/northwest/plurality/multilocal/horizontal/downward/container::fire/south/singularity/unilocal/vertical/upward/contained
This opposition seems complete, althoughwater is quantitativelymore
mobile than the fire and is able to move in two differentdirections at
once. The vertical/upwardmotion of the fire is not contradictorythe
way the horizontal/downwardmotion of water is.
The barsom,the twenty-one metal rods which rest upon two crescent-shaped stands, mediates this symbolic opposition. The barsomis
placed at the north-east. The rods lie horizontallyon the stands,but are
raisedvertically. They are plural, but continuallybeing pushed toward
unity. The date-palmleaf that binds them is a powerful symbol of the
effortnecessaryto keep them one. Repeatedtying of knots of the datepalm leaf marksthe effortof uniting them. The barsomis connected to
the fire by being the second recipientof the offeringsof hOmmade to the
fire, and it is connected to the watersby the repeatedlaving of the datepalm with water. Finally, the barsomcomplex-i.e. the rods and the
stands that hold them-represents an interestingplay on containingand
Darrw: Keepingthe WatersDry
429
being contained. The two crescent-shapedstands are containers tied

togetherby a single metal rod that insures their containingpowers. The
rods, on the other hand, are contained by the two stands and by the
date-palm, although here again considerable ritual effort must be
expended to ensure that they continue to be effectivelycontained.
There are two importantlimits on the mediatoryfunctionof the barsom. First,the barsomis restrictedto the pdwi~it does not leave the area
duringthe ceremony. Second, the barsomis constantlyin physical contact with the priest-usually the zSt but at certainpoints the rdsp^ This
connection doubles the connection of the two crescent-shapedholders
as it also doubles the connection established between the z t and the
rdsp. It is a balanced connection. The zt&draws from the barsomthe
mediatedpowers of the fire and waterwhile providingto the barsomthe
necessarypurificationand power of the sacred words.
If the barsomis the structuralmediationof fire and waterin termsof
the spatial oppositions, there may be a structuralistexplanation of the
use of metal wires in place of the "original"vegetal twigs. Contemporaryexegesis usually explains the substitutionby noting the absence of
the originalbarsomin India. The historical"reality"of this substitution
aside, what is its structuralmeaning?
Two features of the metallic composition are relevant. As metal,
they are not subjectto fire. They cannot be burned, and so affirmthe
independence and equality of the metal rods in terms of fire. At the
same time, the independence of the metal rods from water is also
affirmed. These metal rods do not need waterto be kept fresh, as would
vegetal matter. The water is still needed to insure the balance of the
container/contained mediation that the date-palm represents. The
watermust keep it fresh and strong,a signal of the greaterpowers of the
waters. Their metallic composition also is connected to a second feature. Metalis the element of the Amesha SpentaSahrewar,it thus is also
homologized to the sky, which is thought of as being rock crystal,i.e.
metal. In fact, S'ahrewaris invoked first in the tying of the barsom
(Kotwaland Boyd:46). If this readingof the horizontalityof the barsom
is correct,in additionto the verticalmovementupwardsit makes in the
hands of the priest, it is in itself a representationof verticalityby its
reference to the sky in its deceptively horizontal position. The metal
composition of the barsomthus has a clear structurallogic.
PROCESSUAL FORM
So far, our exegesis has been in the key of space. Let us turnnow to
430
the key of time. Two featuresare striking. First, the waters receive an
offering only at the end of the liturgy. The fire, on the other hand,
repeatedlyreceives fragrantofferingsand also symbolicallyreceives the
wheatbreadand the parahim preparedbefore the yasna and the hdin
preparedduringit. Second, it is strikingthat homage or praise to waters
always follow those to fire,5water always comes second. In the invocations of Y. 1:12, the fire, AhuraMazda'sson, is invited togetherwith all
the fires, followed then by the good waters and the plants made by
Mazda. The waters are then invoked again at Y.1:16, along with villages, meadows, and heavenly bodies. Y.17:11 contains praise of fire;
verse 12 containspraiseof the waters. In theyasna haptanhditithe fire is
praised in Y.36, and the earth and waters in Y.38. Finally, in Y.62 the
hymn to fire is sung, followed then by the hymns to water that begin at
Y. 63 and include the hymn to Ardvi SuraAnahita(Y.65) and Y. 68 to
the waters, the daughterof Ahura.
Boyce has alreadypointed to the invarianceof the water's second
position (1966:112-113). This also occurs in the monthly, but not the
daily, calendar. Althoughthe honoring of the waters always comes second, the ceremony cannot proceed without the physical element of
water,which plays the centralrole in ensuringthe ritualpurityof all the
elements, both metallic and living. Without water, theyasna could not
begin. Beginningsare ambiguousand there are two possible beginnings
of the yasna; each signals the importanceof water. If we consider the
paragndceremonyas the beginning, then theyasna startswith the fetching of waterfrom a well. Each section of the paragndinvolves the use of
water in purifying the utensils, the datepalm leaf, the pomegranate
twigs, the barsom,the h6m twigs, and the milk so that all can be in place
for the yasna. Water and mantric utterancesmove the implements up
the scale of ritual purity (Kotwal and Boyd:23-4). Alternatively,if the
beginning of theyasna is the ceremonialacts at the outset of theyasna,
the firsttwo of these are the washing of the zSt's hands and the washing
of the fire stand.
The processual placing of water after fire exhibits two features of
5For a paralleloutside theyasna see Videvdat18:69-76 where the expiation for intercoursewith a
menstruatingwomen is described. Firstcomes an offeringof a thousandsheep to the fire followed
by a thousandloads of varioussoft and fragrantwoods. Then a thousandbarsombundles should be
offeredto the waters,followed then by a thousandofferingsof hem mixed with milk and pomegranate. Certaingood deeds such as killing noxious creaturesand bridging waterwaysmust also be
done and physical punishmentsundergone. The structureof offeringsto fire and water are in the
normal order. It is interestingto note that structurallythe offeringof sacrificeto the fire is paralleled by offeringbarsomto the water. Cf. MaryBoyce (1966: 104).
Darrow Keepingthe WatersDry
431
ambiguity. First,there is a contradictionbetween the spiritualsecondariness of water in relationto fire and the absolutelycentralrole that the
physical element of water plays. This contradictionis resolved by the
opposition between the material substance of water and its spiritual
principle. The materialsubstancecan and does act independentlyof the
spiritualprinciplethat it represents. In fact, it must do so if theyasna is
to commence. The bifurcationof the materialand the spiritualallows
the water to be both primaryand secondaryat the same moment, and
this tension, requiredby the processualposition, brings us close to the
meaning of the waters. Fire is also simultaneouslya materialthing and
a spiritualprinciple,but it does not exhibit the tension of its two dimensions that the water does. It is the tensions that the water exhibits that
makes the liturgypossible.
THE SPIRITUAL AND THE MATERIAL
Two other featuresfurtherhighlight the rich contradictoryrelation
between the spiritualand the materialwaters. First,there is a plurality
of spiritual principles connected with the waters. The fire receives a
single hymn in its honor, Y. 62, but the hymns in honor of the waters
run from Y. 63-69. Second, there is a connection between the water
within the precinctand the watersthat run throughthe sacralgeography
of Iran. I shall returnto this second point below.
The zdt stands erect on his stone slab to deliver the praise of fire in
Y. 62. He beseeches the fire to be constantly aflame and to provide
glory, nourishment,rewards,and offspring,as well as religiousinspiration and authority. Unlike the fire, whose specific divine being (yazata)
is not mentioned, the yazata connected with the waters, the goddess
ArdviSuraAnahita,is the focus of attentionwhen the z6t and the
rdspi,
standing in the northeastcomer facing west towardthe kundi,recite Y.
65. The goddess is asked to provide for the increase of herds and to
purifythe seeds of males and the wombs and milk of women (1-2). The
hymn requeststhat the waters never be used by those of evil intent and
those who seek to harm (7-8). Zoroaster'sfirst invocationto the waters
is then recalled (10). Then the AmeshaSpentas,the holyfrawahrs,and
the yazatas are invoked to bestow prosperity. Thus, even in the single
hymn of Y.65 the number of objects of praise comes to include the
entire pantheon. By contrast,in Y.62 the focus remains on the fire, the
son of AhuraMazda. There follows in Y.68 a more generalhymn to the
432
waters,who is a femaleAhura.6The libation,zohr,composedof hdm,

is to be offeredas an atonementforanyoffense
milk,andpomegranate,
thatmighthavebeen done. The femaleAhurais beseechedfor blessby theyasna.Then,as we saw
ingsin hopesthatshe will be propitiated
in Y.65,the objectof praiseis widenedto includetheAmeshaSpentas,
the soul of the cow, Gayomard,thefrawahrof Zoroaster,and all the
good creation(22).
Theobviousoppositionbetweenthe son andthe daughterof Ahura,
the fire and water,requiresa word aboutthe sexualdynamicsof the
relationof fireandwater.A numberof pointsmitigateagainstanysimple assumptionthatthe metaphorof sexualdifferenceexistsat the root
of the oppositionbetweenfireandwater.A varietyof figures,bothmale
and female,are invokedin the contextof the waters. Mostimportant,
the male waterdivinity,ApamNapat,doublesAnahitaat least at one
point (Y.65:12).We haveseen thatin generalthe whole pantheonis
invokedwith the waters.
It does not deny the obvious,thatfire is male and the watersare
female,to observethatthe female(as a container)embracesthe male
and all of the pantheonandthe createdworldand also providesfecundityto both male and female. Wateris imagedby the male figuresof
ApamNapator BurzYazadas well as the femaleone, and its feminity
embracesand transcendssexualdifference.
INSIDE/OUTSIDE
We alludedaboveto anotherimportantfeatureof the hymns. The
whichrefersto
hymnsto thewatersalwaysinvokethe sacredgeography,
the mythicallakes where the waters gather. Above all, it is the
sea thatis filledto a mightyvolumeby the watersthatflow
vouru.kaca
fromMountHukairya
(Y.65:3). Theriversthatflowfromthatseaevenwater
to
all the sevenregions.Twoseasareinvokeddurtuallyprovide
ing the paragndceremony,making the utensils and pdwl^pure (Kotwal
and Boyd:24).It is in connectionwith the watersthatwhatis outside
the pdwvîsinvoked. The waters exist on a horizontalplane that moves

outsidethepadwiareato includeall of creation.
Not only can waterallow mentalmovementoutsidethe
but
pdwi,
6In Y. 68:1, 3, 5, 9, 10 and 14 the watersare addressedas ahuranay,the

daughterof Ahura. In the
yasna haptanhditi,(Y. 38:1) the addressis to the wives of Ahura,possibly the earth and the waters.
Then in Y.38: 3 the address is to the Ahuranis, the female ahuras, which is glossed as water
whether in a pond, well, or flowing (Dhabar:5).
Darrow:Keepingthe WatersDry
433
andat the sametime

wateritselfphysicallymovesin andoutof the
pdwi,
surround
and protectthe
the
in
the
furrows
that
provides boundary
to
from
the
well
Water
must
be
fetched
beginthegatherpurity.
pduwfs
waterthenmust
of
the
materials
to
the
Consecrated
yasna.
necessary
ing
andmilk
be removedfromthepdwlmwhenthe datepalm,pomegranate,
are gatheredfromwithinthe templecompoundand broughtinto the
pdwiarea.In short,waterbothestablishesboundariesandcrossesthem.
Finally,it is boththe vehicleandthe objectof the finalboundarycrossing. In the climaxof theyasna,the priestsleavethe boundariesof the
pdwimandpour a libation of h6m, milk, and pomegranateinto a well or
any running stream outside the pdwmarea.7
RESIDUEAND PRODUCT
There are three residuesproducedin the yasna. These are the
of whichthe sacrifierandotherpiouslaypeople
remainingwheatbread,
the
residue
fromthe pressingof the hom,whichis thrown
maypartake;
down to the floor, where it is dried to be offered to fire along with the
dried date-palmleaf that binds togetherthe barsomwires; and the h6m
itself, about half of which is poured into the well. The rest is held back
in the pdwmin case the first offering is vitiated on the way to the well.
After the offeringto the well, the rest is availableto meet the needs of
the lay community,which may wish at crucial or dangerouspoints in
their lives to consume the hom. The hom thus is in one respect residue
like the wheatbread,left over from the tastingof the gods representedby
the z6t. But the second h6m is not tastedby the z6t. It is the productof
the whole ceremony,and it passes out beyond the pamwnot only to the
community,but also to all creation.
The traditionholds that this h6m consists of three things, pressings
from three hom twigs, one pomegrantetwig, and milk. These three elements are the traditionalcomponents of libation to the waters, the zo^hr,
that conclude the yasna. They are repeatedlymentioned in the text of
7This readingneeds to be qualified. In commentingon an earlierdraftof this paper DasturKotwal
remarkedthat the priestdoes not leave the sacredprecinctas such when he goes to the well; rather,
he passes througha series of pdwaând thus is never reallyoutside. This is an importantfeatureof
the Zoroastrianconcept of sacred space, but I do not think it undercuts my analysis since the
passage out of the padwwheretheyasna is performedis precededby a deconsecration. In addition,
much stress is placed on protectingthe priest from the greaterdangersof vitiationof the ceremony
that come once the confines of the initial pdwâre left. In short, while in one sense the pdwi is
continuous sacredspace, in anotherthere is a qualitativedifferencebetween the space of theyasna
celebration and the well, a point underlined by the pluralityof pdwiesof which Dastur Kotwal
spoke.
434
the yasna (Y. 66:1, 68:1). The order in which they are placed into the
mortaris h6m twigs, milk, and pomegranatetwig. Milk is mixed in with
the h6m only in the yasna, and thus it is milk that first requires our
attention.
Boycehas shown that milk is the vehicle of offeringsto the water. In
the libation to waters, the owzur(which is practicedin the Zoroastrian
villages around Yazd), two elements from the vegetal kingdom are
placed in milk and offeredto the streamby both priests and lay people.
This ceremony takes place in the beloved months of Urdibeheshtand
Azar(both connectedwith fire) and at other times. Boyceis surelyright
to draw a parallelbetween the three objectsgiven to water and the three
objectspresentedto the fire: fat from an animal sacrifice,frankincense,
and sandalwood.8 Fat and milk clearly are equated both because they
representthe animal world and also because the other two productsin
the offeringsto water and fire are identifiedas fragrantvegetalproducts.
Milk appears to have been the specific vehicle for making offerings to
the water, and we can begin to explain the use of milk in this hOm
mixture as a vehicle for the offeringto water.
The role of milk as vehicle for making an offeringto water and as
representativeof the animal world brings us back to our interpretation
of the mediatingfunction of the barsom,since the milk is used to lave
the date-palmleaf at the beginning of each chapterof theyasna (twice
duringthe recitationof thegdthcs). If our interpretationof the barsomas
mediatingprinciple is correct,then this laving unites two offeringsby a
displacement. It succeeds in being an offeringfrom the animalworld to
both the waters and fire united in the barsom. In both cases, we are
speakingof only a partialofferingsince one ratherthan three elements
is given. But its partialityis completed both by the frankincenseand
sandalwoodofferingsthat are given to the firewithin thepdwaand by the
final complete offering to the waters that will take place outside the
pam.
If milk is the vehicle for an offeringto water, what are the relations
between it and the juices of the hom and pomegranate twigs that
togetherform the mixture? Three hom twigs and one pomegranatetwig
are pressedto give theirjuice. There are at least two ways to imaginethe
relationshipbetween the hom and the pomegranate. The first is sexual,
the second hierarchical. The h6m might represent the male principle
8The separateofferingto waters seems to have been replacedamong the parsis by the palli ritual
where a three-foldofferingof sweetballs,coconut, and flowersare offered. The offeringof fat to the
fire has also disappeared(Boyce, 1966:116-118; 1982).
435
and the pomegranatethe female. The essentially male identity of the

hAm is reflectedin the role of both hero and priest played by the figure
of h6m (Boyce, 1970:62-67). We have no comparableevidence for the
pomegranatein particular,but the plant world is feminine. The multiplicity of seeds contained in a pomegranatealso suggests the feminine.
This would make milk then a kind of mediatorbetween the male and
female principles. In the Indian context, milk can be a fluid of ambiguous sexual identity, especially with regardto soma (O'Flaherty:17-61).
We might hypothesizethat the ambiguouscharacterof milk in the Iranian context is heightenedby its being between h6m and pomegranate.
The sexual hypothesis ignores the question of proportions. The
strikingimbalancebetween the three hom twigs and the one pomegranate twig cannot be accountedfor in terms of sexual imagery. This leads
to a proposalthat in fact the h6m,by its pluralityand dominance,represents spiritual powers, while the pomegranaterepresents the vegetal
world. The milk then can be seen as occupyinga median position representing the animal world. This hierarchicalreadingwould hold that
the milk serves as the point of transferbetween the spiritualpowers and
the vegetal world. In the preparationof the parah6m,a ring containing
the hairs of a living white bull is used to strainthe mixtureand bring the
power of the animal world to that mixture. The ring is not used in the
yasna, althoughit remainson the ritualtable. The structuralrole it plays
appearsto be replacedby the milk. If the analogyis correct,it is significant that we have a shift from the male bull to the female milkgiverin
the yasna. The ambiguityin the traditionwhether the final h6m drink
will contain milk or meat might also be reflectedin this.
I am not fully satisfied with either of these readings. We need to
look a bit furtherto find the meaning of this tripartitegift to the water.
At the finalyasna when all are presentedwith the sacreddrink that will
make them immortal,that drink is composed of two elements, the pure
white h6m from the gaokaranatree that exists at the centerof the waters,
and either the milk or the meat of the Hadhayansbull/cow. Since the
final drink is composed of these two elements, the present composition
of the homindicatesprimarilya negativefact. The drinkthat is prepared
now is not the same as that which is to come. The symbolismis that of
the deferredand delayed eschaton, ratherthan a simple prefiguringof
the final eschaton. The h6m we drink is not made from the white h6m
and must be tripledin strengthin regardto its other element. The tradition's extensiveconsiderationsof the loss of knowledgeof the identityof
hom are relevanthere. As representativeof that missing white hdm,the
hom twigs now used cannot also make present the vegetal world of
436
which the true

is king, so the pomegranatemust separatelyrepreworld. Finally,althoughthe milk in the
sent the vegetalhr6m
represents
the animal sacrificeor productthat will be present at thehr6m
final time, it is
not anything like that final libation; its differenceis reinforcedby the
conscious substitutionof goat's milk for cow's milk that is characteristic
of currentParsi practice.
The libation to the waters, in which the yasna culminates, is richly
symbolic of a deferredeschaton. Ratherthan prefiguringthe eschaton,
as Mol6 proposed,we have a ceremonyplaced in mid-time, a substitute
composed of substitutes,still of greatpotency, that maintainsand purifies the world but does not recreateor transformit. If this reading is
correct,then the substitutionswe have recognizedconstitute the structure of the yasna as representationof a delay, of a making do. At the
renovationat the end of time, a properyasna will be performed,not
now. The use of hdmtwigs that are explicitlyrecognizedas not the real
hom, the use of goat's milk, and the need to include anotherrepresentative of the vegetalworld all are indicativeof this makingdo. To this we
may also add certain other substitutions. There are two priests rather
than seven, as there will be at the finalyasna;animal sacrificeis absent;
and the meat offeringto the fire is only palely reflectedin the butteratop
the wheatbreadand the offeringof milk to the barsom.
Butthereare not threeelements in the hOm;there are four.9 Wateris
far
the predominantelement in the mixture. What do we make of
by
the uniform neglect by the texts of the element of water in the hdm
libation to the waters? This silence can best be interpretedin terms of
the "delayedeschaton"we have proposed as the key to understanding
the yasna. For now, the yasna is performedin an imperfect world of
struggle. Watermakes theyasna possible, but also symbolizesits necessity. It also is the element in the physical world that most needs purification (Choksy:74-5). The waters are both the strongest and the
weakest, the victoriousand the vulnerableelement in the world.
Kotwal and Boyd depict the association between the spiritual and
the materialworld in connectionwith the fire as a "trueepiphanyof the
realm of Ohrmazd;a pure (paw)
[material]presence of the highest
gittz
9Boyce(1966:114) has alreadypointed this anomalyout. Her specific concern was why the Parsis
should come to call the
to the waterszdhrwhen water is so inessential that it was not
hr6moffering
even mentioned. She parallels
this with Iranian usage where the whole libation is called ow-i
hashte,consecratedwater. Her conclusion is that the element of wateris "doctrinallyinessential ...
(but) it is in fact quantitativelythe chief ingredient(114). Her recognitionof the anomalyis acute;
her solution that divides doctrinalsignificancefrom physical quantityis wrong, bifurcatingexactly
what the symbol of water so successfullyunites.
437
menig [spiritual]dimension" (41). Water also serves to representthe

spiritual in the material,but in a much more complicated way. The
waters manifest both the powers and the vulnerabilityof the material
world and simultaneouslymanifest and employ the spiritualpowers of
the waters. Thus, the fusion and tension of the spiritualand the material are both representedin the symbol of water, and the ambiguitiesof
the symbol are especially rich. We should not be fooled either by the
secondarinessof the waters or the silence about the role of the waters;
they are, in fact, essential. It is only for now, in the absence of the final
victory of the forces of the good in the materialworld, that the waters
symbolizeboth the powers and the vulnerabilityinherentin the material
world. Theyasna performedin this waiting time is one above all that
aims to strengthen the waters and the plant and animal world that
depend on them. There can be no attempthere to separatethe spiritual
from the physical reality of the waters. They are fused together, but
there is not an identityof spiritualand material,but a continualplay of
the contradictionsof the two. After the renovationthis will not be the
case, but that is irrelevantfor now.
The descriptionof the renovationin Chapter34 of the Selectionsof
Zdtspram,where the beginning and the end of the world are contrasted,
confirms this hypothesis. Ahura Mazda created the materialworld by
means of water, but it will be ended by means of fire. Then the waters
will disappear,and fire will bring about the final transformation(50-1).
In the meantime,fire and water are the two links to the spiritualworld,
but they are contradictoryand opposed. The priest in the yasna must
find a way to fuse their power and to serve each one. The fire is served
inside the sacredprecinct,but the watersmake that servicepossible and
beckon the priest outside into the world, the arena for struggle. There
the yasna empowers the most importantweapon in that struggle, the
waters.
I have attemptedin this articleto tease out the dramaticunity of the
yasna. We began by recognizinga full structuraloppositionbetween fire
and water,with a suspicion inspiredby LadyDrower,that wateris more
important. We recognized that the barsomwires represent a kind of
structuralmediationbetween fire and water that unite the two elements,
both physical and spiritual,within the sacred compound. The priest's
continuing physical connection to the barsomunderlines their central
role, but also their limits.
We then expanded our view of the roles of water as both primary
and secondary,as both materialand spiritual,as both inside and outside
and as capable of movementbetween. The waters both make boundaThis content downloaded from 146.90.76.162 on Sun, 31 May 2015 16:25:31 UTC
438
ries and cross them. We then detouredinto a considerationof the composition of the final product of the yasna. We saw that the three
elements that compose that libation can all be read at best as substitutions for the true objectsthat will be employedat the final celebrationof
theyasna. We saw finally that there is complete silence about the preponderantelement in that libation, water. We suggested,though, that
this silence reallyunderlinesthe centralrole playedby wateras the vehicle in this imperfectworld to achieve purity,concentrateritual power,
enrich the world, and finally energize itself. The imperfectworld is a
battlefield,but the remarkablepower of water makes it possible for the
world to perfect itself and thus await the final renovation.'0
Brian K. Smith (1985) has brilliantlyarguedthat Vedic ritualismis
informedby two complementarymoves, which make it a round-tripto
the world of gods. One move homologizes the activities of priests to
gods and makes the ritual a means of conveyance to the gods' world.
The other move stresses the differenceof men and gods because a fully
successful ritual would be fatal to mortal men. Thus, the notion of
resemblanceratherthan identity is stressed and the hierarchicaldifference of gods and men never breached.
...
(T)he rituallyobtained divinity and heavenly world were not the
trueequivalentsof the ontologicaland metaphysical

statesof the gods.
(305)
In Iran, a third move is added to those of homology and difference.
The central place of the eschatologicalvision of present turmoil and
futuretriumphbreaks the complementarityof homology and difference
and adds a motion forwardthroughtime towarda perfecttime which is
not now. Now it is the lack of resemblancebetween the presentyasna
and the final one that matters. It is the disjunctionand contradictionof
the hierarchyof spirit and matterrepresentedby the waters as spiritual
and materialprinciplesthat matters. This is what is enactedin the performance of the liturgy. Ratherthan a movement of consecrationand
deconsecration, the yasna is structured as a dramatic unity that
culminatesin the climacticaction "off-stage"at the well and for the laity
in the consuming of the ho^m.This climax gives dramaticunity to the
yasna as a whole.
'oThroughoutthis article I have taken the ritualobjects and actions as the center of my analysis,
but I hope it has been noted that a varietyof specific featuresin the text, e.g. the processualorder,
the differencesbetween Y. 62 and Y. 63-9, has suggestedat least some directionsfor the exegesis of
the texts also. In the end, any divorcebetween the text and the ritual action must be modified as
we explore the meaning of theyasna.
439
Finally, I am quite aware that asking afterthe dramaticunity of the

yasna may seem a bit old fashioned in this post-structuralistage which
does not seek a work's unity, but focuses on what is omitted, on the
critiqueinherent in a work of itself, on the multiplicityand diversityof
meanings that are always contained and always collide in a text, be it a
written or a ritualone (Belsey:109). In response, I wantto stress again
that it is in terms of drama,of the performanceas a whole, that I have
sought this unity. The syntacticrules of the waters'pluralityand apparent secondarinessstructurethe rite and culminate in the dramaticclimax (another old-fashioned notion to be sure) of pouring the libation
into the well. This is a climax which seemed at the outset an add-on,
takingplace 'outside,'afterthe deconsecrationof the ritualarea and the
returnto the profaneworld. It turnedout not to be an add-on, but the
heart. Moreover,in its deliberate attempt to take seriously the consciousness of substitutions,of having to make do in a world in which
the eschaton has not occurred,I hope I have provideda readingwhich
does stress the multiplicity,diversityand opposition of meanings in the
yasna as now performed. The notion of dramaticunity may not be elegant, but apparentlyone also needs to make do here as well."
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Keeping The Waters Dry The Semiotics of Fire and Water in The Zoroastrian Yasna

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Keeping The Waters Dry The Semiotics of Fire and Water in The Zoroastrian Yasna

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American Academy of Religion

The Semiotics of Fire and Water in the

"Howmanyarethe Agnis(fires),how manyarethe suns? Howmany

Journalof the AmericanAcademyof Religion

Darrow: Keepingthe WatersDry

Journalof the AmericanAcademyof Religion

doesnot needto be seizedandheld,as in the caseof ceremony,or put

Darrow: Keepingthe WatersDry

directingattentionto the separatelitanies that compose the bulk of the

Journalof the AmericanAcademyof Religion

the consumptionof the wheatbreadand the parahdmby the priest. It is

Darrow Keepingthe WatersDry

But while we cannot be precise about its history,the currentform of the

Journalof the AmericanAcademyof Religion

Darrow: Keepingthe WatersDry

afterthe recitationof the first and longest collection of gdthdsand is of

Darrow: Keepingthe WatersDry

Journalof the AmericanAcademyof Religion

Darrw: Keepingthe WatersDry

being contained. The two crescent-shapedstands are containers tied

Journalof the AmericanAcademyof Religion

Darrow Keepingthe WatersDry

Journalof the AmericanAcademyof Religion

waters,who is a femaleAhura.6The libation,zohr,composedof hdm,

and Boyd:24).It is in connectionwith the watersthatwhatis outside

the pdwv^isinvoked. The waters exist on a horizontalplane that moves

Not only can waterallow mentalmovementoutsidethe

6In Y. 68:1, 3, 5, 9, 10 and 14 the watersare addressedas ahuranay,the

andat the sametime

Journalof the AmericanAcademyof Religion

Darrow: Keepingthe WatersDry

and the pomegranatethe female. The essentially male identity of the

Journalof the AmericanAcademyof Religion

which the true

menig [spiritual]dimension" (41). Water also serves to representthe

Journalof the AmericanAcademyof Religion

(T)he rituallyobtained divinity and heavenly world were not the

trueequivalentsof the ontologicaland metaphysical

Finally, I am quite aware that asking afterthe dramaticunity of the

I want to express my deep indebtednessto DasturDr. FirozeM. Kotwaland ProfessorJames W.

"Ata'-Zohrand Ab-Zohr."Journalof the RoyalAsiatic

Caland, W. and V. L'Agnistoma.Paris: Leroux.

The PahlaviCodexK35 FirstPart. Codices Avestici et

Desai, E.N.B. "Symbolismof the VariousArticlesUsed in the Higher

"The Persepolis Ritual." BiblicalArchaeologist(Summer), 135-162.

GreaterBundahisn Zand Aksi7h, Iranian or GreaterBundahis.n.Ed. and

and OtherMythicalBeasts. Chicago:

VorarbeitenII. Wiesbaden: Otto

andgitig in the PahlaviTexts

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