brows. On
concluding his prayers, which are in the Avesta language, he walks
backward to where he left his shoes and goes home. A Parsi man never
allows his hearth fire to go out, and if he changes his residence he
carries it with him to the next place of abode.

13. The Homa liquor.

Like the Hindus, the Iranian ancestors of the Parsis revered the
sacred liquor made from the Soma or Homa plant. It was considered
a panacea for all diseases, and many stories about the miraculous
effects obtained from drinking the juice are contained in a hymn of
the Zend-Avesta composed in its honour. According to Dr. Mitchell [365]
the offering of Homa is still made at Parsi temples, though apparently
some substitute must have been obtained for the original plant, which
does not grow in the plains of India. At any rate the offering and
sacrificial drinking of the liquor were probably continued so long
as the Parsis remained in Persia. As this is a comparatively cool
country, the bad effects of alcohol did not perhaps become apparent to
the Parsis as they did to the Hindus in the plains of India, and hence
the sanctity attaching to the liquor underwent no similar decline. From
this it perhaps results that the Parsis have no feeling at all against
alcohol, and drink it for pleasure, like Europeans. Both the toddy of
the date-palm and mahua spirit are freely consumed at their feasts,
while the rich members of the community drink European wines and
spirits. As any dealing in alcohol is practically prohibited to
high-caste Hindus and also to Muhammadans, and low-caste Hindus have
hitherto scarcely ever been literate, the Parsis on account of this
peculiarity have found a profitable opening in the wholesale liquor
trade, and until recently have had very little effective competition
to face. This is perhaps a reason for their special addiction to it,
and also for their engaging in the sale of European stores and wines.

14. Parsi priests.

The Parsi priests form a hereditary caste, and are all supposed to be
descended from one Shapur Sheheriar, who with his sons and grandsons,
one of whom translated the Zend-Avesta into Sanskrit, are believed
to have been among the first Parsi settlers of the priestly caste at
Sanjan in north Thana. The training of a priest consists of learning
substantial portions of the Zend-Avesta by heart, and in going through
elaborate ceremonies of purification, in which the drinking of _nerang_
and _ner