ABSTRACT
CHAPTER FOUR deals with the initiation rituals and ceremonies. First is an initiation of a Parsee child (at seven years) into Zoroastrian religion known as Naojote, involving elaborate rituals of putting on sudreh (sacred shirt) and kusti (sacred thread). They symbolize a reminder of one’s purity of life and righteousness and one’s readiness to Zoroastrian religious customs and rules. This initiation ceremony is necessary for all Parsee children and must take place by the age of 15. Children without the ceremony are called Druj, i.e., a deceived person, an evil power. The second form of initiation is that of two grades of priesthood to become a qualified priest namely Navar and Marta. Both grades involve elaborate stages of ceremonies spread across a number of days for each form.
