Zoroastrianism

Dorian Miller, Robin Kuis,
**Joey Wiles Eagle **

How did the religion develop? Did someone found the religion?
==== The religion was founded by the Iranian prophet and performer Zoroaster in the 6th century B.C. It was founded in a place called Persia. The person who found the religion was born in the end of the stone age and the start of the bronze age. This is definitely the oldest religion its started in 1200 BCE. ==== In the 6th century BC in Persia, Zarathustra founded Zoroastrianism. Zarathustra is also known as the Zoroaster. Zarathustra was a Persian prophet. He believed that he saw God when he was 30 years old. The god was called Ahura Mazda, who is the creator of all. This religion was founded by the prophet Zoroaster in ancient Iran. This was about 3500 years ago. Zoroaster was a Persian prophet that called god Ahura Mazda, and is believed to have created everything.

**Zoroastrianism was founded in about 1200-1500 BC by an Iranian, or at that time Persian, Prophet called Zoroaster. Zoroaster was born into a primitive form of polytheism, the worship of many gods. Zoroaster rejected the religion of that time. and when he was thirty had an alleged vision of God and his Amesha Spentas. From this time on Zoroaster would preach his belief of the one creator god, and how the deities from his old religions were in fact old evil spirits. **

Are there any important days? Which ones? What happens on those days?
The main festivals and important days in Zoroastrianism are:
 * Nowruz
 * The Six Gahambars
 * Khordad Sal (Birthday of Zoroaster)

Nowruz: Nowruz is the New Years Festival for the Zoroastrians. It is celebrated on the spring equinox. It is traditional to light fires and have big feasts to celebrate. Since recently fireworks are also being used.

The Six Gahambars: These are six of the seven obligatory feasts celebrated in Zoroastrianism. The seventh is the Nowruz (see above). The six feasts are known as;


 * Maidyarem ('mid-spring' feast)
 * Maidyoshahem ('midsummer' feast)
 * Paitishahem (feast of 'bringing in the harvest')
 * Ayathrem ('bringing home the herds')
 * Maidyarem ('mid-year'/winter feast)
 * Hamaspathmaidyem (feast of 'All Souls')

Khordad Sal: Khordad Sal is celebrated as the birthday of Zoroaster. It is known as the greater Noruz and is celebrated six days after the actual Noruz (see above). Nobody really knows when Zoroaster was born so the date is chosen symbolically. On this day, Zoroastrians gather in Fire Temples to pray and then feast.

Zoroastrianism celebrates:
 * Farvardegan Days
 * Jamshed Navroz (New Year)
 * Khordad Sal
 * Zarathosht Diso

The ** Farvardegan Days ** take place in March, July, and August on the 26th-30th days. It is a 10-day rememberance of the dead. The spirits have returned to Ahura Mazda in order to help fight against evil. People celebrate this at their homes. **Jamshed Navroz** is the Zoroastrian New Year. It is also known as Nowruz. It is a very important Zoroastrian celebration. At this celebration there are special prayers offered. For this celebration people get dressed nicely. They wear cloths and silver and gold kustis and caps. This festival symbolizes friendship, happiness, and harmony. **Khordad** **Sal**, celebrates the birth of the Zoroaster. This happens 6 days after Nowruz. People don't know the exact birth of the Zoroaster so they picked this day. This is celebrated in the temples with prayers and feasting. **Zarathosht** **Diso** is when people who follow Zoroastrianism mourn the death of the Zoroaster. They believe that the Zoroaster left to go to the Heavens. It happens on the 11th day of the 10th Zoroastrian month. This month is called Dae. In our calendar it falls around the 26th of December. The **Six Gahambars** is a festival, which is celebrated by Zoroastrians all over the world. “Gahambar” means proper s eason. These festivals are each five days long. They are celebrated for the 6 seasons. They also remind people of the 6 main material, which are heaven, water, earth, plants, animals and man. The Six Gahambars are:
 * Maidyozarem Gahambar
 * this is celebrated from 30th of April to the 4th of May
 * this is dedicated to Heaven
 * Maidyoshahem Gahambar
 * this is celebrated from June 29th to July 3rd
 * this celebrates water
 * Paitishahem Gahambar
 * this is celebrated from 12th September to 16th September
 * this is related to earth
 * Ayathrem Gahambar
 * this is celebrated from 12th October to 16th October
 * this celebrates plants
 * Maidyarem Gahambar
 * this is celebrated from 31st December to 4th January
 * this celebrates animals
 * Hamaspathmaidyem
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">this is celebrated from March 16th to March 20th
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">this celebrates man

=== The New Year festival, Nowruz, is the most joyous and beautiful of Zoroastrian feasts, a spring festival in honour of Rapithwin, the personification of noonday and summer. The festival to Mithra, or Mehregan, was traditionally an autumn one, as honoured as the spring feast of Nowruz. ===

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There are three notable Zoroastrian holidays or festivals: **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">**Naw-Ruz** - Celebrated on March 21, is an ancient Persian holiday for the new year. Naw-Ruz is also celebrated by those of the Baha’i Faith.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">**Yalda** - Celebrated on December 21 is a festival expressing gratitude for the days becoming longer and the nights becoming shorter, or good’s triumph over evil.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">**Zarathust No Diso** - This holiday is held on the 26 of December and marks the death of Zoroaster, and is a day of mourning.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There are other Zoroastrian holidays, but these are the three main ones. The other holidays include: Jamshedi Noruz, Khordad Sal, Jamshedi Noruz and Khordad Sal. **

How many gods does the religion have?
Zoroastrianism is Monotheistic and believe that there is one god named Ahura Mazda which translates to “Wise Lord”. Zoroastrians believe that he is:


 * Omniscient (knows everything)
 * Omnipotent (all powerful)
 * Omnipresent (is everywhere)
 * Impossible for humans to conceive
 * Unchanging
 * The Creator of life
 * The Source of all goodness and happiness

Zoroastrianism also believes in another holy spirit that is known as Ahura Mazda’s enemy that is called Angra Mainyu. His name means destructive spirit. They believe that he is the initiator of death and all evil things in the world. They believe that Ahura Mazda lives in a Heaven like area while Angra Mainyu lives in a Hellish area.

There is one god, called Ahura Mazda, and 6 Amesha Spentas, or Holy Immortals.

Zoroastrianism is monotheistic. People who believe in Zoroastrianism, believe that there is only one true god who is called <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ahura Mazda. Ahura Mazda is the Lord of Wisdom. He is also the god who created the heavens and the Earth. Ahura “means” light and Mazda means “wisdom”.

=<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Zoroastrianism contains both monotheistic and dualistic features. Its concepts of one God, judgment, heaven and hell likely influenced the major Western religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. =

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Zoroastrianism is a monotheistic religion, meaning Zoroastrians believe in one god who created everything, his name is Ahura Mazda. Zoroaster believed that Ahura Mazda was the original, uncreated god. He is believed to be omniscient, however not omnipotent. **

How do the followers contact or pray to their gods?
Zoroastrians believe that Zoroaster is the prophet of god. He is not actually worshipped, but they believe that you can become closer to god through his teachings. They believe in the “aster” which is the path of truth and righteousness. They pray several times a day to their God, Ahura Mazda, in buildings known as Fire temples.

Zoroastrians pray to Ahura Mazda, their God. They pray several times a day, wearing a kusit. A kusti is a cord which is knotted three times. They wear it by wrapping it around their sudreh, which is a long white shirt made out of cotton. Zoroastrians pray in their temples, which are called Fire Temples.

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In Zoroastrianism worship is not obligatory and the followers can choose how or if they choose to do so. Traditionally, however, Zoroastrians pray multiple times per day. While praying some followers wear something called a a kusti around a sudreh. A kusti is a cord which is knotted three times, and a sudreh is a white cotton shirt. These are worn to remind the wearer of “Good Words, Good Thoughts, Good Deeds”. The worshipper may then purify his or her self by washing their hands and tying and untying their kusti while reciting prayers. As the main goal of the prayers is to stay pure, and defeat evil and the Zoroastrian symbol of purity is fire, all prayers must be done in the presence of sacred fires in fire temples. **

What are the rules? What do people have to do in their lifetime?
Zoroastrians believe that one has to: Ahura Mazda says that one has to:
 * 1) be “pure” in everything, thoughts, verbally, and the actions that one does
 * 2) do charity
 * 3) be kind
 * 4) have a “clean” heart
 * 5) wish others nothing but good
 * 6) be honest
 * 7) only do good actions
 * 8) be patient
 * 9) friendly towards all others
 * 10) to be modest
 * 11) keep knowledge
 * 12) respect everyone
 * 13) use only nice words
 * 14) not show anger
 * 15) be religious
 * 16) be happy
 * 17) feel guilty for making bad choices
 * 1) pray 5 times a day
 * 2) to know God, the Zoroaster, and His prophet
 * 3) to follow the rules of Zoroastrianism
 * 4) avoid evil
 * 5) do only good actions
 * 6) fear hell and believe in heaven
 * 7) face the sun whilst praying
 * 8) have faith in the good of the mourning after death
 * 9) believe in Zoroastrianism and its texts
 * 10) believe that God does what he wants and will always do what he wants.

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There are 12 main beliefs of Zoroastrianism: **
 * ** Belief in Supreme and Universal God. **
 * ** Belief in the duality of existence. **
 * ** Belief in the divinity of creation. **
 * ** Belief in the spiritual nature of the world and human beings. **
 * **Belief in monotheism.**
 * ** Belief in the basic goodness of the humanity. **
 * ** Belief in the sanctity of the elements. **
 * ** Belief in the tradition of prophets. **
 * ** Belief in afterlife. **
 * **Belief in sin and expiation of sin**.
 * ** Belief in the Judgment day. **
 * ** Belief in the efficacy of sacrificial rituals. **

>
 * ** Belief in the efficacy of sacred chants. **
 * ** Belief in the importance of righteousness. **
 * Apart from belief in the above, one must generally live a good, pure life avoiding the forces of evil. One must pray about five times per day and never question Ahura Mazda. **

The main things that Zoroastrians have to do in their lives are:
 * 1) Practice the three commandments (good thoughts, good words, and good deeds).
 * 2) Practice living balanced and harmonious
 * 3) Wear the Kusti and Sudreh
 * 4) Be part of the initiation ceremony
 * 5) Worship God
 * 6) Worship fire
 * 7) Marry only inside the religion

Are there any sacred books? What are they called?
Zoroastrianism has 1 main sacred book, the Zend Avesta. It took a few hundred years for the Zend Avesta to be made. The book is written in Avestan. The Zend Avesta has the Pahlavi texts in them, which are also very important texts in Zoroastrianism.

The Zoroastrian sacred text is known as the Avesta, or Book of the Law. It was not officially finished until the <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sassanid dynasty in Persia (226-641 AD). It is a collection of sacred writings that the Zoroastrians refer to. it is written in Avestan.

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Zoroastrian holy book is called the Avesta. The Avesta is a collection, of compilation of many sacred texts. All in all the Avesta took several hundred years to complete. **

What do the holy buildings look like?
Zoroastrian temples may also be called the darb-e meh and Atashkadeh. A fire temple in Zoroastrianism is the place of worship for Zoroastrians. Zoroastrians revere fire in any form. In the Zoroastrian religion, fire (Atar), together with clean water (Aban), are agents of ritual cleanness. Clean, white "ash for the purification ceremonies is regarded as the basis of ritual life," which, "are essentially the rites proper to the tending of a domestic fire, for the temple fire is that of the hearth fire raised to a new solemnity.

Zoroastrian temples are known as fire temples. Today, they are also called dar be-mehr and are not usually built in a specific way. They are used to hold big fires, because Zoroastrians respect and honor fire. Zoroastrians usually pray at home individually, and not in these temples. This not always the case, because Zoroastrians can pray in many different ways.

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Zoroastrian holy buildings are called fire temples. Zoroastrian belief holds fire as a symbol of purity, and therefore a sacred fire is in all fire temples. They look very plain, and dusty in colour with many archways yet a rather rigid structure. Despite the simplicity of the exterior, the interior can be very extravagant. **

The name for the Zoroastrian place of worship is a Fire Temple. The front of the temple is often very plain. At the top of the building there is the Zoroastrian symbol, Faravahar. Zoroastrian temples are mostly all the same. They are very basic. In the corner of the main room there is a bell which is rung five times a day. This lets people know that the next “gah” has started. A gah is a period of the day. There are five in a day. In the temple there is also a fire, since Zoroastrians consider fire holy. Hanging on a wall are the tools to maintain this fire. Sometimes they are stored in a little storage room. The fire burns on wood.

What happens to you when you die?
Zoroastrians believe in the concept of Heaven and Hell, good and bad, etc. When a person dies, they will go to one of these places depending on their deeds during their life. They are judged by three holy spirits and then sent to wherever these spirits judge that they should go. If they are proven bad or guilty, they end up in a hell-like area. If they are judged to be good they end up in a heaven-like area.

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If a person has lived a good, pure life the Zoroastrians believe they will go to a paradise, however if they have lead a bad life they will be sent to hell. Some historians believe that religions such as Christianity got their belief of heaven and hell from Zoroastrianism. ** Zoroastrians believe in Heaven and Hell. For three days after the death of the person, the soul sits at the head of the body and prays. Then the soul has to cross a river which gets harder to cross the more the relatives weep for the person. After that, the soul meets three angels that will judge him or her. The soul will meet the angels at the <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chinvat Bridge, which goes from Alborz Peak to heaven or Daitih Peak.

Are there any religious symbols and writing?
**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The main symbol of Zoroastrianism is the Faravahar. The person in the middle represents the human soul, the fact that he is old is meant to show is wisdom. The hand pointing up represents his will to improve, and the ring represents loyalty. The two wings are made up of 3 rows, meant to show good thoughts, good words and good deeds above the three rows of the tail meaning bad thoughts, bad words and bad deeds. The twin ribbons, or vines stretching out behind the wings represent <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Spenta Mainyu and Angra Mainyu, or the spirits of good or bad. ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">The most commonly used religious symbol of Zoroastrianism is the Faravahar. It has a picture of a man on it with a set of wings. The man is used to represent the human soul, and it’s connection to god and the religion. The hand that is pointing upwards represents Ahura-Mazda - their God. The three sections that make up the set of wings mean good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. A Zoroastrian symbol that is best known is Faravahar. Each part of the symbol has its own importance. The head represents wisdom. It shows that the older people are wiser. The hands also have their own special meaning. One of the hands points up, reminding people of Ahura Mazda. The other hand holds a ring, the ring of promise. This represents promise and respect. The circle in the center also has its own special meaning. It represents the circle of life. The tail represents Good Thoughts, Good Words, and Good Deeds. The hanging lines that curl at the end also represent something. They represent <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">Spenta Mainyu, which is a good mind, and Angra Mainyu, which is an angry and evil mind.

Is there any special clothing?
There are two main religious pieces of clothing in Zoroastrianism. One is the kusti and the other is a sudreh. A kusti is a cord which is knotted three times. They wear it by wrapping it around their sudreh, which is a long white shirt made out of cotton.

The two most important religious clothing pieces are the kusti and the sudreh. The sudreh is a long shirt that is worn with the kusti wrapped around it. Zoroastrians receive these pieces of clothing when they are seven years old. Here is an image of them showing the parts:



**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The two main exclusively Zoroastrian articles of clothing are the aforementioned kusti and sudreh. As previously described the kusti is a thrice knotted piece of cord, and the sudreh is a long white cotton shirt. The kusti is worn around the sudreh, and used while praying. **

Where is the religion most common?
Zoroastrianism is most common in India. They are known as Parsis. They are also very common in Iran.


 * Country ||  Population [|[1]]  ||  Percent Population  ||
 * [[image:https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/qqqUYNT4XOvuhzTdVVxdsuVXxAo3TjBoXvVt95LR0EBnjCh_F3z1wk17HRQTawu1xGAk7jbfG6IivdQbJrGSR6iWhffw1R15VDRIsfhb2jnSOTxj9hhM]]* [|India] || 69,000  ||  0.006  ||
 * [[image:https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/K7boxqsaklRZsmo7AlFh4bGiXZinfmEGuxCTjAjyIGxpB1d8GmZ2I1UwJB2TDFww7QWvXFpClmUhBwmrLVPEp_6X_-6aktmxU6V63_8IbU6Nb7VKxyEx]]* [|Iran] || 20,000  ||  0.026  ||
 * [[image:https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/axItfWTxNArlqUBYXWOs-2m_nSmuB-E9TgHuo1l_VzX_1ZDx7NH1c4L5cU5Lipq6EAOttvUZ7fySUiPWkqrmYDxFki3QyKpHlZCBSELlaFU9sr8B2_dl]]* [|United States] || 11,000  ||  0.00004  ||
 * [[image:https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/rGcZJHEPe3mtC7K_cXPYK9m0kbLFBXpuNIPyGI5ADhJjORXqlZQwkGWD6QAuZyiAoogc9q_AiUvOMwH20aQUy2y3seyhnad96qVUCSZqef3kKonxblpn]]* [|Afghanistan] || 10,000  ||  0.031  ||
 * [[image:https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/JSEIKuOZBLJ8M-HxmX74QoXz15720Dx6rzt3vcpfTS4dKE0CegabaRrlaJqKB0tRZH_vnM6Y8qXYhtrFoTdFYCjmTF-PDN7vSF__s-uhngy1mkaMenf3]]* [|United Kingdom] || 4,105 [|[2]]  ||  0.00007  ||
 * [[image:https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/qYej2l720l7wrJHZUba34h6m99cruPOJLzFGY7zfvAWYEUeVmlaTXsfB_5SLnj2nq5avd9IfeoHS3d8_uYT7ObyxC7Nw-XlHnvcH4eEppT2-V_U4WQ3C]]* [|Canada] || 5,000  ||  0.014  ||
 * [[image:https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/fZTHikRLE0L2BqTUKfgSMwKE2AreHRmEFwXMlAmHn15M1ZaChx4IyM3CTsVLRlkhGcP-_WfnrmBfkAn1x9jXGW_rZ4KpKzMscnAnaRM5BROjADUFIJq2]]* [|Pakistan] || 3,000  ||  0.002  ||
 * [[image:https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/cfMj-9H9pSE0ZpDg2OuqVhJv8jaSUI9YREc6BWMt-1qtEp09o7gyrDyGmiD4wiWvACg9fnMWT47ZbuvlmAnM9oaJG6AecH6r4fMobLcaxlvXoY-29s65]]* [|Singapore] || 4,500  ||  0.087  ||
 * [[image:https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_av-ZDwVN5fDCq-LdyJj0WeuY5z9k1-dt78t86_X3YJfMkCXnLge5x3rn9yL6XacABCLtkVLYZCDulLe900MKHlwU8Et1XfO0NV3F5F2kfI98mqiHl9i]]* [|Azerbaijan] || 2,000  ||  0.022  ||
 * [[image:https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/mJfB_Z1g96DWiwfEX2CWqM8u8W2lQxgia43_sgJ8wsUA2LbwNT3xVoUpHKJWSEj3uY5780LtPWvfVZGDW8mY4SEgJeB02X7oeN8fRtqGutC_qbrxxSwo]]* [|Australia] || 2,700  ||  0.012  ||
 * [|Persian Gulf Countries] ||  2,200  ||  0.005  ||
 * [[image:https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HiNiS38b7kEtyi8sE5Ls27m5lI-RxE9nH9QaE0ALznq5ldc46RZ1ITtj_hxPvpeCtd45dkgtaCiEZ3qNAgnaco2yM8mlNRC0JIgdURKbcFOuSevaw9n1]]* [|New Zealand] || 2,000  ||  0.045  ||
 * Total ||  137,400  ||  -  ||

This table shows that this religion is most common in India.

Zoroastrianism is most common in India and Iran. There are more Zoroastrians in India, and they are known as Parsis there.

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Zoroastrianism is most common in India, followed by Iran. In India they are called Parsis. **

How many people believe in the religion?
About 200,000 people follow Zoroastrianism today.

Zoroastrianism used to be a major religion that was very popular. According to the BBC it was one of the most powerful religions in the world for 1000 years, and that it wa the main religion of Persia for 50 years. The BBC also states that, “It is now one of the world's smallest religions. In 2006 the New York Times reported that there were probably less than 190,000 followers worldwide at that time.” This shows that this religion used to be very popular but now there are only a few followers. Today there are about 200,000 Zoroastrians in the world.

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Only around 200,000 people believe in Zoroastrianism today, however it used to be a dominating religion in Persia and areas near to Persia for a long time. ** In Zoroastrianism, God, or Ahura mazda, is considered good. Some people might be wondering if he has a counterpart, such as the devil. The answer is yes, he does. The bad counterpart’s name is Angra Mainyu. When a religion believes in a good superpower and a bad one, it is called dualism. Angra Mainyu is destructive and tries to counter the good of Ahura Mazda. This can be compared to the devil and the god of other religions.
 * Is there a source of evil in Zoroastrianism? **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">Zoroastrians have a lot of rituals. They have a ritual of thanks which is call Jashan. Navjote, Navar and Maratab are different names for the ritual that is performed for the Rites of Passage. It is best known as Navjote. Navjote comes from 2 words, “Nav”, which means new, and Zot, which means flame. This happens whilst the boy or girl is between the age of 7 and 9. Zoroastrians also have a special ritual for weddings. Weddings are mostly celebrated after sunset. Another ritual is Dokhmenashini, which is the death ritual.
 * What rituals do they have? **