GAHAMBARS - Zoroastrian festival

Gahambar can be translated to mean 'full time' or 'proper season'. This Parsi festival honouring the seasons occurs six times a year.

During the rituals, tribute is paid to the phases or elements responsible for the creation of the world. Each of the six phases - heaven, water, earth, flora, fauna and man - is associated with one Gahambar, and is celebrated over five days.

Gahambar is a community festival and pays tributes to God and Creation. It is also one that reinforces feelings of brotherhood. It is aimed at reminding Parsis of their roots and the good deeds that a true Parsi must do.

These deeds are radih (being charitable), rastih (being truthful), celebrating the Gahambars, observing the three-day ceremony after death, worshipping god, building lodgings for the poor, and wishing everyone well.


Rituals performed :

Four liturgical services are performed during the first four days, and the fifth day is reserved for communal interaction. Celebrations begin with a benediction ceremony called Afrin. It is a prayer of love and praise in remembrance of one's ancestors.

The yaztas, or angels, and the fravashis are honoured next in the Baj prayers. This is followed by the main Parsi rite, the Yasna. The last of the four customs for social service is the Pavi. It is a prayer for the particular Gahambar being celebrated. The priest and the faithful pray together during the Pavi.

On the fifth day of the Gahambar, there is a solemn feast. People can either donate or serve at the feast. Those who participate are expected to recall not only the blessings bestowed by the seasons, but also the seven main acts that a good Parsi must perform.

The Maidhyozarem Gahambar (heaven), is celebrated from the 41st day after Navroz. The second one, called Maidhyoshem (water), is observed 60 days later. Paitishhayem (earth) falls 75 days after that. Thirty days later, comes Ayathrem (flora and fauna), which celebrates creation and the prosperity that it brings. The fifth Gahambar, Maidhyarem, is celebrated 80 days after the fourth. The last of the six Gahambars, Hanaspathmaedaem, is observed 75 days after Maidhyarem.