| Part ofa series on |
| Zoroastrianism |
|---|
 |
Divine entities |
 Religion portal |
Abarsom/ˈbɑːrsəm/ is a ritual implement used byZoroastrian priests to solemnize certain sacred ceremonies.
The wordbarsom derives from theAvestan languagebaresman (trisyllabic,bar'əs'man), which is in turn a substantive ofbarez "to grow high."[2] The later form –barsom – first appears in the 9th–12th-century texts ofZoroastrian tradition, and remains in use to the present day.
Thebaresman is not related to thebaresnum, which is a purification ceremony. Thebaresman should also not be confused with the "mace", thevarza (Avestan,MPgurz). Thevarza is a metal rod, about one centimeter in thickness, often crowned with a bull's head.
It has been suggested that thebaresman may have aZagrosian origin.[3][a]
In present-day use, thebarsom is a bundle of short metal wires or rods, each about 20 cm in length[4] and made of brass or silver.
The use of metal wires or rods is a relatively recent development: Until at least the 16th century, thebarsom was made of twigs or stems, and there was an elaborate ritual surrounding their collection. There is no indication in scripture or older tradition as to which plant was to be used, andYasna 25.3 eulogizes the plant without being specific.
One indication of which plant was used comes from the 16th century, where the authors of theRivayat epistles reprimand their Indian co-religionists for not using twigs of thetamarisk (R. 329[5]). The twigs of thepomegranate tree also figure in other late sources.Strabo (XV.3.14) speaks of "a bundle of slendermyrtle rods."
Both scripture and tradition are precise with respect to the dimensions of the twigs required.Yasna 57.5 mandates that each twig shall not exceed "the height of the knee," andVendidad 19.19 (supported by theNirangistan) requires each rod to be at most the length of anaesha and the thickness of the width of ayava. Darmesteter translatesaesha as "ploughshare" andyava as barley-corn. A twig/rod was thus at most about 7 mm thick. TheNirangstan further adds that the thickness may not be less than that of a human hair.
Thebarsom that appears in Achaemenid and Sassanid art "was of impressive size, about 45 cm (1+1⁄2 ft) long, made up apparently of stiff straight rods."[4]
The number of twigs/rods depends on the ritual being performed, and theShayast-na Shayast (14.2) unambiguously states that this number must be adhered to. A recitation of theYasna liturgy is accompanied by a bundle of 21 twigs, with two others being placed by the side of another ritual implement. TheVendidad requires 33 twigs in the bundle with two other placed as for theYasna. A recitation of theVisperad requires 35 twigs, with none left over. The number similarly varies for other rituals, all of these however only requiring between 3 and 15 twigs.
In present-day use, the rods almost always remain unbound. The one exception comes near the end of thebaj ceremony for the dead, when they are bound with a strip ofdate palm leaf.
In ritual, thebarsom bundle is either held in the left hand, or placed across a pair of metallic stands about 20 cm in height, with one stand at each end of the bundle. These stands have a crescent-shaped brace at the top, so (also) preventing the rods from rolling off. The crescent shape gives them their name,mah-rui, literally "moon-faced."Dadestan-i Denig 48.17[6] states the stands must be of metal.
Abarsom has no immediate practical purpose. At Zoroastrian ritual it represents plant creation, accompanying the other symbolic tokens that represent other facets of creation, and each of which then also represent the presence of anAmesha Spenta at the ritual. In the case of thebarsom, it isAmeretat "immortality." The crescent-shaped brace of thebarsom stand is likewise identified with vegetation:mah, the moon, is in Zoroastrian scripture and tradition the cosmogonical protector of plants and encourages their growth. "The object of holding the barsom and repeating prayers is to praise the Creator for the support accorded by nature and for the gift of the produce of the earth, which supplies the means of existence to the human and the animal world. The object of selecting thebarsom from the twigs of a tree is to take it as a representative of the whole vegetable kingdom, for which benedictions and thanks to the Creator are offered, and there is further proof to show that the performance of thebarsom ritual is intended to express gratitude to the Creator for His boundless gifts."[7]
Thebarsom is also held by a priest during the abbreviatedYasna recitation before meals. An episode of theShahnameh recalls that whenYazdegerd III (the last Sassanid emperor, but like his forefathers, also a priest) was in hiding, his request for abarsom gave him away to the enemy.[8]
In Zoroastrian tradition, the second chapter of theYasna liturgy is named theBarsom Yasht.[9] As a part of the liturgy, it is not however part of theYasht collection. In the Avesta categorization of Kellens,[10]Yasna 2 – theBarsom Yasht – complements the other 7 of the first 8Yasna chapters, the purpose of the 8-chapter set being an invitation of the divinities to the ceremony. AfterYasna 1's initial invitation ofAhura Mazda, theAmesha Spentas and the remainingyazatas, thebaresman and libation are presented to them inYasna 2.
| Boyce,Z2, pp. 38–39: "Three representations of men carrying similar bundles of rods have been identified onAssyrian andUrartian objects of the eight and early seventh centuries BCE[145] and it seems possible that the magi of western Iran, having come to dwell in a wooded land, allowed themselves to be influenced so far by the cultic usages of their Zagrosian neighbours that they adopted these long rods for their own baresman." n. 145: P. Clameyer, "Barsombuendel im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert v. Chr.", Wandlungen, Studien zur antiken und neueren Kunst E. Homann-Wedeking gewidmet, Waldsassen-Bayern 1975, 11–5. The examples which he cites are those published by R. D. Barnett, Survey XIV (1967) 3002 fig. 1063; H. J. Kellner, Situla (Ljubljana) 1974, 14/15, 50 Taf. 3; and C. Lehmann-Haupt, Armenien Einst und Jetzt I, 1910, 261 (Abb.), cf. M. van Loon, Urartian Art, 1966, 153 f., fig. 18 E 5. |