ZARATHUSHTI IDENTITY
ROSHAN RIVETNA
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

EARLY EPISODES
1799.Trade relations between
Bombay and Salem, MA
“The business was carried on by Parsees, some of the most intelligent people I have ever known, rich and very honorable in their
dealings. The merchant with whom I did business, Nasser Vanji Monackjee, was a very fine man.”
- George Nichols, 1799, collection of
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem MA
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

EARLY EPISODES
1851. Possibly the first Zoroastrian to visit the US.
Ardeshir Cursetjee
Wadia came to Boston area in 1851 to set up trade with the Americans.
“… a friend brought a real live Parsee , with a tall headdress, to take tea with us. It was a revelation to me that a fire worshipper could take tea like ordinary mortals.
“ …He drank his tea and ate his bread and butter quite like other folks … He spoke in a very low, cultivated, refined voice, using much better English than we did!”
- Caroline King’s memoirs about Ardeseer Cursetjee Wadia’s visit to
Salem, MA in 1851, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

EARLY EPISODES
1852. President Ullyses Grant appoints Parsi as US vice consul.
So revered was his name that President Ullyses
Grant honored Dossabhoy
Merwanjee with a visit to his firm at 6 Parsi Bazaar
Street, Bombay, in 1879.
“Reposing special trust and confidence in the ability and integrity of Dossabhoy Merwanjee of
Bombay… President of the US appoints him
Vice Consul of the USA at Bombay …”
Edward Ely, Consul of the USA
1852
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

EARLY EPISODES
1866. Gold Rush. Possibly the first
Zoroastrian to visit Canada.
•
In 1866, the Gold Rush was on. Maneckji Faramji Javeri came to California prospecting for gold.
•
Javeri also visited Barkerville, north of Vancouver, making him possibly the first Zoroastrian to visit Canada .
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

EARLY EPISODES
1876. From Baroda to the New World
“ Many enterprising and intelligent Parsis are desirous of emigrating to the New World … to found a separate colony of
Parsis in a land which is the fostering nurse of many an enterprising adventurer and capitalist … where they can, without the slightest impediment, preserve and follow the religion of their forefathers … A settlement in America has become the subject of our grave considerations …”
- Letter to US Consul by Parsis of Baroda, 1876.
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

EARLY EPISODES
1878. First “fire temple” in the USA
• Charles Poston (b. 1825) ‘Father of Arizona’
•
Became a Zoroastrian after travels to India.
• Wrote “The Sun Worshippers of Asia” in 1877.
• Built a ‘fire temple’ at ‘Parsee Hill’ (now Poston’s
Butte) in Florence, Arizona, in 1878.
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

PIONEER SETTLERS
1861. Served in US Civil War
1866. First settler in San Francisco
•
1860 . Conjee Rustomjee Cohoujee Bey of Lahore came to New York and served in US Civil War.
Changed name to Antonio Gomez.
•
1866.
Settled in San Francisco. Possibly the first
South Asian to settle in San Francisco .
•
1911.
Interned in The Presidio with full military honors.
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

PIONEER SETTLERS
Prior to 1900s
First Zarathushti born in NA
1885. Eduljee Sorabjee , god-son of Sir Dinshaw Manockjee Petit, came to Los Angeles and became a naturalized US citizen.
“Mr. Sorabjee was a thorough man of the world, there was little in his manner or speech to distinguish him from a cultured Englishman or American.” [ H. D. Barrows,
Historical Society of Southern California, 1912].
1892. Pestonji Framji Davar settled in San Francisco. His son Jamshed was the first Zoroastrian born in North America . After Jamshed’s death in 1982,
Pestonji’s estate of Rs. 5.6 million went to the BPP.
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

PIONEER SETTLERS
1900 - 1920
1900. Bhicaji Balsara came to settle in New York and became the first naturalized US citizen , after courts opined that “Parsees do belong to the white race .. are intelligent and well-todo, principally engaged in commerce.”
1904. Phiroze Saklatwala ‘Parsi Oil King’ came to New York and became part owner of an oil company on the Big Board.
The first Zoroastrian Association of New York was born in his living room on West 11th Street, in 1929.
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

1900 - 1920
1911. Dinshaw Ghadiali , inventor and medical healer, author and aviator came to New York. In 1919, dressed in Jama and
Pichori, he led a parade in NYC carrying a banner which read:
“Parsi Zoroastrian American Forever.”
1905. Dastur Dr. Maneckji Dhalla came to Columbia for Avestan studies and noted:
“The Parsi population does not exceed 12 to 15 at any time.”
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

22-year-old Jamshed Irani
Arrived at Ellis Island in
1920. His name is on the
American Immigrant Wall of
Honor.
ELLIS ISLAND
RECORDS
1900 - 1920s
• 1903. Merwan Irani, 35 on the
Philadelphia,Southampton.
• 1905. Phiroize Sethna, 38 on the Cedric from Liverpool
• 1909. Nanabhoy Sethna, 25 on the Adriatic
Southampton.
• 1910 Pestorg Patel, 40 on the Lusitania, Liverpool.
• 1914. Maneckji Dhalla, 39, and Cuvarbai Dhalla, 36, on
Carmania, Liverpool.
• 1923. Minochie Irani, 25, on Canopic, from Bremerhaven.
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

24 year old Rustom Wadia came to New York in 1923.
Navroze dinner, Wadia’s Rajah
Restaurant, Manhattan, 1947.
1920s - 1940s
Letter from Wadia, 1988
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

1920s - 1940s
Furrokh Bamji
, 19, came to Chicago World’s Fair, 1934.
Jehangir Mobed (below), Keikhosrow Guiv and Manoucher
Sirouzi , arrived in New York on board a freighter in 1945.
Keikhosrov Irani and six other Zarathushtis came on board an
American Liberty ship, Marine Lynx, in 1946.
Jehangir Medora came to New
York in 1946, and facilitated immigration to Canada with an ad in Jame Jamshed in the
1960s.
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

1940s
Mehli Mehta (shown below with Zarin, Tehmina and Zubin) came to New York to study the violin in 1945.
Students at International House, NY in 1947.
Mehraban and Paridokht Zartoshty came to New York in 1947 to set up an import-export business.
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

1950s
1959. Mary Mehrabi’s
18th birthday party at Hotel Taft in New York.
1955. Jehan Bagli (shown with family in 1966) came to John Hopkins in Baltimore.
1958. Rhoda and Jamshed Pavri arrived on a P&O liner, with 24 crates of belongings.
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

1960s and 70s.
1960. Send-off for Dara Rivetna on the Strathnaver at Ballard Pier,
1967.Pervin
and Jimmy Mistry depart from Bombay airport for Canada
1973. Dolly Dastoor and family immigrated to Canada in 1973.
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

PROMOTING THE VISION
Arbab Rustom Guiv and Morvarid Guiv came to the USA in 1977 with the vision to establish dar-e-mehers across North America.
Their generosity bore fruit with dar-e-mehers in New York (1977), Toronto (1978), Chicago
(1983), Vancouver (1985), San Jose (1986),
Los Angeles (1987) and Washington, DC.
1956 : Farangis Shahrokh came to Universitiy of
Southern California in Los Angeles in 1956.
1958 . Dr. Rostam Sarfeh came as a surgeon in a Long
Island hospital. Worked to promote Arbab Guiv’s vision.
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

2004. FEZANA World Zarathushti population Survey.
Population and intermarriages.
2012. Repeated 2004 survey, Added data on children/seniors,
Parsi/Iranian and male/female breakdown.
NOTE: This is not an official, statistically correct census. Data may be inconsistent, inaccurate and incomplete and our estimates may be incorrect.
We present the raw data here, as gathered, to get a flavor of the
Zarathushti World.
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

Grateful Thanks to:
•
All the sources and contact persons from 25 countries, 50 US States and 10 Canadian provinces.
•
FEZANA Administrator Zenobia Damania for data collection.
•
Parsiana (Roxana Driver ) and FEZANA Journal (Aban Vazifdar).
•
My family and friends for help in making these fancy slides.
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

 2004 Estimated (Recorded)
2012 Estimated (Recorded)
CANADA & USA
5,975 (5,341)
6,422 (5,985)
7.5% (12.1%)
16,769 (14,499)
20,728 (16,651)
23.6% (14.8%)
10,794 (9158)
14,306 (10666)
32.5% (16.5%)
Intermarriages:
Canada: 5.6%
USA: 9.9%
Children:
Canada: 16.9%
USA: 18.6%
Seniors:
Canada: 15.8%
USA: 12.0%
Origin Parsi - Iranian:
Canada: 72.0%, 28.0%
USA: 67.8%, 32.2%
Male - Female:
Canada: 51.4%, 48.6%
USA: 51.3%, 48.7%
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

TOP STATES BY POPULATION
California
Ontario
5481 +101%
4179 -3%
NY,NJ,CT 2694 +23%
Br. Columbia 1675 +41%
Texas 1320 +23%
DC, MD, VA 910 -43%
LARGEST GROWTH
Washington 304 +171%
California 5481 +101%
Alberta 220 +59%
Florida 409 +44%
Br. Columbia 1675 +41%
Arizona 192 +34%
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

IRAN
1986 32,589
1996 27,930 (-14.33)
2006 19,823 (-29.0%)
2012 13-15,000 (-29.1%)
•
Population is between
•
13,000 and 15,000
Intermarriages: < 1%
•
Family size: 3.5 persons
•
Male-Female ratio:
51.2%, 48.8%
•
Concerns:
Census data unreliable
•
Emigration to the west
•
Late marriages and fewer children.
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

INDIA & SRI LANKA
1961 100,772 (-10%)
1971 91,266 (-9%)
1981 86,013 (-7%)
1991 77,353 (-10%)
2001 69,601 (-10%)
2011 61,000 (projected)
2004 66
2012 37
Intermarriages:
39% of marriages in Mumbai in 2011 were intermarriages.
Children:
17.6% in 2001.
Seniors:
24% were 65 or over in 2001.
Males - Females:
48.8% - 51.2% in 2001.
Concerns:
Low fertility rate = 0.9.
Replacement level is 2.1.
Deaths outnumber births.
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

1995 2831
2001 2378 (-16%)
2004 2121 (-11%)
2012 1675 (-21%)
Intermarriages:
2.6% (10 men and 33 women) are married outside. These women and their offspring are not counted in the totals.
Students.
Also not included are 47 students studying abroad.
“None are expected to return.”
Children and Seniors:
“No doubt the majority are old. In last six months, 7 more have died.”
Origin: All are Parsis.
Males- Females: 45.6%, 54.4%
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

GREAT BRITAIN
2004 DATA:
-----------------------------------
GREAT BRITAIN 5,000
England 4,900
Scotland 65
N. Ireland 25
REP OF IRELAND 10
-----------------------------------
2012:
“Static at around 5,000”
Intermarriages:
In 2004, percentage of non
Zarathushti spouses in a sampling of ZTFE directory was estimated to be 5.2%.
Age distribution:
“Average age is coming down. More deaths than births is balanced by a small inflow of new immigrants.”
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

Parsi-Iranians
EUROPE & CENTRAL ASIA
2004: About 1,000.
2012: (In progress)
Note: Work is in progress to collect accurate and consistent data.
Zarathushtis by Choice.
2004: 125 officially initiated.
2012: (In progress)
Dr. Khosro Khazai, European Centre for Zoroastrian Studies, Belgium:
“1,832 initiated in past 10 years.”
Mobed Kamran Jamshidi, Sweden.
“2,000 initiated and 20,000 want to be initiated.”
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

MIDDLE EAST
2004: 2,200
2012: 2,030 (-7.7%)
Intermarriages:
4.1%.
Children (under 21):
25%
Seniors:
13.2%. “Not many above 65 are able to stay, unless sponsored or have special visas.”
Origin: Almost all Parsis. Data not available on Iranians.
Male - Female:
55.0%, 45.0%
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

FAR EAST
Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, China,
Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam
2004: 210
2012: 204 (-3%)
2004: 162
2012: 372 (130%)
Intermarriages:
Hong Kong: 15.5%
Singapore: 13.0%
Children:
Hong Kong : 27.2%
Singapore : 39.4%
Seniors:
Hong Kong : 16.3%
Singapore : 9.3%
Origin:
Almost all are Parsis
Male-Female:
Hong Kong: 46.7%, 53.2%
Singapore: 51.9%, 48.1%
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

AFRICA
2004: 78
2012: 37 (-53%)
2004: 114
2012: 134 (+17%)
Intermarriages:
S. Africa : 20.1%
E. Africa : “Of the 15 in Mombasa,
7 are unmarried, 3 married (1 to non-
Z), 2 widows, 1 separated.”
Children - Seniors:
S. Africa : 8.2% children and
25.4% seniors.
E. Africa : 60% over 65. “In
Mombasa no one is below 40.”
Origin:
Almost all (but 1 or 2) are Parsis.
Male - Female:
S. Africa : 44.0%, 56.0%
E. Africa : 53.3%, 46.7%
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

2004: 900
AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND
2012: 1231 (+37%)
2004: 2601
2012: 2577 (-1%)
Intermarriages:
Australia: 4.1%
New Zealand: 2.6%
Children:
Australia: 9.3%
New Zealand: 40.1%
Seniors:
Australia: 29.6%
New Zealand: 3.2%
Origin (Parsi - Iranian):
Australia: 71.1%, 28.9%
New Zealand: 98%Parsis
Male - Female:
Australia: 50.3%, 49.7%
N. Zealand: 48.8%, 51.2%
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

25
20
15
10
5
0
INTERMARRIAGES
Percentage of non-Zarathushti spouses in the Zarathushti population, 2004 and 2012
2004 2012
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
INTERMARRIAGES
PERCENTAGE OF INTERMARRIAGES from Parsiana (for Mumbai) and
FEZANA Journal (for N. America)
Mumbai (Parsiana)
N. America (Fezana Jr)
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
AGE DISTRIBUTION
PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN (18 & UNDER)
AND SENIORS (65 & OVER)
% children
% Seniors
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

BIRTHS AND DEATHS
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
NUMBER OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS PER YEAR
N. America (FEZANA Jr)
Births/yr
Deaths/yr
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Mumbai (Parsiana)
Births/yr
Deaths/yr
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
BIRTHS AND DEATHS
NUMBER DEATHS PER 100 BIRTHS FOR
NORTH AMERICA (FEZANA JR) AND
MUMBAI (PARSIANA)
In North America:
In 21 years:
1,022 births and 706 deaths
N. America
M umba i
In Mumbai:
In 20 years:
3456 births and 17,715 (!) deaths
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

100
80
60
40
20
0
ORIGIN - PARSIS, IRANIANS
PERCENTAGE OF PARSIS AND IRANIANS
Parsis Iranians
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

60
40
20
0
MALE-FEMALE DISTRIBUTION
PERCENTAGE OF MALES AND FEMALES
Males Females
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

CANADA
(6422)
USA
(14306)
ZARATHUSHTI POPULATION 2012.
Countries with population less than 100 are not shown.
GR.BRITAIN
( 5000 )
EUROPE/C.ASIA
(1000)
IRAN
( 14000 )
GULF
( 2030 )
S. AFRICA
( 134 )
PAKISTAN
( 1675 )
INDIA
( 61000 )
HONG KONG
( 204 )
SINGAPORE
( 372 )
AUSTRALIA
( 2577 )
NEW ZEALAND
( 1231 )
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

WORLD POPULATION
Country
Iran
India
USA
Canada
Gr. Britain
Australia
Persian Gulf
2004 2012 Diff
24,000 14,000 -10,000
69,601 61,000 -8,601
10,794 14,306 3,512
5,975 6,422 447
5,000 5,000
2,601 2,577
2,200 2,030
0
-24
-170
Pakistan
New Zealand
2,121
900
1,675
1,231
Europe/C. Asia 1,000 1,000
Singapore
Hong Kong
162
210
Other countries 389
372
204
385
-446
331
0
210
-6
-4
14,751 fewer
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

WORLD POPULATION
GROWTH/DECLINE OF POPULATION BY COUNTRY 2004 - 2012
3,000
1,000
-1,000
-3,000
-5,000
-7,000
-9,000
-11,000
How can we sustain a loss of 14,751 Zarathushtis in less than a decade?
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

WE NOW HAVE A FLAVOR OF THE ZARATHUSHTI WORLD….
•
Where we have come from, and
•
Where we are today.
•
In the session to follow we will collectively explore the best paths for the future.
© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012

© 2012 XVI NAZC 2012