ETHNONYMS: Parsee, Zoroastrian
The Parsi population is concentrated in Bombay, where they arrived about 1750 from the small towns and cities of Gujarat. Today some 95 percent live in urban areas. They are usually found in exclusively Parsi housing estates endowed by Parsi charitable funds.
Kin Groups and Descent. Most people today prefer to live in nuclear families. There are no larger kin-based groups such as lineages or clans. Descent is patrilineal.
Kinship Terminology. Kin terms follow the pattern found among other Gujarati speakers in the region.
See also Gujurati
Gnoli, Gherardo (1986). "Zoroastrianism." In The Encyclopedia of Religion, edited by Mircea Eliade. Vol. 15, 579-591. New York: Macmillan.
Kulke, Eckehard (1974). The Farsees in India: A Minority as Agent of Social Change. Munich: Weltforum Verlag.
Modi, Jivanji Jamshedji (1922a). "Parsis." In The Tribes and Castes of Bombay, edited by R. E. Enthoven. Vol. 3, 177—221. Bombay: Government Central Press. Reprint. 1975. Delhi: Cosmo Publications.
Modi, Jivanji Jamshedji (1922b). The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Farsees. Bombay: British India Press. 2nd ed. 1937. Bombay: J. B. Karani's Sons. Reprint. 1986. Bombay: Society for the Promotion of Zoroastrian Religious Knowledge and Education.
W. D. MERCHANT