Cattle-Tending and Agriculture in the Avesta

Abstract

IN THE ACCOUNTS of the religion of Zoroaster and of the people among whom he expounded his new faith, we find the statement that the Persians were at that time a people who not only had herds and flocks, but tilled the soil as well. For convenience, I condense somewhat from the chapter on Agriculture in Geiger's Civilization of the Eastern Iranians:1 Only the cultivated ground is the property of Mazdah. Regions devoid of cultivation are haunted by evil spirits. Therefore, wherever a follower of the Avestan religion settles, it is his first duty to render the soil productive. It is a triumph of the good cause whenever a portion of land is by irrigation wrung from the death-like desert and made productive. The draining of swamps, which was necessary in some parts of Persia, was equally as meritorious as irrigation. The religion of Mazdah invites its adherents to ceaseless activity in agriculture no less than in other pursuits. It bids them fight against sterility and barrenness, and create instead of them affluence and culture. The genius of the earth is said to rejoice when the earth is tilled and corn is produced, and to mourn when it remains sterile. The earth is like a woman, who misses her vocation when she grows old childless, but who is proud in happiness and beauty when healthy sons owe their lives to her. Besides the cultivation of grain, there are indications that hay was grown as winter fodder for the cattle, and that fruit-bearing plants were cultivated; whether the last included fruit-trees, cannot be determined. Nothing which we can infer from the Avesta as to the agricultural practices of the ancient Iranians is inconsistent with the present-day practices, and many of the present-day peculiarities are seen to be of very ancient origin.2