Barsom

A barsom is a ritual implement used by Zoroastrian priests to solemnize certain sacred ceremonies.

The word barsom derives from the Avestan language baresman (trisyllabic, bar'əs'man), which is in turn a substantive of barez "to grow high." The later form – barsom – first appears in the 9th–12th-century texts of Zoroastrian tradition, but remains in use to the present day.

The baresman is not related to the baresnum, which is a purification ceremony. The baresman should also not be confused with the "mace", the varza (Avestan, MP gurz). The varza is a metal rod, about one centimer in thickness, often crowned with a bull's head.

It has been suggested that the baresman may have a Zagrosian origin.

In present-day use, the barsom is a bundle of short metal wires or rods, each about 20 cm in length and made of brass or silver.

The use of metal wires or rods is a relatively recent development: Until at least the 16th century, the barsom 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, and Yasna 25.3 eulogizes the plant without being specific.

One indication of which plant was used comes from the 16th century, where the authors of the Rivayat epistles reprimand their Indian co-religionists for not using twigs of the tamarisk (R. 329). The twigs of the pomegranate tree also figure in other late sources. Strabo (XV.3.14) speaks of "a bundle of slender myrtle 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," and Vendidad 19.19 (supported by the Nirangistan) requires each rod to be at most the length of an aesha and the thickness of the width of a yava. Darmesteter translates aesha as "ploughshare" and yava as barley-corn. A twig/rod was thus at most about 7 mm thick. The Nirangstan further adds that the thickness may not be less than that of a human hair.

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