Gahambar / Gahanbar

Building & Celebrating Community

By K. E. Eduljee

What is a Gahambar / Gahanbar?

Gahambars / gahanbars are six seasonal festivals or high feasts when Zoroastrians assemble to eat
and share food communally. They are joyous occasions at which rich and poor met together, new
friendships are formed and old disputes resolved. Each gahambar lasts for five days. The
Gahambars are the only festivals mentioned in the Avesta. Some authors such as Mary Boyce feel it
is reasonable to conclude that the gahambars were instituted by Zarathushtra himself.

Gahambars are a demonstration of beliefs, principle and values in action and are an expression of
piety in thought, word and deed. Next to Nowruz, gahambars are festivals of special significance for
Zoroastrians.

The food stuffs are contributed anonymously according to a person or family's means. Many
community members volunteer to prepare the food, prepare for the occasion and serve the meals -
without regard to status. During the meal, everyone sits together and partakes of the same food. The
customs are an expression of egalitarian communal togetherness. The free and equal sharing of food
with everyone, the environment of togetherness, goodwill and sharing - all serve to help build and
strengthen the community.

The food eaten and shared is both fresh food and dried food (see below). The dried food is taken
away by each person in a small bag.

Name & Meaning

Gahambar or ghambar is the name given to the festival by Indian Zoroastrians, while gahanbar or
gaahanbaar is the name given by Iranian Zoroastrians.

Some take the name gahanbars to be derived from gah-anbar meaning time-storage in Persian. The
name therefore signifies the period for storing food (or accessing stored food in winter). The dried
fruits and nuts, called lorg in Persian, are distributed and collected by the assembly for storage.

Others see the name as being derived from gah-ambar meaning time-gathering, or the time for
gathering (food and people).

Gahs are the periods into which a day is divided. It could also be taken to mean the periods into
which a cycle of time such as a day, a month or a year is divided. For the purposes of seasons, a year
is divided into seasons (fasl) or harvest times (gahambars).

Seven Acts of Piety

The gahambars are seen as a manifestation of seven acts of piety and goodness:

1. Generosity of the spirit (including speaking well of others)

2. Material generosity & sharing
3. Selfless help towards those in need (without desire for recognition or reward)

Gahambar / Gahanbar 1 © K. E. Eduljee

Building & Celebrating Community 2010
 4. Community participation and inclusion (including supporting the gahambars)
5. Honesty
6. Piety
7. Remembrance of the souls of the righteous and one's ancestors.

The number seven plays a significant role in all Zoroastrian and Zoroastrian-based customs and
rituals. Seven stands for the divine seven, God and God's six archangels. There are also seven
aspects to the corporeal creation (gaiety): fire, air, water, earth, plants, animals and human beings.

The Six Gahambars

There are six gahambars - each with its own theme - observed during the year.

Date Gahambar Name Meaning

Apr 30 - May 4 Maidyozarem Mid-spring
Jun 29 - Jul 3 Maidyoshem Mid-summer
Sep 12 - Sep 16 Paitishem Harvest time
Oct 12 - Oct 16 Ayathrem Herding time
Dec 31 - Jan 4 Maidyarem Mid-winter
Mar 16 - Mar 20 Hamaspathmaidyem Mid-path-of-all

The last gahambar celebrated during the five days before Nowruz, is the most significant. This sixth
gahambar, the Hamaspathmaidyem (or Hamaspathmaedaya) Gahambar, is a gahambar devoted to
remembering the fravashis (farohars/guardian angels/souls) of those who have passed away. Mid-
path of all could refer to the vernal equinox with other meanings attached.

Foods
In the Indian tradition, one of the dishes commonly prepared for a gahambar is called 'papeta ma
gosht' meaning meat-in-potatoes (recipe offsite).

In the Iranian tradition, one of the food dishes prepared for a gahanbar is a soup called aush
(recipe). The soup is accompanied with fried bread called sirog.

Dried Foods

In addition to hot meals eaten at the gahambars, dried fruits and nuts
called ajil or lork / lorg (seen here at the left) are distributed for the
participant to take away. Ajil / lork is a mixture of seven (seven being the
auspicious number) dried nuts and fruits: pistachios, roasted chic peas,
almonds, hazelnuts, figs, apricots, and raisins (keshmesh). Some
substitutions are made according to locale, availability, taste (salty or
sweet) and family preferences. Roasted squash seeds (tokhmeh kadoo),
roasted melon seeds (tokhmeh hendooneh), walnuts, cashews, and dried
mulberries (tut) are possible substitutes.

Ajil is sometimes called ajil-e moshkel-gosha meaning problem-solving nuts or ajil-e moshkel-asan
meaning problem-easing nuts.

Gahambar / Gahanbar 2 © K. E. Eduljee

Building & Celebrating Community 2010
 Image above: Lork / lorg, a mixture of nuts and dried fruits. Image credit: Nazanin Niknam at vcn.

This article has been reproduced with permission from K. E. Eduljee’s website Zoroastrian Heritage
at: http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/ . The page on gahambars / gahanbars can be
found at http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/gahambar/index.htm

Gahambar / Gahanbar 3 © K. E. Eduljee

Building & Celebrating Community 2010