Kusti (Zoroastrianism)

In the navjote ceremony, a priest instructs a boy how to tie the kusti.

The kusti is a belt that the followers of the Zoroastrian religion wear over the undershirt, the sedre , around the waist. It is a string consisting of 72 threads of fine, white lambswool, which is interpreted as a reference to the 72 chapters of Yasna , the central text of the Avesta .

As part of the Padyab-Kusti , a short cleansing ritual to be performed several times a day, the believer first stands in front of a light source, then loosens the Kusti in order to then tie it again while reciting several ritual texts, which is done by double knots in front of the stomach and in the back he follows.

The wearing of sedre and kusti is the identifying feature of the Zoroastrian believer. Accordingly, this has navjote -Ritual, ceremonial first-time clothing with cedar and Kusti, the character of an initiation into the religious community.

literature

• Michael Stausberg : Zarathustra and his religion. Beck, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-406-50870-7 , pp. 78, 109-112

Web links

• The symbolism of the Sacred Shirt and Thread - Part 3 of an article by Jivanji Jamshedji Modi about the Navjote ceremony