Note 198 — Chapter VII · TEACHINGS OF THE ZEND-AVESTA, CONCLUDED.

The penalties for uncleanness in men were far more severe upon woman; after giving birth to a child she was forbidden to taste of water, as her touch would defile the element, and at times her food was handed to her upon a long-handled spoon. Woman was made a creature of contract, and disposed of by a bill of sale; like land or cattle, she was classed under “the fifth contract,” being considered more valuable than cattle, but far cheaper than real estate. They were sometimes sold in the cradle and often when only two or three years of age.—See Dosabhoy Framjee’s work on The Parsis, p. 77.