Join activities, celebrations, study groups, spiritual empowerment and education programs for young people, and more.
Baha’i beliefs address essential spiritual themes for humanity’s collective and individual advancement. Learn more about these and more.
Featured in: Highlighting Australia
As a proudly Australian initiative, we’re excited to showcase a collection of Australian stories, music, tributes and more.
Like many children who grow up in Baha’i families, I was raised on stories from The Dawn-Breakers (also known as Nabil’s Narrative). All through my childhood and youth stories about the lives of the first individuals to declare their belief in the Bab were shared with me to illustrate the spiritual characteristics that I was encouraged to acquire and perfect in my daily life and service. The fidelity and fierce courage of Quddus; the faith of Tahirih; the fearlessness of Badi…while the stories of these heroic souls are deeply moving, I’ve always been a bit overwhelmed and intimidated by the volume, which is 668 pages long (not including the introduction) and is filled with an endless number of Iranian names, places, and dates.
Baha’i Blog recently produced a short documentary on the life of Effie Baker, which was highlighted in the newsletter for the month of Jamal (Beauty). I’d heard of the Australian photographer Effie Baker, and was aware that she’d spent many years serving as the hostess at the Western Pilgrim House in Haifa, but nobody had ever pointed out to me that most of the black-and-white photographs in The Dawn-Breakers depicting locations where important events in the early history of the Baha’i Faith occurred had been taken by her.
Curiosity piqued, I began to learn more about Effie, intrigued by how her love for reflecting the beauty of the natural world intuitively directed her to perfect her knowledge of chemistry and her skill with light—characteristics that made her uniquely qualified for the special task given to her by Shoghi Effendi in 1930. His request was this: that she travel to Iran to document the early history of the Baha’i Faith at a time when the Iranian government was systematically knocking down older buildings—particularly ones that they knew held special significance to the Baha’is. Thus, at the age of 50, Effie set off on a journey of many months across Persia—an arduous trip made more dangerous because she was a westerner, a Baha’i, and an unmarried woman. Effie set out to photograph the places and relics that Shoghi Effendi wanted to include images of in his translation of The Dawn-Breakers.
A couple of weeks ago I pulled my copy of The Dawn-Breakers off my bookshelf and cracked it open. Knowing that Effie had taken the photographs, I began to notice things I hadn’t before, like the way that she captured the landscapes surrounding the properties she was documenting, for example, to give the viewer a better sense of place; or how many of the people captured stared directly at the camera even when it was evident that they were not the focus of the photograph. As I studied the images, I was able to step more fully into the stories—they began to come to life. I started to wonder what it must have been like for Effie to physically retrace the steps of the Bab and early Baha’i martyrs in their native land; how, out of the over 1,000 photographs she took during her journey, the 400 images that were ultimately printed in this volume were chosen; and how the individuals staring into the Effie’s lens—which made me feel like they were also making eye-contact with me—experienced that moment. I was engaged, and asking questions that were drawing me in.
The importance of the photographs to the overall experience of reading The Dawn-Breakers is highlighted by Ruhiyyih Khanum, who recorded that “it took Shoghi Effendi almost two years of research, compilation and translation to complete this remarkable volume…. Had Shoghi Effendi not done this all visual trace of many of these places in more or less their original state would have been lost forever.”
The Guardian sent his completed manuscript to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States and Canada in 1931, and the first edition went to press in early 1932. He sent out two cables to the Baha’i world to highlight the book’s significance. The second, sent on June 21st, 1932, emphasizes that, among other things, the volume could serve as an inspiration for literary and artistic pursuits:
FEEL IMPELLED APPEAL ENTIRE BODY AMERICAN BELIEVERS HENCEFORTH REGARD NABILS NARRATIVE AS ESSENTIAL ADJUNCT TO RECONSTRUCTED TEACHING PROGRAM AS UNCHALLENGEABLE TEXTBOOK IN THEIR SUMMER SCHOOLS AS SOURCE OF INSPIRATION IN ALL LITERARY ARTISTIC PURSUITS AS AN INVALUABLE COMPANION IN TIMES OF LEISURE AS INDISPENSABLE PRELIMINARY TO FUTURE PILGRIMAGE BAHAULLAHS NATIVE LAND AND AS UNFAILING INSTRUMENT IN ALLY DISTRESS AND RESIST ATTACKS OF CRITICAL DISILLUSIONED HUMANITY.
Continuing my exploration of The Dawn-Breakers, I noticed an acknowledgement penned by Shoghi Effendi slipped in-between the genealogy chart and the preface, in which he thanks a few individuals whose work contributed to the publication. Among them is Effie Baker. For me, the fact that the work of a female western artist played such a key role in bringing stories from 1800s Persia to life is a testament to the power latent in the manifestation of unity between east and west, as well as the important role that the arts have played and continue to play in helping us to better understand Baha’u’llah’s Revelation. The great potential of the arts in this capacity was described by Shoghi Effendi in 1932: “Art can better awaken such noble sentiments than cold rationalizing, especially among the mass of the people.”1
The cover of The Dawn-Breakers is entirely dark save for a single golden sun breaking over the horizon, its rays radiating outward. For those familiar with the book, the symbol has become synonymous with the beginning of the Baha’i Revelation—a Revelation in which the arts are an invaluable tool that deepen our individual and collective understanding, unify and strengthen communities, and enrich our culture. To me, Effie’s gift with light, and the way that she put it to use in service of something larger than herself illuminates the potential ways that the arts can and will continue to facilitate the spiritual growth and transformation of society.2
"*" indicates required fields
Join activities, celebrations, study groups, spiritual empowerment and education programs for young people, and more.
Horizons is an online magazine of news, stories and reflections from around individuals, communities
and Baha’i institutions around Australia
Baha’i beliefs address essential spiritual themes for humanity’s collective and individual advancement. Learn more about these and more.
We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their cultures; and to elders both past and present.
The views expressed in our content reflect individual perspectives and do not represent authoritative views of the Baha’i Faith.
Visit the site of the
Australian Baha’i Community
and the Baha’i Faith Worldwide
Very informative and interesting! Learning and appreciation can not and should not stop.
Thank you
Nosrat Solhjoo Scott (August 8, 2024 at 1:17 AM)