Moazami Mahnaz. Wrestling with the Demons of the Pahlavi Widēwdād. Transcription, Translation, and Commentary

Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2014. — vii, 602 p. — (Iran Studies 9). — ISBN 978 90 04 26921 7. — ISBN 978 90 04 26922 4.The Pahlavi Widēwdād (Vidēvdād), The Law (Serving to Keep) Demons Away, a fifth-century Middle Persian commentary on the Avestan Vidēvdād, describes rules and regulations that serve to prevent pollution caused by dead matter, menstrual discharges, and other agents. It recognizes the perpetual presence of the demons, the forces of the Evil Spirit –forces that should be fought through law-abiding conduct. In spite of its formidable textual problems, the commentary provides an invaluable quarry for the rules of the Zoroastrian community through its citation of regulations for the conduct of its members. Many topics are covered, from jurisprudence to penalties, procedures for dealing with pollution, purification, and arrangements for funerals. Viewed together, they provide the reader with an exquisite interlace of a community’s concerns.Acknowledgements
Introduction
Demons and Fiends
Commentaries and Commentators
The Dating of the Text
Characteristic Features of the Text
The Purpose of the Text
Vocabulary and Terminology
Purification Rituals
Sin and Punishment
Presentation of the Text in This Study
The Pahlavi Widēwdād
Creation of the Different Lands
Jam’s Golden Rule and the Great Winter
Delightful and Demonic Places on Earth
Contracts and Offenses
Dead Matter and Defilement
Contamination of the Land by Corpses
On Nasuš, the She Demon of Dead Matter
Purification Rituals after Death
The Baršnūm Purification
Formulae Against the Demons
Exorcisms for Purification
On Ritual Observance for the Dead
Veneration of Dogs
Crime of Killing an Otter
Impurity During Menstruation
Proper Disposition of Hair and Nails
The Unworthy Priest and the Rooster
Temptation of Zarathushtra by the Evil Spirit
Zoroastrian Concepts of Medicine
Invocations Against the Demons
Antidotes Against the Evil Spirit
Commentary
Conclusion
Glossary
Bibliography
Index