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On the coherence of Yasna: a critical assessment of recent arguments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 December 2017

Amir Ahmadi
Amir Ahmadi*
Affiliation:
Monash University
*
amir.ahmadi@monash.edu
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Abstract

In recent years a number of scholars have proposed more or less detailed schemas of the formation of the Zoroastrian ritual. These schemas offer accounts of the arrangement of the texts in the liturgy, the process of its formation, and even its function from an endogenous perspective. One way or another, they argue that the official Zoroastrian liturgy is an integrated ritual with a coherent text, and that the function of the ritual and the intention behind the arrangement of the texts can be determined by means of philological, literary and comparative analyses. The questions of formation and meaning of the Zoroastrian liturgy these scholars have placed on the agenda are important not only for the study of Zoroastrianism but also for the history of religions and ritual theory. I consider their accounts with respect to the texts they invoke and the methods they use, and show that their arguments suffer from fatal flaws.

Keywords

ZoroastrianismYasnaIndo-Iranian religionRitualComparative method
Type
Articles
Information
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 81 , Issue 1 , February 2018 , pp. 57 - 82
Copyright
Copyright © SOAS, University of London 2017 

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