Witches, Whores, and Sorcerers: The Concept of Evil in Early Iran

by Satnam Mendoza Forrest, Prods Oktor Skjaervø (Foreword)

Early Iranians believed evil had to have a source outside of God, which led to the concept of an entity as powerful and utterly evil as God is potent and good. These two forces, good and evil, which have always vied for superiority, needed helpers in this struggle. According to the Zoroastrians, every entity had to take sides, from the cosmic level to the microcosmic self.

One of the results of this battle was that certain humans were thought to side with evil. Who were these allies of that great Evil Spirit? Women were inordinately singled out. Male healers were forbidden to deal with female health disorders because of the fear of the polluting power of feminine blood. Female healers, midwives, and shamans were among those who were accused of collaborating with the Evil Spirit, because they healed women. Men who worked to prepare the dead were also suspected of secret evil. Evil even showed up as animals such as frogs, snakes, and bugs of all sorts, which scuttled to the command of their wicked masters.

This first comprehensive study of the concept of evil in early Iran uncovers details of the Iranian struggle against witchcraft, sorcery, and other "evils," beginning with their earliest texts.

Genres: Religion, History, Witchcraft, Nonfiction, Iran, Magic

246 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an area I know very little about but I'm always very interested in the way that evil, and women, are portrayed in different religions. This book examined Zoroastrian writing from Iran. The texts were quite late but the ideas older. The author did a good job of explaining the context and the background to what he was using. The book was a good introduction in that it explained a lot about the dualism of Zoroastriansim. Looking at their view of evil was a great introduction to their view of the world. It was unfortunately another religion where women were treated terribly. Because of menstration and still birth women were believed to be possessed by evil demons (periodically). Likewise anal sex was considered monstrous cause it didn't lead to procreation. There was also a lot on the contamination of corpses and how corpses of the believers became posessed by demons at death. This made them terribly contaminating things. Also the corpses of Dogs were terrible as they saw dogs the closest species to humans (which was actually quite nice). The text was illustrated throughout with direct translations from the Avesta.Very interesting study. I'm really glad I found a copy.

[Ricardo Pinto · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for research. For some reason I find Zoroastrianism harder to get to grips with than any of the other religions I know about or have looked at. This book makes a good attempt to unpick some of the complexities of a somewhat alien (to me) viewpoint. Interesting if for no other reason than that Zoroastrianism was clearly so influential on Christianity, and thus to the West and the world in general. Whether it is the subject matter, or the way that Forrest approaches it, I found the book a little dry. Nevertheless, it does what it sets out to do and does so exhaustively.

[nasim]

extremely helpful / thought provoking

[Brian Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very careful examination of the fragmentary traditions preceding historical Zoroastrianism. In this tradition, the "nucleus" of religious practice was ritual, mainly concerned with warding off evil or exorcizing demons. This concern focuses heavily on women, as "a woman's body is naturally linked to evil by blood pollution." The cruciality of procreation generates concern to control it, with abortion providers viewed as evil sorcerers. All this generates a rich demonology and a maze of rules to guard or restore purity.

Naturally, this survey of evils in the ancient mind has entertainment value. As the foreword notes,
I wanted above all to share my love of these fascinating myths with my students and with the public, so they too can enjoy the world of evil.

[Geof Sage · Rating 3 out of 5]

this does for Avestan studies what I did for the muwashshah