Costazza Birgit. L'inno avestico agli Aməsha Spəṇtas (Yasht 2). Testo critico e traduzione con commentario storico religioso

Università di Bologna, 2014. — 117 p.The Avestan Hymn to the seven Amesha Spəṇta is a late composition. It is mostly charachterized by a collation of fragments from other Late Avestan texts. The Yašt can be divided in three parts: stanzas 0-10, 11-14 and 15, the last stanza regards the closing formula. The first part includes the opening formula that, compared to the other Avestan hymns, is incomplete and the first seven chapters of both Sīh-rōzag and the Gāh. The central stanzas (11-14) present an original composition without parallels or twintexts. It shows numerous hapax, formal archaisms and an enormous amount of variants in the manuscript tradition. It centres on an exorcistic formulae meant to expel demons and sorcerers that has to be recited seven times: most likely the magical spell was originally performed together with other Avestan texts such as the Sīh-rōzag. Likely, this specific arrangement of texts represents only one performative sequence, originally coexisting together with others which were not transmitted in the written tradition. Nowadays, the formula is mostly recited with the Yasna Haptaŋhāiti, for apotropaic purposes and in order to guarantee good fortune among the Parsis. The exorcism was originally performed together with several sacred formulas.