Dear Paolo, Albeit short and less descriptive than we would wish, the three 3rd-4th Century Gāndhārī documents from Niya that mention the persecution and summary execution of witches, numbers 58, 63, and 248, are the one instance I can think of (you will find the texts in Boyer, A.M., E. J. Rapson, E. Senart, and P. S. Noble, 1920–29, *Kharoṣṭhī Inscriptions Discovered by Sir Aurel Stein in Chinese Turkestan* (Oxford: Clarendon Press), and Thomas Burrow's English translation in his 1940 *A Translation of the Kharoṣṭhi Documents from Chinese Turkestan* (James G. Forlong Fund. London: The Royal Asiatic Society), available online at https://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/niyadocts.html). The tricky part here is to what extent one can consider Central Asian Shanshan/Nuava to be Indic/South Asian. My own take here—but there is a variety of opinion—is that it was a settler-colonial society in which Gandhāran culture informed the discourse of a *mestizo* elite, à la Latin America. The term *khakhorda* or *khakhorna* used for "witch" is particularly fascinating with its presumed Iranian etymology (~Avestan *ka-xvarəδa*). Given that the indigenous people of the kingdom were probably Iranian speakers, it is likely that the "witchcraft" reflected indigenous practices. I look forward to seeing if other people have more references.
*namaskaromi*, Diego On Thu, Feb 3, 2022 at 12:42 AM Paolo Eugenio Rosati via INDOLOGY < [email protected]> wrote: > Dear Indologists, > > I am wondering if any pre-colonial written source on witchcraft/magic > persecution in South Asia exists. > > Sincerely, > Paolo > > -- > *Paolo E. Rosati* > > *PhD in Asian and African Studies* > *https://uniroma1.academia.edu/paolo > <https://uniroma1.academia.edu/PaoloRosati/>**er**osati/ > <https://uniroma1.academia.edu/PaoloRosati/>* > [email protected] > Mobile/Whatsapp: (+39) 338 73 83 472 > Skype: paoloe.rosati > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology >
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