ojha

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English

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Etymology

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From Hindi ओझा (ojhā, witch doctor).

Noun

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ojha (plural ojhas)

  1. A sorcerer or folk healer in parts of India and Nepal.
    • 1894, William Crooke, An introduction to the popular religion and folklore of northern India, Allahabad, page 36:
      No one ascends the mountain through fear of the demon, except an Ojha or sorcerer, who sacrifices a goat at the foot of the hill before he makes the attempt.
    • 1993, Richard Maxwell Eaton, The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204-1760, page 296n:
      In 1986 it was reported that an ojha had healed a mentally deranged Chakma woman by ‘using all the abusive words to the evil spirit who was believed to have possessed this village woman.’
    • 2008, Amitav Ghosh, Sea of Poppies, Penguin, published 2015, page 154:
      First she brought in an ojha to exorcise the house, and when this produced no effect, she consulted a hakim, who purveyed Yunani medicines, and a vaid who practised Ayurveda.

Anagrams

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