The zaotar (modern Zot) is the officiating priest who recites the liturgy and performs the ritual actions of the Yasna, the central Zoroastrian act of worship, an office already named in the Avesta itself and cognate with the Vedic hotar, distinct from the later Sasanian era institutional titles mobed and herbad that govern priestly training and rank rather than naming the liturgical celebrant's role at the ritual itself.
Facts
Disputed
Origin PeriodZoroaster's own lifetime is dated by different scholars anywhere from around 1700 to 1500 BCE on linguistic grounds to around 600 BCE on historical grounds, and the zaotar priesthood is at least as old as the Avestan liturgical tradition itself. 1 Zoroaster's own dates are unresolved among scholars, so any date for the priesthood's origin inherits that disagreement. Status
Status TodayLiving tradition, practised today 1 Current StatusAn active liturgical role within Zoroastrian priesthood today, chiefly among the Parsi community of India. 1 Significance
Sacred RoleThe chief officiant of the Zoroastrian Yasna liturgy, reciting the Avesta while assisted by other priests performing the accompanying ritual acts. 1 Origins
Origin of the NameZaotar is an Avestan term related to the Vedic Sanskrit hotr, both denoting the priest who pours libations or recites at a sacrifice, a shared inheritance from the common religious vocabulary of the Avesta and the Rigveda. 1 Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Source A History of ZoroastrianismMary Boyce
Related To
Sources
1. A History of Zoroastrianism
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