ABSTRACT
Attempts to apply general theories about orality, including the Oral Formulaic Theory, have not thrown much light so far on the early development of Zoroastrianism. While these theories concentrate on questions of composition, the study of Avestan texts (such as the Yasna Haptanghaiti, the Gathas, and the Yashts), focussing on the dynamics that affect their transmission, in the light of observable characteristics of oral cultures, yields more results. It indicates that Zarathustra operated in a milieu that was already familiar with the worship of Mazda (witness the Yasna Haptanghaiti) but elevated the implicit beliefs of that tradition to a far more ‘sophisticated’ level in the Gathas. This gave rise to the first ‘religion’ (community based on commonality of religious beliefs) known to us, which continued to thrive over the centuries. Meanwhile, a different priesthood continued to perform the older ‘Yasht’ tradition, and the two eventually coalesced. A second ‘merger’ took place when Zoroastrianism came to be recognised in Western Iran under the Achaemenids, and the resulting form of Zoroastrianism is known to us from the Pahlavi Books.
