Ojha
A village healer and ritual specialist in eastern India, consulted for snakebite, illness and spirit trouble.
Also: ojhā, ojhaa, jhad-phunk, ojapali
Ojha is the title of a folk practitioner in Bihar, Jharkhand, Bengal, Odisha and Assam, and the word varies across languages. In many villages the ojha is called when someone is thought to be affected by a spirit, an evil look or a spell. He may use mantras, chanting, a broom or a bundle of leaves, and often is asked about snakebite, where the practice is said to be an old specialty. In some areas the same figure is reported to name a woman as a dayan, a witch, and such accusations have led to beatings and killings. Jharkhand passed a law against witch-hunting in 2001. Health workers urge that illness be treated in clinics.