ojha

plural ojhas

1. A sorcerer or folk healer in parts of India and Nepal.

   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.

   1894, William Crooke, An introduction to the popular religion and folklore of northern India, Allahabad, page 36

   2 more examples

   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.’

   1993, Richard Maxwell Eaton, The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204-1760, page 296n

   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.

   2008, Amitav Ghosh, Sea of Poppies, Penguin, published 2015, page 154

plural Ojhas

1. A surname from Hindi.