Recognition of Pre-Zoroastrian Cult of Vayu in Aogәmadaēcā

As one of the oldest and most complex Indo-Iranian deities, Vayu has been characterized outstandingly in the Avesta. Although Wāy's dual character is the product of late thinking and he was considered as a dual-faced single character in early periods, there is a very clear distinction between the Good Wāy (Wāy i weh) and the bad Wāy (Wāy i wattar) in Pahlavi literature. The constructive aspect of Vayu's nature is illustrated and his destructive aspect is pointed in Rām Yašt, but the destructive aspect is explicitly expressed in the Aogәmadaēcā and Vayu is the messenger of death in this text. It also seems that Vayu has been the supreme deity in a society that has had its own cult, rituals and special idioms. Some features of his cult are comprehensible by examining specific parts of Aogәmadaēcā. Later, with the advent of Zoroastrianism, this high-ranking deity was reduced in to a subordinate. However, the old pre- Zoroastrian religion lost its color, but because of the importance and popularity among its followers, it survived, and later transferred many of its features to the Zoroastrian religion. It has been tried, in present study, to recognize Vayu's character and some aspects of his religion in Aogәmadaēcā.