FRAVASHIS, beneficent and protective guardian spirits whose services must be secured by means of ritual offerings, are an essential element of the religious structure of Zoroastrianism. They play an important role in the frequency of rainfall and are responsible for guaranteeing the prosperity and preservation of the family. As the spirits of the dead, they are the protagonists in a great feast held on the last night of the year. They are thought to preexist human beings and to survive them.

The fravashis do not appear in the Gāthās. In the Avesta, the first mention of them occurs in the Yasna Haptanhāiti, and an entire hymn (Yashts 13) is dedicated to them.

The conception of the fravashi has all the characteristics of an archaic, pre-Zoroastrian belief that was later absorbed and adapted by the tradition. Examples of these characteristics include their identification with the spirits...