Journal Asiatique 304.1 (2016): 47-63 doi: 10.2143/JA.304.1.3146833 In the Avestan ritual texts, we often find a formula that seems to indicate a peculiar way of reciting the Ahuna Vairiia 1 . This formula is highly interesting for various reasons. First, it is surprising that we find indica- tions of how the Ahuna Vairiia should be recited. Thus, we are in front of a ritual instruction in Avestan language that has entered the ritual celebration. This striking fact raises questions over the nature of the instruction and its role in the performance. Secondly, it appears in several variants mentioning different types of priests in different functions, and is therefore of great interest for research on the priestly college of the Zoroastrian liturgies. According to its designation in the Pahlavi meta-ritual literature, I will refer to it here as the taking of the wāž (wāž gīrišnīh). The basic form of the formula consists of two parts. The words of the first verse of the Ahuna Vairiia are divided between both parts. The first part is variable concerning the priestly title that is mentioned in it: 1. yaθā ahū vairiiō …. frā.mē mrūte 2. aθā ratuš aṣ̌ātcit hacā viδuuå ašauua mraōtū There are different variants of the taking of the wāž depending on the following factors: 1. The type of priest mentioned in the first part of the formula (zaōtar-, ātra- uuaxša-, frabərətar- or sraōšāuuarəz-); 2. Whether his title is introduced by the relative pronoun yō or not; and 3. The number of repetitions of the phrase introduced by yaθā ahū vairiiō. Most of the formulas have only one phrase introduced by yaθā ahū vairiiō:  The most frequent formulas introduce the title of the priest with the relative pronoun yō: – type 1: yaθā ahū vairiiō yō zaōta frā.mē mrūte aθā ratuš ašātcit hacā viδuuå ašauua mraōtū – type 2: yaθā ahū vairiiō yō ātrauuaxšō … aθā ratuš… – type 3: yaθā ahū vairiiō yō frabərəta … aθā ratuš…  Two of them also present variants without the rela- tive pronoun yō, but they are quite rare in the long liturgy: – type 4: yaθā ahū vairiiō zaōta… aθā ratuš… – type 5: yaθā ahū vairiiō ātrauuaxšō… aθā ratuš…  In the case of sraōšāuuarəz- it is not clear whether it should be edited with or without yō: – type 6: yaθā ahū vairiiō (yō) sraōšāuuarəzō… aθā ratuš… When the initial words (yaθā ahū vairiiō) are recited twice, I refer to a complex taking of the wāž. I distinguish two types according to the repetition or not of aθā ratuš ašātcit hacā. They are not repeated in a variant that is very frequent in the daily celebration of the long liturgy: – type 7: yaθā ahū vairiiō zaōta … yaθā ahū vairiiō yō zaōta … aθā ratuš… Finally, there is a variant that is missing in the Yasna, but very frequent in the solemn variant of the liturgy. Two complete takings of the wāž are combined (type 2 + type 1): – type 8: yaθā ahū vairiiō yō ātrauuaxšō… aθā ratuš…yaθā ahū vairiiō yō zaōta… aθā ratuš… In the performance of the liturgy as it appears in the liturgical manuscripts, most variants of this formula are recited by two priests antiphonally. One recites yaθā ahū vairiiō … frā.mē mrūte, and the other answers aθā ratuš ašātcit hacā viδuuå ašauua mraōtū. This does not apply, however, to types 4 and 5, which are the only ones in which both sections are recited by the same priest. In all the other types (1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8), the second part of the formula (aθā ratuš…) is always recited by the priest mentioned in the first part, when his title is introduced by the relative pronoun yō. In the ritual instructions in Pahlavi, the various auxiliary priests (ātrauuaxša-, frabərətar- or sraōšāuuarəz-) are substituted by a general designation for an auxiliary priest (rāspīg) 2 . The first part is recited by the zaōtar, THE TAKING OF THE Wāž AND THE PRIESTLY COLLEGE IN THE ZOROASTRIAN LONG LITURGY ALBERTO CANTERA 1 The most extensive analysis of this formula and its usage in the long liturgy is Boyce and Kotwal (1971: 59 ff.). 2 Nevertheless, it is often indicated that the rāspīg recites the sec- ond part in the place of a specific auxiliary priest: raspīg pad gāh ī srōšāwarzān yaθā ahū vairiiō yō zaōta frā.mē mrūtē zōt aθā ratuš…