Boksi : the witch

In the Nepali language, the word boksi (बोक्सी) is a term from folk belief. It refers to a female figure who is believed to possess knowledge of witchcraft and black magic. By examining a person, a jhã̄kri (झाँक्रि), a shaman, could determine whether that person is affected by a boksi (बोक्सी, a human witch), a ḍāinī (डाइनी, a spirit witch), a masān (मसान, a spirit of the dead), or bhūt/pichās (भूत/पिचास, evil spirits). Masān is obviously related to cremation grounds (śmaśāna in Sanskrit).

The word boksi is also used pejoratively against women, although such usage is outlawed in Nepal and may result in substantial fines and punishment. Female neighbours and relatives who are disliked or socially marginalized often end up being branded as boksi, as the accusation provides a convenient means of perpetuating violence against them. Alternatively, sometimes a male witch can also be called a Boksa (बोक्सा)

According to the etymology proposed by German scholars of Nepali and Indo-Aryan languages, the term boksi is derived from the Sanskrit name of a non-Aryan ethnic community known as Pulkasa (पुल्कस, also puṣkasa पुष्कस), described as the progeny of a Niṣāda male and a Śūdra female. In Sanskrit texts, the Pulkasas are often portrayed as despised forest dwellers who wore clothes taken from dead bodies and ate the flesh of donkeys and elephants.

Another female figure that frequently recurs in folk imagination is the kichkini, kichkanyā, or Kichkandi. She is a female spirit wandering in search of sexual fulfilment, or a woman who remains attached to uncremated parts of her body, such as bones. In Bhoot Police (2021), a Hindi-language film, the tea estate owned by the character Maya is haunted by a Kichkandi.

The kichkini is derived from the Sanskrit expression kr̥tyā-kanyā (कृत्या-कन्या), literally “daughter of a kr̥tyā.” A kr̥tyā may refer to a female evil spirit, a sorceress, or a female deity to whom sacrifices are offered for destructive and magical purposes.

In 2021, Amazon Prime released the web series The Last Hour. Filmed in Sikkim and featuring actors from Northeast India, it presents a story woven around the jhã̄kri (झाँक्रि), a shamanic figure found in Himalayan societies. The word jhã̄kri is probably related to the Nepali verb jhã̄knu (झाँक्नु), meaning “to peep” or “to look into.”

In Himalayan societies, a jhã̄kri is a diviner and healer who cures the sick by discerning the will of deities (devtā) or malevolent spirits while in a trance. In western Nepal, a particular kind of jhã̄kri is known as a Dhami (धामी). A Dhami is a person who expels evil spirits (bhūt), ghosts (pret), witches (boksi), and other malevolent beings by allowing them to enter his body and then subduing them through tantra-mantra rituals.

In this context, it is noteworthy that the current Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami, may belong to a community historically associated with such ritual healers.

In summary, a word for a stigmatized tribal population eventually became a word for a witch in the Himalayas.