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Latest comment: 15 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion
The word Davachi means Medicine Man, a person who makes and/or sells medicine. The word Davā is Persian and means Medicine and the affix chi is Turkic and refers to one's profession. If I am not mistaken, the word Davā has its root in the Old Persian word Daēva, meaning Divine Being. That this is not too far-fetched can be appreciated by considering that in ancient times (and even in modern times, if one considers very traditional and tribal societies, such as those in Africa, in the Amazon region and in America, amongst the Indian-Americans) the medicine man was at the same time a religious person, or a person bestowed with divine powers. The power of medicine to make an ill person healthy or to remove pain, must have always seemed as originating from a divine being. One should realise that until not long ago Davachi was part of Iran and Āzari is an Iranian language. In fact, until one or two generations ago all persons who ran a drug-store were called Davāchi in Iran and further I have known a very old Iranian family by the name Davāchi. Incidentally, Camels are not animals that one would find on the rim of the Caspian Sea, where climate is wet and temperate. In short, it is a mystery to me how Davachi can be related to Camel Handler. In any case, the text says "appears to come from". Where does it "appear" from?! The text further does not provide even a single reference for this outlandish claim as Davachi meaning Camel Handler. --BF 11:50, 29 June 2008 (UTC)Reply
