Adhvaryum

A type of sacrificial priest described in
the Brahmana literature, one of the later
strands of the sacred literature known as
the Vedas. The Brahmanas largely functioned as manuals describing how to
perform sacrificial rites—which primarily involved burning offerings in a
sacred fire—and the care and attention
devoted to detailing these sacrifices,
which leads to the inference that these
were the primary religious acts. These
rites were so complex that they
required specialized ritual technicians: the adhvaryum, the hotr, the
udgatr, and the brahman. The
adhvaryum was the sacrificial priest
who chanted the hymns from the
Yajur Veda that were used in the sacrifice. He was also responsible for
preparing the sacred altar, assembling
the sacrificial materials, kindling and
feeding the sacred fire, and actually
offering the sacrificial animals.