Dayan

The Dayan is not a ghost but a living woman — or so she appears. In North and Central Indian folk belief, a Dayan is a person, almost always female, who has acquired or inherited supernatural powers through a pact with malevolent forces. She uses these powers to cause illness in children, poison livestock, destroy crops, and bring misfortune to enemies.

Belief in the Dayan is ancient and widespread, but it carries a shadow of real-world violence. Accusations of being a Dayan — often targeting widows, older women, or women who have defied social norms — have led to documented murders, torture, and social expulsion. The National Crime Records Bureau of India reports hundreds of witch-hunting cases annually, the majority from tribal districts of Jharkhand and Odisha.

A Dayan looks like an ordinary woman. The supernatural signs are behavioural and circumstantial: she is seen at crossroads at night, she does not eat with others, her shadow falls wrong in certain lights.

In direct supernatural encounter (as distinct from the social accusation), she is described as able to leave her body at night, her spirit travelling as a flame or an owl.

The Dayan's powers include the evil eye in its most active form — deliberate cursing rather than accidental projection. She can cause wasting illness in children, make cattle stop giving milk, and spoil stored food.

In some traditions she is also an intermediary to more powerful spirits, capable of summoning or directing them against targets. Her knowledge of poisonous plants and psychological manipulation gives her a practical dimension alongside the supernatural.