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There has been much speculation as to thebotanical identity ofsoma orhaoma.Soma is a plant described inHindu sacred texts including theRigveda, whilehaoma is a plant described in theAvesta, a collection ofZoroastrian writings. Both names are derived from theProto-Indo-Iranian*Sauma.
Soma/Haoma is considered to be a concoction of multiple ingredients instead of one plant, however the primary botanical plant and active ingredient is debated. In the past 250 years scholars have tried to identify this, with proposed candidates including various species ofplants and orfungi. Theories currently endorse that soma/haoma was eitherEphedra, fly-agaric mushrooms, or Syrian rue.[1] The leading scholarly consensus on the botanical identity of soma/haoma has been Ephedra (particularlyEphedra gerardiana,Ephedra intermedia, orEphedra equisetina).[2] Furthermore, Ephedra has historically been the most purported due to being called som/hom/hum in South and Central Asian languages.[2] Ephedra geradiana in particular was called Somalata (moon plant) inSanskrit.[3]
Researchers also suggest other plants with and without psychoactive properties, such as the perennialPeganum harmala,Nelumbo nucifera (also known as the "sacred lotus"),Cannabis sativa, and the sugarcane speciesTripidium bengalense (synonymSaccharum sara); while fungal candidates include the fly-agaric mushroomAmanita muscaria, thepsilocybin-containing mushroomPsilocybe cubensis, and theergot fungusClaviceps purpurea,Phalaris aquatica, andDatura metel.[2] Soma/haoma has been described as being mixed with other substances (e.g.fermented mare's milk orfermented honey).[4]SrautaBrahmins calledSomayajis useCynanchum acidum today.
Since the late 18th-century, whenAbraham Hyacinthe Anquetil-Duperron and others made portions of theZoroastrianAvesta available to Western scholarship, several scholars have sought a representative botanical equivalent of thehaoma as described in the texts and as used in living Zoroastrian practice. Most of the proposed identifications have drawn primarily upon either linguistic evidence, comparative pharmacology, or reflected ritual use, but not all three: rarely have all three sources of evidence been considered in conjunction. Such unbalanced approaches to the problem of identity have resulted usually in the speedy rejection of these poorly-substantiated theories.[citation needed]
The Rigveda calls the plantsoma, meaning the "Creator of the Gods" and givessoma precedence aboveIndra and the other Gods callingsoma "a God for Gods".[5]
Based on"RV 8.48".,Soma has been generally assumed to beentheogenic. (Note, there are numerous similar references in the Vedas, e.g."RV 9.4".,"RV 9.5".,"RV 9.8".,"RV 9.10".,"RV 9.42".) Some descriptions ofsoma are associated withtapas (heat, excitement, "energy").Soma is associated with the warrior-godIndra, and appears to have been drunk before battle. For these reasons, there are stimulant (ephedrine-like) plants as well as entheogenic plants among the candidates that have been suggested.Soma is also often associated withlight and Indra is the "Lord of Light" as shown in"RV 8.82.25".[non-primary source needed]
For thee, O Lord of Light, are shed these Soma-drops, and grass is strewn. Bring Indra to his worshippers. May Indra give thee skill, and lights of heaven, wealth to his votary. And priests who praise him: laud ye him.
Texts like theAtharva Veda (and also texts of theBrahmana class) extol the medicinal properties ofsoma and it was regarded as the king of medicinal herbs.[citation needed]
In his autobiography,Swami Rama recalls contacting an Indian herbologist and Vedic scholar named Vaidya Bhairavdutt, who is described as "the only living authority onsoma". Bhairavdutt comes to visit the swami, bringing about a pound of the herb with him. He informs the swami that though the plant's effects can be likened to that of psychedelic mushrooms, it is definitely not a mushroom, but rather a succulent plant.[6]: 274 Bhairavdutt convinces the swami to join him in partaking thesoma. The taste, says Swami Rama, is "a little bit bitter and sour." Bhairavdutt becomes inebriated and dances wildly, claiming he is Shiva. Several students attempt to restrain the apparently slightly built Bhairavdutt, but are unable to do so.[6]: 275–276 Meanwhile, Swami Rama develops a crippling headache, a symptom which is compatible with the effects of high doses of ephedrine.[7] No hallucinogenic effects are described by Swami Rama.[6]: 275–276
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When Vedic rituals such as thesomayaga[8] are held today, traditionally in unbroken continuity in Southern India bySrautaBrahmins calledSomayajis , the herb used isSomalata ('Moon creeper')Cynanchum acidum,[9] a leafless plant that grows in arid places in peninsular India. This plant is known as thesomalata (“soma plant”) inAyurveda andSiddha medicine.[10]
A candidate favoured by proponents of the non-hallucinogenic /stimulant hypothesis is a species ofEphedra.Ephedrine, the principle active compound present in this plant, has a chemical structure similar to those of theamphetamines, and, when ingested, causes, among other effects, high blood-pressure. According to anecdotal reports, it also possesses a stimulating effect similar to that ofcaffeine.
In the late 19th century, the highly conservative Zoroastrians ofYazd province inIran were found to be usingEphedra, (known locally known ashum orhoma) which they were also exporting to their fellowZoroastrians in India.[11] The plant, as Falk also established, requires a cool (but not cold) and dry climate and thus will not grow in India (which is too hot and/or too humid) but will thrive incentral Asia.Ephedra distachya is native to southern Europe and northern Asia.[12] Later, it was discovered that a number ofIranian languages and Persian dialects havehom or similar terms as the local name for some variant ofEphedra.
Ephedra plants are shrubs, measuring between 0.2 and 4 meters, with numerous green or yellowish stems. There are about 30 species, mainly Eurasian. The species growing in mountainous regions have the highest ephedrine content (up to 3% in the case ofEphedra equisetina). The colour of the stem pith of certain Ephedra species is brown, recalling the Sanskrit epithetbabhru ("greyish-brown"), used exclusively in the Vedas to describe the colour of the extract produced by pounding the stems of the soma plant.
The different species ofEphedra are not well known, and their taxonomy is in a state of confusion. Assuming a Pontic-Caspian home of Indo-Iranian religions (seeKurgan), the only likely candidate isE. distachya, still used in Iranian folk medicine.
The native name forEphedra in most Indo-Iranian languages of Central Asia is derived from*sauma- (e.g.Nepalisomalata,PashtoOman/unan,Baluchihum/huma/uma).
In 1989, in a highly influential text, Harry Falk pointed out that both the Flattery and Wasson arguments assumed thathaoma was hallucinogenic, although the effect desired by Zoroastrian and Vedic ritual use was not. Falk noted that, in the texts, bothhaoma andsoma were said to enhance alertness and awareness, did not coincide with the consciousness altering effects of anentheogen, and that "there is nothing shamanistic or visionary either in early Vedic or in Old Iranian texts,"[13]: 79 nor could the small doses administered in living Zoroastrian custom justify its consideration as an inebriant. Living custom also does not give the extract enough time to ferment, ruling out the possibility of any intoxicating effect dependent upon the presence of alcohol.
Falk established that the effect of thealkaloid ephedrine was, in many respects, similar to adrenaline, but "its actions are less intense but more prolonged than those of adrenaline, and, most important, it prevents sleeping." Chemically, ephedrine is similar toamphetamine (amphetamine itself originating as an innovative "upgrade" of an ephedrine prototypical base). Falk also asserted that the three varieties of ephedra that yield ephedrine (E. gerardiana,E. major procera andE. intermedia) also have the properties attributed tohaoma by the texts of the Avesta.[13]: 87
In 1994,Viktor Sarianidi claimed that ancient ritual objects found atBMAC archeological sites inCentral Asia bore traces ofEphedra stalks andPapaver (poppy) seeds.[14] In 1995, Harri Nyberg investigated the specimens provided by Sarianidi but could not confirm the claim.[16]Another site provided material which Sarianidi had declared contained traces ofEphedra,Papaver, andCannabis (hemp) in 1998–1999. It was analysed in 2002–2003 by three independent teams, but they found no traces of the claimed contents.[17]
Nonetheless, in the conclusion of his observations on the 1999haoma-soma workshop in Leiden, Jan E. M. Houben writes that "[d]espite strong attempts to do away withEphedra by those who are eager to see*sauma as a hallucinogen, its status as a serious candidate for the Rigvedicsoma and Avestanhaoma still stands."[15] This supports Falk, who in his summary noted that "there is no need to look for a plant other thanEphedra, the one plant used to this day by theParsis".[13]
In 1989, David Flattery, with linguistic support from Martin Schwarz, concentrated again on Iranianhaoma. The two paid particular attention to thehallucinogenic properties that may be interpreted from the texts, and discountedEphedra because they could not observe Zoroastrian priests becoming intoxicated.They concluded that it was "therefore neither likely thatEphedra was a substitute for *sauma nor that it was *sauma itself" and that theephedrine andpseudoephedrine alkaloids extracted fromEphedra had to be mixed with the extract from some other plant to achieve the described effects. Flattery proposed the second plant wasPeganum harmala (harmal, harmel, Syrian rue, see alsoharmaline), known in Iranian languages asesfand,sepand or other similar terms related to Avestan wordspenta ('sacred', 'holy'). Flattery considered harmel to be the realhaoma, withEphedra only being the secondary ingredient in theparahaoma mixture.[18]
Another factor involved in favouringPeganum harmala as the identity ofsoma-haoma is the use of plants with a similar chemistry (notablyBanisteriopsis caapi) by certain South American cultures to prepare hallucinogenic drinks in which the plants'harmala alkaloids serve to potentiate the effects of other ingredients. The Iranian flora is not rich in true hallucinogenic species -P. harmala is the onlyincense plant with hallucinogenic properties in Iran[19] and the only one which could activate normally inactive compounds present in certain other Iranian plants. Such Peganum-containing drinks could have furnished intoxicants compatible with the purported role of the drink described in the Indo-Iranian texts (as understood by proponents of the hallucinogen hypothesis).
Peganum harmala containsharmaline, which is a strongMAO-inhibitor, and it is therefore often used as a first component in modern practices modelled onayahuasca ceremonies, in which (as with theBanisteriopsis component of the traditional South American drink) its alkaloids inhibit the metabolisation of an orally administeredDMT molecule (2nd component). Since co-occurrence of DMT-bearingPhalaris grass and theMAOI-richPeganum harmala has been observed atYazd,Persepolis,Merv andTermez,[20] the hypothesis stating thatsoma/haoma was a biochemicalEurasian correlate of ayahuasca cannot be excludeda priori.
Based on a detailed botanical analysis of iconography and ancient texts,Nelumbo nucifera, the 'sacred lotus', is another candidate forsoma: the descriptions ofsoma in the Vedic texts can be construed as being reminiscent of the morphology of this much-venerated water plant, which has long featured prominently in the religious symbolism of the east.Nelumbo nucifera is a waterlily-like plant that produces golden-red flowers on long stalks arising from rootstocks anchored in the mud of lake bottoms. The appearance of its flower recalls certain metaphors employed in the ancient texts which comparesoma to an arrow and to the sun. Certain Vedic hymns describe soma as having a "ruddy radiance" - referable possibly to the colour of the flowers ofNelumbo nucifera.Soma is also described in the Vedic hymns as growing "joint by joint, knot by knot" - a good description of a plant that grows by producing procumbent shoots with nodes and internodes. In addition,benzoisoquinolinealkaloids found inNelumbo nucifera, includingaporphine,proaporphine, andnuciferine, are psychoactive, producing feelings ofeuphoria when ingested.[21][22]
Some believe thatcannabis is one possible candidate for soma. Jogesh Chandra Ray claims that the method of preparation of soma andbhang (anedible preparation of Cannabis) are similar and the described effects of soma and bhang are also similar. He also claims that the habitat of the soma plant and Cannabis plant are similar and that they originate from the north westHimalayan region.[23] Chris Bennett, in his bookCannabis and the Soma Solution, likewise draws parallels and similarities between soma and cannabis.[24]
Excavations at theMargiana temples have revealed the remains of a process used for making a drink similar to soma-haoma. This may constitute archeological evidence supporting the process for producing soma attested in the Avesta and the Rigveda. In the temples found, the central position is occupied by what have been dubbed "white rooms", along the walls of which are sunk, into side platforms, vessels carved from thick layers of gypsum. These basins have yielded dried residues derived from drinks containing infusions of the psychoactive plants ephedra, cannabis and (opium) poppy. Scholars such asVictor Sarianidi state that this proves that soma was made from a combination of poppy, cannabis and ephedra.[25] Other scholars support Sarianidi's claims.[26][27]
Some scholars, such as Mia Touw, have suggested that the Chinese name for cannabis,huǒ-má (火麻lit. 'fiery hemp'), which was also calledhú-má (胡麻lit. 'barbarian hemp') meaning "Scythian hemp" or "Iranian hemp", was aphonosemanticborrowing from aCentral Asian language, possibly a cognate of theAvestan wordHaoma, lending some etymological evidence to the hypothesis that identifies cannabis as soma.[28][29]
Several authors have identifiedTripidium bengalense (synonymSaccharum sara), a variety of sugarcane that grows near lakes[30] as source of Vedicsoma or with an ancient variety of sugarcane that may presently be extinct.[31][32]
From the late 1960s onwards, several studies attempted to establishsoma as apsychotropic substance. A number of proposals were made, including an important one in 1968 byRobert Gordon Wasson, an amateur mycologist, who (on Vedic evidence) asserted thatsoma was an inebriant, and suggested fly-agaric mushroom,Amanita muscaria, as the likely candidate. Wasson and his co-author,Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty, drew parallels between Vedic descriptions and reports of Siberian uses of the fly-agaric inshamanic ritual.[35] Furthermore, the mountainous origin ofsoma matches the habitat of fly-agaric, and when discussingsoma, the Vedas do not mention any part of a flowering tree.[19]
In 1971, Vedic scholar John Brough from Cambridge University rejected Wasson's theory and drew attention toephedrine (in particular to that extracted fromEphedra sinica), and noted that it "is a powerful stimulant, and would thus be a more plausible preparation for warriors about to go intobattle than the fly-agaric, which is a depressant." (for use ofparahaoma by soldiers, see reference to theAb-Zohr inDenkard 8.25.24).[36] This was in turn contradicted in 1974 by Iranologist Ilya Greshevitch, who determined that, in small doses, fly-agaric was indeed astimulant.[37] In any case, since the "weapon" that Indra uses is theVajra which emits "lightning bolts", the "battles" could not have been physical ones.
J. P. Mallory rejects Wasson's argument that the absence of Vedic descriptions of plant parts point to a fungus, since the Vedas do not describe in other than metaphorical detail the plant from which the soma drink was extracted. He further explains the references to mountains as a metaphor "recallingsoma's lofty origins".[19]
Kevin Feeney and Trent Austin compared the references in the Vedas with the filtering mechanisms in the preparation of Amanita muscaria and published findings supporting the proposal that fly-agaric mushrooms could be a likely candidate for the sacrament.[38]
Said Gholam Mochtar andHartmut Geerken published their findings regarding the medicinal and recreational use ofA. muscaria among theParachi-speaking inhabitants of theShutul Valley in theHindu Kush range of Afghanistan. [See below].[39]
In his bookFood of the Gods,Terence McKenna criticizes theAmanita muscaria theory and suggests thepsilocybin-containingPsilocybe cubensis mushroom as asoma candidate. McKenna argues that effects of theA. muscaria mushrooms contradict the description of the properties described in theRigveda. Mushrooms ofA. muscaria have properties that are arguably moredeliriant thanpsychedelic.Psilocybin, the activepsychoactive component inP. cubensis, has a strong mind-altering effect. McKenna cites other cultures who use and venerate psychedelic plant-drugs in religious ceremonies such as atChavin de Huantar, Peru.[33]
Gordon Wasson, who initially suggested that thesoma plant wasA. muscaria, describedPsilocybe cubensis as "easily identified and gathered" in India, and eventually hypothesized, along with McKenna, thatP. cubensis was perhaps the true identity ofsoma. McKenna and Wasson both unsuccessfully attempted to useA. muscaria to achieve a state of consciousness conducive to the development of a religion.[citation needed]
The 9th mandala of theRigveda suggests that the cow is the embodiment ofsoma, which provides support for McKenna's theory becauseP. cubensis is known to grow in cow dung.
An ancient rug discovered in the year 2010 depicts figures conjectured to be those of kings, priests, and/or even warriors - one of whom is holding an object strongly resembling a mushroom with a large cap. The context has been interpreted as an offering forming part of a Haoma ritual performed next to fire.[40]
In the context of a possible fungal identity forhaoma, some remarkable evidence has been found in the iconography employed in an ancient,embroidered rug discovered in the year 2010 in aXiongnu burial chamber in Mongolia'sNoin-Ula burial site. This depicts figures conjectured to be those of kings, priests, and/or warriors - one of whom is holding an object strongly resembling a large mushroom with a broad, scalloped (or spotted) cap and a bulbous base - this within the context of what appears to an offering forming part of ahaoma ritual performed next to afire altar (see alsoAtar). The embroidery is not only of a high quality, but also exhibits a remarkable degree of preservation, permitting detailed analysis of facial features, costume and ritual paraphernalia - even allowing the dating of the artifact to within fifty years on either side of the turn of theCommon Era. The authors offer a tentative identification of the mushroom depicted in the ritual asPsilocybe cubensis, although they reference alsoAmanita muscaria, while casting doubt upon the suitability of the chemistry of the latter species for inducing ecstasies of the type evoked byhaoma.[41]
The time-worn cloth found on the floor covered with blue clay of the Xiongnu burial chamber and brought back to life by restorers has a long and complicated story. It was made someplace in Syria or Palestine, embroidered, probably, in north-western India and found in Mongolia...The manner in which the warrior with a horse is depicted copies in minute detail the images on the heads of the coins minted by Indo-Scythian (Saka) kings:Azes I, Aziles (typo forAzilises q.v.) andAzes II, who governed north-western India approximately from 57 BC, as well as by their successorGondofar, the first Indo-Parthian ruler of West and East Punjab (from 20 AD to 46 AD)...These similarities are an important argument in favor of the hypothesis that the carpet shows Indo-Scythians or Indo-Parthians.[41]
Some ethnomycological evidence, relevant to a tentative identification of the mushroom depicted in the Noin-Ula rug, may be found in an article published in 1979 by Said Gholam Mochtar andHartmut Geerken in which the authors describe a tradition involving the medicinal and recreational use ofAmanita muscaria among aParachi-speaking group living in the remoteShutul Valley of thePanjshir Province of Afghanistan. Mochtar and Geerken's research, while intriguing, has not yet been corroborated by other investigators (an unsurprising state of affairs in view of a history of conflict in Afghanistan rendering scholarly fieldwork difficult, if not impossible). This said, if their conclusions are correct and Shutuli amanita use is a practice of some antiquity, this would place a tradition featuring ritual use of the fly agaric in the area in which the Noin-Ula embroidery was created (i.e. in a region abutting the northwest frontier of India) and in which a haoma-using Zoroastrian milieu would be historically plausible, given the Indo-Scythian provenance of the clothing depicted and the portrayal of a fire altar. Regarding the ability ofA. muscaria to evoke transcendent states of consciousness comparable to those evoked by Soma/Haoma, it may be noted that the Shutuli refer to their mushroom by the Parachi nameChashm baskhon (= "the opener of the eye").[39]
InThe Road to Eleusis, the authors,R. Gordon Wasson,Albert Hofmann, andCarl A. P. Ruck, note the similarity in preparation of the Vedicsoma and theKykeon of theEleusinian Mysteries. The book hypothesizes that the source of both was ergot (Claviceps purpurea).[42]
{{cite book}}:|journal= ignored (help){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)A radical history of plants, drugs, and human evolution
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