Haoma (/ˈhoʊmə/;Avestan:𐬵𐬀𐬊𐬨𐬀) is a divine plant inZoroastrianism and in later Persian culture andmythology.Haoma has its origins inIndo-Iranian religion and is the cognate ofVedicsoma.[1][2]
BothAvestanhaoma andSanskritsoma derived fromproto-Indo-Iranian *sauma. The root of the wordhaoma,hu-, and ofsoma,su-, suggests 'press' or 'pound'.[3]
InOld Persian cuneiform it was known as𐏃𐎢𐎶hauma, as in theDNa inscription (c. 490 BC) which makes reference to "haoma-drinkingScythians" (Sakā haumavargā).
TheMiddle Persian form of the name is𐭧𐭥𐭬hōm, which continues to be the name in ModernPersian and other livingIranian languages (هوم).
In theAvesta, the Hauma plant is shortly described in theHom Yasht, whereas a more detailed description is given in theHom Stom. The physical attributes, as described in the texts, include:
The indirect attributes (i.e., as effects of its consumption) include:
Many of the physical attributes as described in the texts of the Avesta match the plant used in present-day Zoroastrian practice. In present-day preparation ofparahaoma (for details, seeAb-Zohr),
According to Falk,Parsi-Zoroastrians use a variant ofephedra, usuallyEphedra procera, imported from theHari River valley inAfghanistan.[4]
Since the late 18th century, whenAnquetil-Duperron and others made portions of the Avesta 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 proposals concentrated on either linguistic evidence or comparative pharmacology or reflected ritual use. Rarely were all three considered together, which usually resulted in such proposals being quickly rejected.
In the late 19th century, the highly conservative Zoroastrians ofYazd (Iran) were found to usegenus Ephedra, which was locally known ashum orhoma and which they exported to the Indian Zoroastrians.[5] The plant, as Falk also established, requires a cool and dry climate, i.e. it does not grow in India (which is either too hot or too humid or both) but thrives in central Asia. Later, it was discovered that a number ofIranian languages and Persian dialects havehom or similar terms as the local name for some variant ofEphedra. Considered together, the linguistic and ritual evidence appeared to conclusively establish thathaoma was some variant ofEphedra.
In the latter half of the 20th century, several studies attempted to establishhaoma as apsychotropic substance, basing their arguments on the assumption that proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma was ahallucinogen. This assumption relies onRigvedaMandala 8, Hymn 48.Falk (1989) andHouben (2003a) reject this assumption, positing thatsouma was not hallucinogenic. Considering all 115 hymns dedicated tosouma in whole, rather than the single hymnRV 8.48, and modern usage ofEphedra by practitioners, Falk and Houben conclude thatEphedra could be the only logical identity ofsouma. Moreover, the references toentheogenic properties were only in conjunction with a fermentation of the plant extract, which does not have enough time to occur in living custom.
In the conclusion of his observations on a 1999 Haoma-Soma workshop inLeiden, Jan E. M. Houben writes: "despite strong attempts to do away with Ephedra by those who are eager to see *sauma as a hallucinogen, its status as a serious candidate for the Rigvedic Soma and Avestan Haoma still stands".[6] 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."[7]
TheYazataHaoma, also known by the Middle Persian nameHōm Yazad, is the epitome of the quintessence of thehaoma plant, venerated in theHōm Yašt, the hymns ofYasna 9–11.
In those hymns,Haoma is said to appear before Zoroaster in the form ofDūraoša,[8] a "beautiful man" (this is the only anthropomorphic reference), who prompts him to gather and presshaoma for the purification of the waters (seeAban).Haoma is 'righteous' and 'furthers righteousness', is 'wise' and 'gives insight' (Yasna 9.22).Haoma was the first priest, installed byAhura Mazda with the sacred girdleaiwiyanghan (Yasna 9.26) and serves theAmesha Spentas in this capacity (Yasht 10.89). "Golden-green eyed"Haoma was the first to offer uphaoma, with a "star-adorned, spirit-fashioned mortar," and is the guardian of "mountain plants upon the highest mountain peak." (Yasht 10.90)
Haoma is associated with theAmesha SpentaVohu Manah (Avestan, Middle PersianVahman orBahman), the guardian of all animal creation.Haoma is the only divinity with aYasht who is not also represented by a day-name dedication in theZoroastrian calendar. Without such a dedication,Haoma has ceased to be of any great importance within the Zoroastrian hierarchy of angels.
The Haoma plant is a central element in the legend surrounding the conception ofZoroaster. In the story, his father Pouroshaspa took a piece of the Haoma plant and mixed it with milk. He gave his wife Dugdhova one half of the mixture and he consumed the other. They then conceived Zoroaster who was instilled with the spirit of the plant.
According to tradition, Zoroaster received his revelation on a riverbank while preparingparahaoma for theAb-Zohr (Zatspram 21.1), that is, for the symbolic purification ofAban ("the waters"). This symbolic purification is also evident inYasna 68.1, where the celebrant makes good for the damage done to water by humanity: "These offerings, possessinghaoma, possessing milk, possessing pomegranate, shall compensate thee".
It is possible that thebarsom (Var. Avestanbaresman) bundle of twigs was originally a bundle of Haoma stalks. The Haoma divinity is identified with priesthood (seeHaoma as a divinity), while thebarsom stalks "cut for the bundles bound by women" (Yasna 10.17) is the symbol and an instrument of Zoroastrian priests. Today thebarsom is made from pomegranate twigs (cf: preparation ofparahaoma for theAb-Zohr).
InFerdowsi'sShahnameh, which incorporates stories from the Avesta (with due acknowledgement), Hom appears as a hermit, dweller of the mountains, incredibly strong. He bindsAfrasiab (Middle Persian, Avestan: "the fell TuranianFrangrasyan",Yasna 11.7) with the sacred girdle, and drags him from deep within the earth (named thehankana in Avestan,hang-e-Afrasiab in middle Persian) where Afrasiab has his "metal-encircled" kingdom that is immune to mortal attack.
In another episode, Vivaŋhat is the first of the humans to presshaoma, for which Hom rewards him with a son,Jamshid.Yasna 9.3-11 hasZoroaster asking the divinity who (first) preparedhaoma and for what reward, to which Haoma recalls Vivanghvant (Persian: Vivaŋhat) to whom Yima Xshaeta (Jamshid) is born;Athwya (Abtin) to whom Thraetaona (Fereydun) is born; and Thrita to whom Urvaxshaya and Keresaspa (Karshasp and Garshasp) are born. The latter two are also characters in priestly heroic tradition, and among conservative Zoroastrians of the hereditary priesthood, Haoma is still prayed to by those wanting children (in particular, honorable sons who will also become priests).The account given in the Indian Vedas closely agrees with that of the IranianAvesta. The first preparers of Soma are listed as Vivasvat, who is the father ofYama andManu, andTrita Aptya.
James Darmesteter, in his 1875 thesis on the mythology of the Avesta, speculating on theParsi belief that Ephedra twigs do not decay, wrote:
... it comprises the power of life of all the vegetable kingdom ... both the Ved[as] and the Avesta call it the 'king of healing herbs' ... the zarathustri scriptures say that homa is of two kinds, the white haoma and the painless tree. Could it be that soma is thetree of life? the giver of immortality?
The Indian-Zoroastrian belief mentioned above also manifests itself in the present-day Zoroastrian practice of administering a few drops ofparahaoma to the new-born or dying (seeAb-Zohr). The belief also appears to be very old, and be cross-cultural. As Falk, recallingAurel Stein's discovery of Ephedra plants interred at 1st-century CETarim Basin burial sites, notes: "an imperishable plant, representing or symbolizing the continuity of life, is most appropriate to burial rites".[citation needed]
A legendary 'White Hom' grows at the junction of the "great gathering place of the waters" and a mighty river. According to theWizidagiha-i Zadspram, at the end of time, whenOrmuzd triumphs overAhriman, the followers of the good religion will share aparahom made from the 'White Hom', and so attain immortality for their resurrected bodies. (Zadspram 35.15)
Beyond the establishment of a common origin ofhaoma andsoma and numerous attempts to give that common origin a botanical identity, little has been done to compare the two. AsIndologist Jan Houben also noted in the proceedings of a 1999 workshop on Haoma-Soma, "apart from occasional and dispersed remarks on similarities in structure and detail of Vedic and Zoroastrian rituals, little has been done on the systematic comparison of the two".[6] As of 2003, no significant comparative review of cultural/sacred Haoma/Soma had extended beyondAlfred Hillebrandt's 1891 comparison of the Vedic deity and the Zoroastrian divinity.[9]
All more recent studies that address commonality have dealt only with botanical identification of proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma. Houben's workshop, the first of its kind, dealt with "the nature of the Soma/Haoma plant and the juice pressed from it" and that "the main topic of the workshop (was) the identity of the Soma/Haoma."[10]
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