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Plants of Life,
Plants of Death
FREDERICK J. SIMOONS

THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN PRESS

 CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS Xll

PREFACE xiv

1 INTRODUCTION 3
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2 TULSI, HOLY BASIL OF THE HINDUS; WITH NOTES
ON SWEET BASIL IN THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD 7
Tulsi among the Sacred Plants of Hinduism / 7
Tulsi—Botanic, Geographic, and Historical
Background / 8
Tulsi's Special Ties with Vaishnavism / 9
General Sketch, 9—Tulsi Beads Symbolic of
[ Vaishnavism, 14
Tulsi's Ties with Other Hindu Deities / 16
Places of Tulsi Cultivation / 17
Care and Worship of Household Tulsi Plants / 20
j General Sketch, 20—Circumambulation of the
Tulsi Plant, 23
Benefits Gained from Worship of the Tulsi Plant / 26
General Background, 26—Tulsi's Ability to Repel
i Evil and to Purify, 28
I vii
Vlll CONTENTS

Tulsi in Foretelling the Future / 31

Tulsi in Oath-taking / 32
Tulsi in Diet and Ayurvedic Medicine / 33
Hinduism, Vaishnavism, and the Spread of
Tulsi Sanctity / 35
Parallels between Hindu Perceptions of Tulsi and
Perceptions of Sweet Basil in India, Iran, and the
Mediterranean Lands / 37

3 SACRED FIG-TREES OF INDIA 41

Introduction / 41
Geographic Occurrence / 42
Physical Characteristics of the Trees as They Relate to
Sanctity and Ritual Role / 43
Earliest Evidence of Sanctity of the Pipal Tree / 49
Role in Hindu Ritual and Religion / 51
Supernatural Beings to Whom Sacred Fig-Trees Are Tied, 52
—Sacred Fig-Trees as Protective, Purifying, Healing, and
Wish-granting, 55—Sacred Fig-Trees, Truthfulness, Proper
Behavior, Innocence, and Guilt, 59—Ritual Use of Their
Wood, 61—Other Expressions of Sanctity, 62
Planting, Care, and Protection of Sacred Fig-Trees / 63
Planting, 63—Care and Protection, 67
Famous Sacred Fig-Trees of the Indian Subcontinent/ 70
Those of Gaya District in Bihar and Anuradhapura in
Ceylon, 70—Some Other Famous Trees, 80
Role of Sacred Fig-Trees in the Snake Cult of India / 82
Background on the Snake Cult, 82—Sacred Fig-Trees in the
Snake Cult, 95
4 MANDRAKE, A ROOT HUMAN IN FORM; WITH NOTES
ON GINSENG 101
Identity and Geographic Occurrence of the
Mandrake/ 101
Trade in Mandrake; Substitutions of Other Plants
for It, and Other Fakery/ 103
Broad Range of Ways in Which Mandrake
Has Been Used/106
Mandrake in Matters of Love and Fertility / 107
Among the Jews, 107—Among Other Peoples,
Ancient and Modern, 108
 CONTENTS IX

Mandrake and the Acquisition of Wealth /111

Mandrake in Medicine / 112
Mandrake as a Cure-All, 112—Mandrake as a Soporific and
Narcotic, 113—Mandrake and Madness, 116—Other Medical
Uses of Mandrake, 118
Mandrake, Underworld Forces, and Christianity/ 118
Ways of Collecting Mandrake / 120
Care of Mandrakes / 125
Historical Notes and Conclusions / 127
On the Ancient Near East and Europe, 127—On China, 129
—On India, 132
The Decline of Mandrake / 134
A QUESTION OF ODOR? GARLIC AND ITS RELATIVES
AS IMPURE FOODS IN THE AREA FROM EUROPE
TO CHINA 136
Introduction/ 136
Perspectives on Bad Odor, Impurity, Disgust,
and the Gods/ 137
Garlic and Onions as Foods of Bad Odor/ 140
Ties of Garlic and Onions to Underworld Forces, and
Their Use in Repelling Evil / 141
Suitability of Garlic and Onions for Offering to the Gods
and Use in Places of Worship / 147
Garlic and Onions Viewed as Aphrodisiacs and
Stimulating and Strengthening Agents / 148
Garlic and Onions as Flesh Food / 150
Rejection of Garlic and Onions by Priests, Respectable
Persons, and Vegetarians / 151
Conclusions/ 155

RITUAL USE AND AVOIDANCE OF THE URD BEAN

(VIGNA MUNGO) IN INDIA; WITH COMPARATIVE
DATA ON CERTAIN RELATED FOODS, FLAVORINGS,
AND BEVERAGES 158
Introduction/ 158
The Pollution Concept and Color Symbolism of the
Hindus, Especially as They Relate to the Acceptability
of Foods/ 163
Hindu Castes and Sects, 163—Hindu Religious Views and
Pollution Concerns, 163—Hindu Color Symbolism, 167
(C CONTENTS

The Urd Bean/170

Sesame/ 174
Meat/180
Alcoholic Beverages/ 185
Salt/ 186
Mushrooms / 188
Conclusions/ 189

7 THE COLOR BLACK IN THE PYTHAGOREAN BAN OF

THE FAVA BEAN (VICIA FABA) 192

Introduction/ 192
The Fava Bean in Antiquity / 193
Pythagoras, Pythagoreanism, and the Ban on Beans/ 196
Other Evidence of the Avoidance of Beans in Ancient
Greece and Rome / 202
In the Cult of Demeter, 202—Among the Orphics, 204
—Among the Romans, 206
Some Parallels in Ritual Views of the Ancient Greeks and
Indians; With Notes on Other Ancient Mediterranean
and Near Eastern Peoples / 207
In Views of Killing, Murder, Death, and the Dead, 207
—In the Symbolism of Black and White, 208
Conclusions / 211

8 FAVISM AND THE ORIGIN OF THE PYTHAGOREAN

BAN ON FAVA BEANS 216

Introduction/ 216
Favism—The Disease and the Hypothesis / 217
The Disease, 217—The Hypothesis, 221
Some Questions about the Favism Hypothesis / 221
Was Favism Recognized in the Time of Pythagoras?, 222
—The Occurrence of an Ancient Ban on Fava Beans in the
Principal Area of Favism Today: How Remarkable a
Coincidence?, 225—Tales of the Bean Field, 225
Other Evidence Bearing on the Likelihood That
Pythagoras and His Followers Suffered
from Favism / 230
Evidence of Favism in the Place of Pythagoras's Birth, 231
—An Estimate of the Likely Incidence of Favism among
Pythagoras's Followers, 232—Was the Pythagorean
Brotherhood a Special Case, a Society of Persons Afflicted
 CONTENTS XI
with Favism?, 239—Malaria as a Clue to Understanding
the History of Favism, and Its Bearing on the Favism
Hypothesis, 241
Summary and Conclusions / 247

9 PYTHAGORAS LIVES: PARALLELS AND SURVIVALS OF

HIS VIEWS OF BEANS IN MODERN AND PREMODERN
TIMES 250

Introduction / 250
Association of Beans with Death, the Dead, and
Underworld Forces / 251
Beans as Symbolic of Sex and as Containing the Spirit
of Life/262
Avoidance of Beans by Priests and Devout Persons or on
Holy Occasions / 265
Conclusion / 265

10 FURTHER NOTES, ELABORATIONS, AND

CONCLUSIONS 267
Introduction / 267
Some Characteristics of Plants That Relate to Their Roles
in Magic and Ritual / 267
General, 267—Thorniness and Odor, 269—Size, 270
—Age, 273—Movement, 275—Quaking and Rustling of
Leaves, 275—Seed, 278—Exudations, 285—Shape, 288
—Color, 291—Place and Method of Growth, 293
—Symptoms Experienced by Humans Who Consume
Plants, 295
Relationships between People and Their
Ritual Plants / 296
The Nature of Those Relationships, 296—Human Agents in
the Diffusion of Sacred Trees, 299
Concerns of Ancient Peoples in Their Dealings with Ritual
Plants Compared with Concerns of Secular People
Today/302

NOTES 307

BIBLIOGRAPHY 460

INDEX 536