Strength and Immortality : Sesame in Early Cultures
The cultivation of sesame seeds goes back to the earliest cultures in Africa, India and the Middle East. The mighty Assyrian nation that began about 5000 BC and had its heyday in the Tigris / Euphrates valleys between 2400 and 612 BC, esteemed sesame so highly that in their legends, they told of their gods drinking sesame wine to give them the strength to create the world.
And if the mention of 'Assyrian' has brought to mind the first line of a poem you can't quite remember, here just as an aside is the full text of Lord Byron's beautiful 'Destruction of Sennacherib'.
Sesame was held equally in respect in India. In Hindu legends and beliefs, tales are told in which sesame seeds represent a symbol of immortality. In many parts of India, sesame seed was and is a highly esteemed offering to their gods.
Strength and Endurance : Sesame in the Mediterranean
Cultivation of the seed spread to the Mediterranean - Egypt, Israel and Turkey especially. Greek and Roman armies were issued with bags of sesame seeds as iron rations for the soldiers, which tells us a great deal about the value of this seed. These guys were not sitting in a war room pushing buttons to fire off rockets at the foe - they were forced marching over hundreds of miles of gruelling terrain, followed by fierce hand-to-hand fighting on the ground.
In the first century AD Dioscorides the Greek physician, pharmacologist and botanist authored a 5-volume encyclopedia on herbal medicine and related medicinal substances - a pharmacopeia. This book was in circulation and widely read for well over a thousand years.
The above illustration is from the Vienna Dioscorides, a manuscript made in about 515 AD for the Byzantine princess Juliana Anicia, daughter of Emperor Anicius Olybrius, and now held in the Austrian National Library in Vienna. Originally created as a luxury copy, there is evidence that in later centuries it was used daily as a hospital textbook - interesting. It includes some annotations by hand in Arabic - see the photo. (Vienna Dioscorides on Wikipedia)
Dioscorides shows us that sesame was still highly valued in his day, commenting that it "doth discuss (ie deal with) the griefs of the colon" and that "the herb soaked in wine heals pains of the head that come by heat." At least two common health problems here : constipation and headaches. I can't help wondering if 'pains of the head that come by heat' refers to migraines and / or hangovers. And 'griefs of the colon'? It's plural - many bowel maladies, from diverticulitis to irritable bowel or ibs might be comprised in that.
Both the Egyptians and the Jews included sesame in their baking ingredients, customarily adding sesame seeds to their flour in the preparation of dough. And you can bet that wasn't just a pinch sprinkled on the top. As you can see from my Extremely Busy Solo Woman's Biscuit / Cookie Recipe sesame when ground lends itself well to the formation of a dough - and one that contains NO GLUTEN, moreover.
Sesame in the Far East and America
In very early times the cultivation and use of sesame seeds also spread to China, Korea and Japan, where their use in cuisine is common. Finally, sesame was probably brought into 17th century colonial America by West African slaves, and its cultivation and use is now common in the Caribbean and Mexico.
What Are We Missing About Sesame?
Oh dear - in most western cuisine today we still adhere to the 'decorative' and 'crunchy, nutty flavor' concepts, in preference to understanding the value of the plant for our health. Is that decadent or what?
Here is my point: These uses and attributes of the sesame seed go back into antiquity. They were clearly inherent in the plant from the beginning. They were recognized in many nations out of practical living experience over a period of about 7 millennia - not cooked up in a laboratory over the last 200 years.
To improve our health and make us more resistant to disease, shouldn't we be looking to the practical experience of our forefathers rather than the fast food and pharmaceutical industries? I think so.
Next post - Science Begins to Catch Up.
Check out sesame used in baking in my Extremely Busy Solo Woman's Biscuit / Cookie Recipe
Patricia
