History

April 25, 2014April 30, 2014

My happy liver I cover with a garment fit for a queen

Since we’re on the subject of agricultural biodiversity and poetry, let’s also deal with that Sumerian ode to beer that featured in another article I linked to recently. It’s called the “Hymn to Ninkasi,” and it was found on a 19th century BC cuneiform tablet. Ninkasi means “lady who fills the mouth,” and was, aptly enough, the goddess of brewing. I found a longer version of the poem online, along with a recipe for the beer it describes, a “light, unhopped, unfiltered barley beer.” There’s some really detailed scholarship on Sumerian beer out there. What I don’t quite understand is why this stanza

While I circle around the abundance of beer,
While I feel wonderful, I feel wonderful,
Drinking beer, in a blissful mood,
Drinking liquor, feeling exhilarated,
With joy in the heart [and] a happy liver—
While my heart full of joy,
[And] [my] happy liver I cover with a
garment fit for a queen!…

which is rather fun, is found in some sources but not in others. Some disagreement among Sumerian poetry experts? I’d like to think so.

Incidentally, there’s a thing called the Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary Project which has come up with an entirely horrible but endlessly intriguing online resource. It took me like an hour, but I finally figured out what I think is the Old Akkadian cuneiform for Ninkasi.

You’re welcome.

April 23, 2014April 23, 2014

I decide soiling my hands

“The book showed how ninjas trained by jumping over cannabis plants,” Takayasu says. “Every day they had to leap higher and higher because cannabis grows very quickly. I was so amazed that I told my mom I wanted to grow cannabis when I was older.”

I defy anyone coming across that opening gambit to refrain from reading on. I know I Nibbled it, but the Japan Times article on that country’s history of hemp cultivation and use, which came out a couple of days ago to commemorate 420, is much too good to leave to languish in a sidebar.

Not convinced? How about this?

…the [1948] U.S. decision to prohibit cannabis created panic among Japanese farmers. In an effort to calm their fears, Emperor Hirohito visited Tochigi Prefecture in the months prior to the ban to reassure farmers they would be able to continue to grow in defiance of the new law — a surprisingly subversive statement.

There’s lots more. I have to say, though, that what intrigued me most was this:

As well as references to cannabis plants in ninja training, they also feature in the “Manyoshu” — Japan’s oldest collection of poems — and the Edo Period (1603-1868) book of woodblock prints, “Wakoku Hyakujo.” In haiku poetry, too, key words describing the stages of cannabis cultivation denoted the season when the poem is set.

Researching that bit about haiku led me to what seems to be the mother lode on Japanese hemp culture. Which in turn eventually led me to discover that the Japanese actually have a word for seasonal words, if you see what I mean: kigo. And that there’s a database of kigo, which includes words having to do with hemp, of course. I’ll leave you with a haiku from one of the comments on that indispensable resource; not, I think, an ancient Japanese haiku, but evocative nonetheless, and apposite:

now retired
I decide soiling my hands
cannabis growing

April 21, 2014April 20, 2014

Nibbles: Hawaii research farms, Disneyland dates, Sumerian beer, Danish beer, Hipster foods, Wheat rust, Salmon farming, Quinoa pix, Asparagus cost, Llama evacuation, Japanese hemp, Awards

“You can trace the genetic makeup of most corn grown in the U.S., and in many other places around the world, to Hawaii.” There’s a GMO angle, but that’s frankly the least interesting thing about this.
Disneyland protects really old date palm. Sweet.
“A Hymn to Ninkasi.” Sumerian beer 101.
Bronze Age beer: not quite as old as Sumerian, but still…
Hipsters told to stop worrying about beer, among other foody things.
They should worry about wheat rust though.
And salmon.
And quinoa, of course. Pictorial taster for a forthcoming, restricted Harper’s feature.
The true cost of Peruvian asparagus is also kinda worrying. Those poor hipsters.
But Peru has other stuff to worry about, like active volcanoes and llamas.
“In haiku poetry… key words describing the stages of cannabis cultivation denoted the season when the poem is set.” Oh, I’m researching that, and no mistake.
Nominations sought for World Food Prize and Wangari Maathai Award.

April 20, 2014April 20, 2014

Special Brainfood Extra: Economic Botany, Volume 68, Number 1

A whole issue of a journal given the Brainfood treatment. Because I’ve got allergies and can’t go out and it’s a holiday and I’m bored. Think of it as an Easter egg. Unnecessary, but tasty.

Are Ecologically Important Tree Species the Most Useful? A Case Study from Indigenous People in the Bolivian Amazon. Among medicinal and edible species, the most used are not the ones that most strike you as you walk around. Unlike the case for species used in construction and crafts.
The Electronic Trade in Greek Endemic Plants: Biodiversity, Commercial and Legal Aspects. Seemingly profitable, but possibly largely illegal. And I’m willing to bet that the ones that are most traded are the ones that are most difficult to find.
Medicinal Plant Trade in Sierra Leone: Threats and Opportunities for Conservation. No internet involved, but still profitable. For how long? I guess that depends on how easy they are to find, and harvest sustainably.
Structure and Floristic Composition of Forest Management Systems Associated with the Edible Fruit Tree Oecopetalum mexicanum in the Sierra de Misantla, Veracruz, Mexico. You can manage a landscape to favour a particular, strikingly important species, and also promote diversity.
Contemporary Gathering Practice and Antioxidant Benefit of Wild Seaweeds in Hawai’i. No word on whether the most obvious ones are are the ones that are most used, but I gotta believe that they are.
The Food System during the Formative Period in West Mesoamerica. Advent of ceramics may have had an important effect on crops and food.
Fuelling the Ancient Maya Salt Industry. Not to mention on their seasoning.
Identification of Cannabis Fiber from the Astana Cemeteries, Xinjiang, China, with Reference to Its Unique Decorative Utilization. Used to make the tails on horse figurines. No word on further, ahem, ritual uses.
Big Messages in Small Details: Nature in Roman Archaeology. Even the small details of the natural world on the Ara Pacis have meaning. Like the horses’ tails?

April 20, 2014April 18, 2014

A little something to consider for Easter

This picture, by Giotto, is a small part of the sumptuous Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. It shows the Wedding at Cana.

Giotto Scrovegni 24 Marriage at Cana

And as a rather charming article by Jeremy Parzen reminds us, transforming water into wine goes well beyond a mere demonstration of awesome skillz.

According to Jewish tradition, a marriage cannot be performed without a blessing over the wine. Had Jesus not transformed the water into wine, there would have been no marriage that day.

Go read the whole thing.

Which reminded me that I really need to get back to Padua, not only to revisit the Scrovegni Chapel, but also to see the refurbished botanic gardens, the type specimen of the genus.