Notes I

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Notes on Manchu Ethnobotany

 

 

The Shamanic Jujube

 

 

In Giovanni Stary's offering, 'Praying in the

Darkness,' Shaman, Vol.1, No.1, Spring, 1993, a

shamanic ceremonial prayer from a Manchu village of

the Guwalgiya a prayer carries with it, spoken after

every verse, what seems to be a refrain: 'soro de

obofi.' Stary writes:....

 

'It's literal translation means 'already washed with a

jujube,' and this is how it is also freely translated

in the Chinese paraphrase (xianhong de shanzao yijing

xijing 'washed by a red mountain jujube'). The

meaning, nonetheless, remains enigmatic.'

 

Yet, if we adhere to the literal idea somewhat, a

piece of evidence sheds some light on things, namely,

that the jujube was a sacred plant, and may very well

have been used in shamanic rites for their

pharmaceutical properties. Suanzaoren-tang, the

Chinese Traditional medicine, was first described in

Sen-Long-Pen-Tsao-Jin, an ancient herbal book, to cure

insomnia and anxiety. In modern pharmacologic studies,

Suanzaoren has sedative-hypnotic, analgesic and

hypothermmic effects (Effects of Suanzaoren-tang on

the Anxiety Induced in Experimental Anxiety Models,

Wen-Huang Peng, China Medical College; no date of

publication given). We also have evidence from the

Japanese medicine Saiboku-to, in which the active

agents have been identified (Journal of Natural

Products, 1998, 61, p. 135-138).

 

It is not far-fetched to believe that many early

cultures attributed the cause of diseases and troubles

to evil spirits. This seems to hold as well for the

Manchu shamans. In the prayer, the first line enduri

be solifi. soro de obofi, 'we have invited the gods,

already washed with a jujube,' may very well attest to

the effects of ingesting the seeds or fruit of this

plant. In another line, 'enduri erseki daifu gala

bargiyaki,' 'may the gods help us and protect us from

the hand of the doctors,' further supports this idea.

In the next line of the prayer, the name 'iui huwang,'

Yuhuang, the greatest divinity of Taoism is invoked.

With the birthplace of northern Taoism being in

northeast China, and with the many references to the

use of medicinal plants by the Taoists (see Edward

Schafer, 'Mao Shan in T'ang Times'), it is not

unreasonable to assume that the jujube (Ziziphus sp.)

was used not only as a folk medicine, but to alter the

state of shamanic participants in ceremony. The great

botanist Ernest H. Wilson says of the northern form of

jujube(Ziziphus spinosi)...This jujube from N.E. China

is superior to other forms of Ziziphus...In the arid

river valleys of the west, the Chinese date-plum

Tsao-tzu (Ziziphus vulgaris), is frequently

cultivated, but the quality of the fruit is poor, and

cannot compare in size and flavor with that produced

in Shantung and other parts of northeastern China.'

(China: Mother of Gardens, Ernest H. Wilson, Benjamin

Blom, Inc. New York, 1971, p. 308).

 

Kee Chang Huang states of jujube...'Traditional

believes that nervousness and

irritation are caused either by 'emptiness' of the

blood and qi, or an excess of 'fire' in the heart,

liver, and spleen. These result in symptoms of

insomnia, heavy dreaming, convulsions, or delirium.

Ancient recipes for An Shen Yao, meaning herbal

mixtures to calm or stabilize the mind, were popularly

prescribed to reduce anxiety and irritation and to

'balance' mental activity. The mechanisms of these

brews were quite simple: they cooled the 'fire' in the

heart, liver, spleen, and kidney. In traditional

medicine this was called 'smoothing of the middle jiao

(or middle visceral organs) to supress evil

energy...There are 14 peptide alkaloids from the seeds

of Z. spinosa, the fruit contains 12 different

alkaloids called daechu alkaloids. The alkaloid

fractions from the seeds or fruit are the active

principles producing sedative action; the peptide

alkaloids from the stem bark are not effective. The

Chinese medical classics listed this herb as one that

can calm the mind, reserve qi, nourish muscle, and

enrich bone marrow. It is also analgesic and

anticonvulsant. Toxicity is very low.' (Kee Chang

Huang, The Pharmacy of Chinese Herbs, 1999, p. 155).

 

 

It is the hour in which the risen sun sets./

It is the hour in which the 3 stars shine./

It is the hour in which the comets shine./

It is the hour in which 1,000 stars appear./

It is the hour in which the galloping animals retire./

 

(Xu clan, Yongji District, January 1, 1837)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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