E-Paper
Hairlocks of the Devil
Devil?s hairlocks or, a royal gift? Here?s all about a traditional herb from the hills. Abul Fazl in 16 AD mentioned in his Aaine Akbari that it was used in making royal perfume for Akbar the Great. It is stated that the King of Kumaon used to send the herb along with other costly gifts like ?kasturi? (musk), ?bhalu titti? (bile of bear), etc as royal gift to the palace.
Jatamansi : An ancient cultural herb from Uttaranchal
Devil’s hairlocks or, a royal gift? Here’s all about a traditional herb from the hills. Abul Fazl in 16 AD mentioned in his Aaine Akbari that it was used in making royal perfume for Akbar the Great. It is stated that the King of Kumaon used to send the herb along with other costly gifts like ‘kasturi’ (musk), ‘bhalu titti’ (bile of bear), etc as royal gift to the palace.
This herb is mostly usually by its Sanskrit name ‘jatamansi’. Sometimes, ‘jata’ word is dropped and it is only called ‘mansi’. It is also known as ‘bhutjata’ meaning ‘hairlocks of the Devil’ owing to the belief that evil spirits go away when its incense is burnt. It is also called ‘karvyadi’ meaning ‘which could be purchased and sold’ as it was a commodity of trade in ancient times; ‘Nalada’—‘nala’ meaning ‘aroma’ and ‘da’ meaning ‘giving’ or ‘imparting’, i.e. which gives aroma. And, possibly, ‘Nardus’ word used in the Middle East countries possibly derived from ‘nalada’ due to some phonetical misunderstanding. In Hindi it is commonly known as ‘balchar’ and in English as spike nard.
Spikenard was used as an aromatic and medicinal herb since time immemorial. It was also reputed for its various uses such as a costly incense, perfume as an unguent, in medicine as a nervine tonic to be used in hysteria, epileptic fits, palpitation of heart, etc.
A perennial and stout unbranched or sparsely branched, woody, aromatic occurs from 3000 m to 4000 m., in wet alpine rocky meadows in the Indian Himalayas, i.e., Uttaranchal, Sikkim & Nefa that flowers from July to August and fruits : Sept to Oct. And in other parts of the world it is found in Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet & China. Further, it is established that about 2500 B.C. it was exported from India to Assyria (Mesopotamia) and to Egypt, and Greece. In Mesopotamia, its name has been found in cuneform wedge-shaped script. The books of the Medieval Period in Germany mention, Nardus indica as a costly fragrant plant and it was brought to Germany by Alexander the Great as stated by Rucker & Glauch in 1967.
The plant is also mentioned in the Bible as ‘Spikenard’ and stated that when groups of people gathered for religious or social functions they made the burning of incense of this herb. It is used almost in all the systems of medicine in vogue in India. It is used in preparation of Ayurvedic, Unani, Tibetan medicines, etc. in considerable quantities. It is also used in high grade perfumery and in aroma-therapy in calming, inspiring nervous tension, rejuvenation and in stress. It is also used in high grade ‘havan-samagri’ usually produced for export purpose only, where it fetches good price. It was discovered in late sixties by Dr RB Arora of ICMR that ‘jatamansi’ was a good drug at par to Rauvolfia serpentina for reducing high blood pressure but due to insufficient availability of crude drug material for manufacture of the modern drug, the project could not be further taken up. Presently, it is a costly item and the entire supply of the herb, oil, oleoresin, etc.comes into the Indian market mostly from Nepal and China.
In Uttaranchal, the rhizomes are generally used as incense. It is mixed with clarified butter (ghee) and burnt as incense mostly in temples in the high Himalayas It is believed that the smoke drives away the evil spirits.
Traditional & cultural uses in Kumaon
It is offered in temples to a number of local deities. In Kumaon, it is not only used as an incense or medicinal herb but is a part of traditional Kumaoni culture. In its praise, a Kumaoni song usually sung in fairs and festivals of small towns and villages in Danpur area in district Bageshwar.
The song states that ‘Jatamansi’ flower, is unparalleled in beauty, purity, sanctity and uniqueness. The places where the plant is ought to be found is stated; the flower of 'Mansi' is found at places, where plants like 'Nair' (Skimmia) 'Guggul' (Jurinea), (the aromatic herbs also used as incense) and the birds like 'Longa' and 'Dafia' (Impegan pheasant male and female) are found. The female bird is colourful like a peacock. The song gives a hint about the colour of the flower and the habitat of the plant as per poet’s imagination. It also tells about the eligible deities to whom the flower of ‘Mansi’ could be offered. In the end, the poet requests the plant bestow his blessings to every one.
It is also speculated that the use of ‘Jatamansi’ as an incense possibly originated in the Uttaranchal as it has its medicinal, social, cultural and religious bearings on the life of the people of this region, which is not found anywhere else in the world. Its history, use as an incense and offerings in shrines, and the songs composed in its praise and sung in certain parts of this region is the true testimony of the same.
Presently, the availability of the herb in the Himalayas, where it grows wild is very alarming as it has been virtually stripped off from the mountains. The traders also use as an adulterant of some other plant which is sold under the name of ‘Nakli jatamansi’ and it exactly looks like ‘jatamansi’. The Government of Uttaranchal and other state's governments are not paying serious attention for rejuvenating the plant in nature or its cultivation. It has also been included in the banned export item list by Govt. of India. It is high time, the Government of India should take serious measures and undertake its cultivation through the local people of the Himalayan region otherwise, the plant which was used since ages by different people of different culture and nations would be lost for ever.(The author is a retired scientist.)
