How a Psychoactive Substance Becomes a Ritual: The Case of Soma

Author(s): FRITS STAAL

Source: Social Research, Vol. 68, No. 3, Altered States of Consciousness (FALL 2001), pp. 745778
Published by: The New School
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How a Psychoactive
Substance Becomes
a Ritual:The Case
ofSoma
/

BY FRITS STAAL

Introduction:VedicPeoples

JLHERigveda,theearliestofthefourVedas,describesSoma in
threeforms:as a God, a plant,and a beverageextractedor
pressedfromthatplant.1All are endowedwithextraordinary
powers.A fewcenturiesaftertheRigvedawas composed,Soma
juice beganto occupythecentralplace in theritualceremonies
of the Yajurvedaand Sama chants of the Samaveda. More
in thelateststageofitscareerso far,Soma has become
recently,
a topicof discussionand controversy
amongVedic and other
scholarsand scientists.
The bibliography
in Sanskritand modernlanguagesis vast.In English,it beginswitha note to a Bhaof 1784 (DonigerO'Flaherty,
1968: 102).
gavadGitatranslation
The mostrecenttreatment
in book formis a two-volume
work
on the religionof theVeda, publishedin Germanand largely
devotedto Soma textsand mythology
(Oberlies,1998-1999).
ButSoma is morethaneither,and itis itsrealworldfeatureson
whichI shallconcentrate.
To understandSoma,we have to beginwiththe peoples for
whomitwasimportant.
We mayreferto theseas "Vedicpeoples"
butwhenwe use termssuchas "Vedic"we mustbe carefulto be
clearaboutwhatwe mean.Almostall our knowledgeof Vedic
peoplescomesfromthefourVedas,compositions
bypriestsand
poetsthathave been orallytransmitted,
along withtheirritual
SOCIAL RESEARCH, Vol. 68, No. 3 (Fall 2001)

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746

SOCIAL RESEARCH

-8

Fig. 1: ScholarlyConversationin Frontof a Soma Vessel.

untilthepresentday.Oftenregardedas mytholperformances,
the
Vedas
abound in concreteinformation,
ogy,
conveyednot
datasuchas thedirectionofrivers
butalso
onlybygeographical
throughtheirlanguage.The geography
pointsto theIndusValor
that
covers
a
now
ley greaterPunjab
good partofPakistanand
northwest
India. The earlierRigvedacalls up mountainsand
northand west,suggestive
ofAfghanistan.
Its lanriversfarther
and somefeatures
are closelyrelatedto
guageis Indo-European
and
such
as
its
poetic style
techniques.The Atharlanguage,
a different
vavedais similarin theserespectsbutseemsto reflect
social stratum
and is not concernedwiththe ritualsthatI will
describe.The middleVediclanguageofthelaterYajurvedaand
butRigvedicpoeticshas virtuSamavedais also Indo-European,
allydisappearedfromit.
A disconcerting
featureabouttheVedicpeoplesis thattheyleft
fewarcheological
traces.It is truethatsomehavebeen relatedto
excavatedpotterysuch as the PaintedGreyor Black-and-Red
or earlyfirst
datedtothelatesecondmillennium
Wares,variously
in ourpresentcontext
millennium
B.C. Thiscouldbe ofinterest

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THE CASE OF SOMA

747

because Soma liquid is stilltransported,

keptin, and poured from
that
are
characterized
and
vessels
by traditionalshapes. Figpots
ure 1 showsa scholarlyconversationthattook place in 1975 in a
smallvillagein Kerala, southwestIndia, irifrontof a large Soma
vesselmade fromclayand about to be used in the performance
of a Soma ritual.2But there are no connectionsbetween any of
these ritualshapes and the excavated varieties.This is not surprisingbecause, even in a highlyritualisticculture,mostpots are
used not duringritualperformancesbut in the kitchen.The goblets fromwhich Soma is drunk or offeredleftno tracesbecause
theywere (and stillare) made of wood.

-*

Fig. 2: Wooden Goblet forSoma Drinking.

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748

SOCIAL RESEARCH
Indo-European

Greek,Latin,Hittite,
Gothic,Slavic, French,
German,English,Irish,
Italian,Scandinavian,etc.

'

V
'

'
f

v''
'

'

Tocharian
'
'
'
Indo-lranian

Iranian

Indo-Aryan

the Language of theVedas.

Fig. 3: Indo-Aryan,

The factthattheVedicpeoplesleftfewtraceshas led to much

butthesolutionto thatapparentmystery
is notdifspeculation,
ficult.The Vedicpeoplesdid notforma distinct
racialgroupbut
weremadeup ofvarioustribesand lineagesthatwerein contact
witheach otherand spokeor adoptedthesameVediclanguage
or closelyrelatedlanguagesand dialects.The earliestVedicpeoand almostalwayson themove.Theirlanple wereseminomadic
adoptedbyotherswhoweremoresedentary.
guagewasgradually
is illustrated
Thatgradualsettlement
byseveralVedicwordsand
to a train
phrases.One is grama,which,in earlyVedic,referred
and chariotsin
ofherdsmen,
roamingaboutwithcattle,ox-carts,
and
of
fresh
booty.Subsequentlyit came to
pastures
quest
denote a temporary
camp forsuch a train,made of bamboo
poles and reedmatsthatcould be quicklyassembledand taken
forthefirst
timein lateVedic,that
apart.Gramadenotes"village"
is, after700 B.C., and continuesto be used in thatsense today
(Rau, 1997).
A disjunction
existsbetweentheRigvedaand laterVedicliterabuttheRigvedais
ture.Bothsharea CentralAsianbackground,
The languageof
closerto it.The evidenceis primarily
linguistic.
one of the two
the Rigvedais the earliestformof Indo-Aryan,

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THE CASE OF SOMA

749

mainbranchesofIndo-Iranian.
Indo-Iranian
is a subfamily
ofthe
Indo-Europeanfamilyof languages.The sketchin figure3 has
been drawnwiththe languageof the Rigvedain mind.Some
Indo-European
languagesofEuropehavebeen stuffed
together.
The positionof Tocharian,the easternmost
member,is attested
fromthe end of the firstmillenlate,in Buddhistmanuscripts
nium A.D. thathave been discoveredin Xinjiang,northwest
China. For reasons that will become apparentlater,I have
assumedthatitsplitoffearly.
Indo-Iranianspeakerstrekked,east of the CaspianSea, in a
southerndirection.Speakersof IranianmovedintoIran.Those
who spokeIndo-Aryan
trickledacrossthe highmountainsin a
southeastern
directionand composedtheRigvedabetween1600
and 1200B.C.A fewIndo-Aryan
speakerswentwest,all thewayto
Anatolia(now Turkeyand northernSyria).Theylefttraceson
Hittiteclaytabletsof circa 1450 B.C. thatmentionIndo-Aryan
numeralsand carrynamesof Vedic deities.It mayexplainthe
relatednessof Greekand Vedic geometries,
whichboth derive
fromritualconstructions
(Staal,1999,2001d).The bulkofVedic
culturemovedeast.TheYajurvedaand Samavedawerecomposed
in middleVedicdialectsand later,around1000 B.C., whenthe
centerhad shifted
to theKuru"supertribe"
or state
sociopolitical
notfarfrommodernDelhi (Witzel,1997a,1997b).
The Vediclanguagepreservesa fewwordsthatare not IndoEuropean(Witzel,1999). Animalnamessuchas camel,donkey,
and panther,
and termsof materialcultureassociatedwithagricultureand brick-built
settlements
maybe tracedback to a languagespokenbycitizensofthe"Bactrian-Margiana
Archeological
Complex"(BMAC) (2300-1500B.C.), who used bricksto construct
fortified
towns.Abouta hundredsiteshavebeen excavated
by Russianarcheologists(especiallyViktorSarianidi)on both
sidesof the Oxus,the mostimportant
river(justas
Indo-Aryan
the Indusbecameimportant
fortheVedas and the Gangesfor
laterHinduism).Since speakersof Indo-Iranian
passedthrough

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750

SOCIAL RESEARCH

thatregion,itis notsurprising
thata BMAClanguagelefttraces
in theirlanguages.
VedicSoma is not a name but derivesfroma rootsu,which
means"press"or "extract."
Its Iraniancounterpart
is haomaand
the reconstructed
Indo-Iranianformis *sauma(the asterisk
has been reconstructed
denotesthatthe C/rform
It
bylinguists).
refersprimarily
to thejuice and perhapsalso to theplantfrom
whichitis extracted.
ItsIndo-Iranian
cultmaybe connectedwith
the Indo-Europeanusage or cultof madhu,an Indo-European
wordused in theRigvedathatis relatedto Englishmead.As far
to theseand other
backas 1859,AdalbertKuhndrewattention
and E B. J.Kuiper(1970: 283-4),regardsit as a "reasimilarities
sonable conjecture"that the Indo-Iranianspeakers,"having
becomeacquaintedwiththepracticeofcrushingand pressinga
certainplantand drinkingitsjuice whichhad an invigorating
substituted
the*saumafortheoldermadhu"
effect,
We shallbeginwitha closerlook at whattheVedassayabout
withtheRigveda.
Soma,beginning
TheSomaJuiceoftheRigveda

The Rigvedais repletewithdeities.Prominent

amongtheseare
on a cosIndra,Agni,and Soma.Indrais a divineherowhofights
in
with
tribes
their
assists
the
Vedic
micleveland
struggles opponentsor each other.IndraisfondofSoma,fromwhichhe derives
It also inspiresthe Vedic poets and conpartof his strength.
as Rigveda7.26.1 declares:"Soma unpressedhas never
versely,
enrapturedIndra, nor the pressedjuiced unaccompaniedby
sacred hymnsand mantras."Agni is fire.It is etymologically
and
relatedto Latin ignis,fromwhichEnglishinheritedignite
fire
the
as
well
as
a
substance
is
a
Like
ignition. Soma,Agni deity
on whichtheoblationsare cooked,intowhichtheyare offered,
and whichcarriesthemto theGods.

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THE CASE OF SOMA

751

The RigvedaconnectsSomawitha plantwithstalksbutwithout

leavesor flowers.
It growshighin themountains.Severalwords
are used to describeitscoloror thatof itsjuice. The mostcom- "golden,"rangingoveryellow,yellowish-green
mon is hari
to
in
as
green
Indo-Europeangenerally(Brough,1971: 350; 1996:
Soma
and itsinfluenceis a favorite
385).
drinking
topicof the
as in thefollowing
Rigveda,
poemorhymn,
composedaroundthe
thirteenth
B.C.
The
translation
is
century
byWendyDoniger.3
I willwina cowand a horse.
This,yes,thisis mythinking:
HaveI notdrunkSoma?
Likecurrents
ofwind,thedrinkshaveliftedme up.
HaveI notdrunkSoma?
The drinkshaveliftedme up, likeswift
horsesboltingwitha
chariot.Have I notdrunkSoma?
The thoughthas come to me as a lowingcow to her beloved
son.Have I notdrunkSoma?
I turnthethoughtaroundin myheart,as a wheelwright
turns
a chariotseat.Have I notdrunkSoma?
The fivetribesare no moreto me thana motein theeye.
HaveI notdrunkSoma?
The twoworldhalvesdo notequal a singlewingofmine.
HaveI notdrunkSoma?
I greatness,
I surpassheavenand thisgreatearth.
Have I notdrunkSoma?
Yes,I willplace theearthhere,or perhapsthere.
HaveI notdrunkSoma?

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752

SOCIAL RESEARCH

I willthrashtheearthsoundly,
hereor perhapsthere.
HaveI notdrunkSoma?
One ofmywingsis in heaven,theothertrailsbelow.
HaveI notdrunkSoma?
I am huge,huge!Flyingto theclouds.
Have I notdrunkSoma?
housecarrying
oblationsto thegods.
I am going,a well-stocked
Have I notdrunkSoma?(Rigveda10.119)
and clarare concernedwiththeartofpreparing
Otherhymns
stalks
could
be
done
Soma
Soma
bythewife
juice. Crushing
ifying
at home,usingpestleand mortaras is mentionedonce (Rigveda
are comparedtomaleand femalesexual
1.28).Pestleand mortar
is
the
Soma
specialsubjectof Book 9, one of the ten
organs.
booksof theRigveda.The stalksare pressedbypoundingthem
a sievemade
withstoneson a plank.Thejuice is clarified
through
mixedwithwaterand drunkpure.The
fromsheephair.It is first
tasteis strongand sharp.Aftera secondpressingitis mixedwith
milk.It nowtastesmildand sweet.
The effectof drinkingSoma is generallydescribedbyforms
oftheverbmad,whichhasnothingtodo withEngand derivatives
lish"mad."It has a rangeofmeaningsincludingdelight,intoxiblissofgods
to theheavenly
It also refers
cation,and inspiration.
and
and ancestorsand is,in thecontextofSoma,besttranslated
as raptureor elation.
interpreted
TheSomaRitualsoftheLaterVedas

The Yajur-and Samavedasare filledwithritual.Verse,phrases,

formulas
bits,and pieces fromthe Rigveda,recuras mantras,
in whichformis
recitedin the courseof a ritualperformance

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THE CASE OF SOMA

753

more importantthanmeaning (Staal, 1989, 1993). The Samaveda

turnsverseinto chantsthatare listedin theirritualsequence and
introducea greatvarietyof meaninglesssounds, especiallylong
o's,sometimesendingin -m.One resultis the famousmantraOM.
The Rigvedic verse that addresses Agni- agna a yahi vitaye
("Agnicome here to the feast"[Rigveda6.16.10]) - is sung in the
Samaveda as:
o gna i / aya hi va i / ta ya i ta ya i /
The firstverseof the ninthbook of the Rigveda:
("Witha flowmosttastyand elated,")
svadisthaya
madisthaya
soma
pavasva
dharaya("Soma, clarifyyourself!")
indrayapatavesutah("PressedforIndra to drink!")
(Rigveda9.1.1)
is turnedintofivechantsand sung,at the finalSoma pressing,by
threeprieststakingturns:
I.
ma da yisthaya
/
svadisthaya
II. o sva so o /
III. a yindra/
IV. o pa tava havu va /
V. su tah//
Chant and recitationare an essentialfeatureof Vedic ritual.
While the Rigvedarecitationsmaytakeup to 20 minutes,the correspondingSamaveda chant,repletewitho's,maytake almostan
hour to sing.The paradigmof the Soma ritualconsistsof 12 Soma
each consistingof a Samaveda chant,a recitationfrom
Sequences,
the Rigveda,Soma offerings
to deities,and Soma drinking.In the
12-dayvarietywe studied in Kerala (Staal, 1983; Gardner and
Staal, 1976,2000), therewere 29 such sequences and we recorded
80 hours of chant and recitationthattook severalyearsto track

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754

SOCIAL RESEARCH
N

w |(g)|
p

|
A:
H:
B:
Ag:

(|0|::
YB

_^,

AdhvaryuofYajurveda
Hotfiof Rgveda
Brahman
Agnidhra
Fig. 4a: The RitualEnclosure.

chantcontainsthe
down(Staalet al., 1983,2001). The sixteenth
thelongestlasting18 seconds.
largestnumberoflongsyllables,
Singlemantrashaveto be recitedin one breathand thisdemarcationof the unitsof languagesignalsthe birthof linguistics
(Staal,1993,chap.5; 2001a,2001b,2001c).
substances
The effects
ofsomepsychoactive
appearto be simiin chantand recitation,
larto thoseofbreathing
includingsilent
in theUpanishadsand
thatdevelopedintomeditation
varieties
notto mentionYoga (Staal,1988). The inhalingand
Buddhism,
exerthat
exhaling accompaniesthegiganticoperaor breathing
thathelpsexplainhow
ciseofa Somaritualis one ofthefeatures
substancecan becomea ritual.
a psychoactive
oftheoriginalSomaseemedtohavedecreased
The availability
over the centuries.But as Soma decreased, ritualization
a littlebetterthanhas so
increased.If theunitswerequantified
farbeen done, we mightbe able to formulatea generallaw

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755

THE CASE OF SOMA

N

MAHAVED1

OANG(n]

SADAS

HAVIRDHANA

U-NAIq] *

OA: old ahavanlya(old offering

altar)
= NG: newg&rhapatya
(newdomesticaltar)
U: uttaravedi
= NA: newfihavanlya
(newoffering
altar)
Sadas: hallofrecitation
Havirdhflna:
hallforpreparation
ofSoma,or Somahall
Fig. 4b: RitualEnclosuresforthe Soma Rituals.

and
accordingtowhichthemathematical
productofritualization
is
constant:
psychoactivity
psychoactivity
=S
ritualization

Vedicritualtakesplacein a ritualspace.The simplest

enclosure
is rectangular.
It is used forthe basic ritualsof theYajurveda,
whichincludeofferings
ofriceor barley.
The ceremonies
are performedwiththe help of threealtarson whichfireshave been
installed.
The oblationsare cookedon a circulardomesticfireto
thewest,marked"G" (fromitsSanskrit
name,garhapatya)
, carried
totheeast,and offered
themintothefireon a square
bythrowing
"A"
altar
marked
.
(fromahavaniya)
offering
To accommodateall thechanting,
and rites,theritrecitation,
ual enclosurefortheSoma ceremonies
is enlarged:a newdomestic altar takesthe place of the old offering
altar and a vast

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756

SOCIAL RESEARCH

Fig. 5: The Soma Cart.

the Mahavedi,is constructed

to itseast.Its centeris
trapezium,
beforeitis
occupiedbytheSomahallwherethejuice is extracted
offeredon thenewoffering
altarto theextremeeast.It is then
drunkby the priestsin the Sadas,wherethe priestssit (sad-),
recite,and chant.
wheretribalexpertshave to
Soma growsin the wilderness,
and
me thattheAtharvaveda
locateit (MichaelWitzelinforms
tribalgirls,oftenTibeto-Burlaterworksreferto herb-collecting
into
thehandsofa merchant,
the
falls
When
found, plant
man).
who enterstheritualenclosureand triesto sell it to thepriests
whoare waitinginsidetheenclosure.The chiefpriestmeasures
thestalksand engagesin a dialoguewiththemerchant:
is yourSomaforsale?"
Priest:"Somamerchant,
Merchant:
"Itis forsale."
Priest:"Is itfromMountMujavat?"

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THE CASE OF SOMA

757

Merchant:
"Itis fromMountMujavat"
Priest:"I willbuyitfromyouforthiscow."
Merchant:
"The Soma is yours.Tellme whatyouofferforit"
(BaudhayanaSrautaSutra6.14: 172.1-4).
The merchant
is obviously
with
willingto sell,butnotsatisfied
a cow.He is offered
and
other
and
when
he
convaluables,
gold
tinuesto refuse,is punishedforhis tenacity.
His preciousmerchandiseis takenawaybyforceand he is drivenawaywithblows.
Louis Renou,whoseaversionto speculationwasas strongas his
concludedthatthewholescenemayhavebeenintended
Sanskrit,
to conveytheillegality
oftradingin Soma (Renou,1953:37).
Soma is transported
on a specialvehicle,the"Somacart"(see
sinceone of thegreat
figure5). Itssolidwheelsare remarkable
innovations
Indo-Iranianspeakersbroughtfromthe southern
Uralarea to SouthAsiawastheartofharnessing
horsesto chariotswithspokedwheels.The Vedas,however,
knowthe modern
"chariot"(ratha)as wellas thetraditional
"cart"(sakata).Chariots
in
wereused battlebecause theyare fastand light.Cartswere
used fortransportation,
especiallyof Soma and itsritualimplements.One varietyof Soma ritualwas performedby people
trekking
along a river.Theythrewa woodenpeg and whereit
theritual.
alighted,
stayedone or moredaysand performed
The Soma ritualcontinueswitha formalreceptionof Soma,
whois treatedas a kingand installedon a throne.Priestsare then
called upon to performthe importantrite of "swelling"
. Each touchestheSoma bundleand sprinkles
it,not
(apyayana)
withwaterbutwithmantras:
Stalkbystalkmayyouswell,God Soma,
forIndrawhopossessesuniquewealth!
MayIndraswellforyou;do youswellforIndra!
Makeyourfriends
swellwithgainand wisdom!
Withgoodfortune
God Soma!
mayI accomplish
yourpressing,
Samhita
1.2.11.1
a-b)
(Taittiriya

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758

SOCIAL RESEARCH

-8

Fig. 6: PoundingSoma: "Here! Here! Here!"

embers,is nowcarried
Agni,carriedin a potwithsmoldering
and the
to thenewenclosure.His closecompanionSomafollows
poundingof itsstalksis done on a bullockskinspreadovera
plankin whichholes have been dug to producea resounding
overtheskin,thepriestshouts
noise.Whiletheliquidis filtered
"Here! Here! Here!" Soma gobletsstand ready,coveredby a
cloth,tobe filledonce theSomajuice hasbeen mixedwithwater
or milk.
WhatWasSoma? Up toand IncludingWasson

for
It is clearfromtheVedasand latersourcesthatsubstitutes
Soma?The
butwhatwastheoriginal
Somawereusedincreasingly,
is
Its activeingredient
presentconsensusis thatit was Ephedra.

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THE CASE OF SOMA

759

whichis derivedfromthestemoftheplant.It stimuephedrine,

latesthemetabolism,
raisesblood pressure,and has othermedical uses.It growsall overtheworldand is abundantin Central
Asia.
I regardEphedra
as one oftheleastlikelyamongthemanycandidatesthathavebeen proposedovera periodofmorethantwo
In 1968,WendyDonigerpublisheda chapteron "The
centuries.
Post-Vedic
morethan
Historyof theSoma Plant,"whichreviews
140 such theoriespublishedbetween1784 and 1967 (Wasson,
1968:93-147).The mostcommoncandidatesincludealcoholic
beveragesand speciesof Ephedra,
Peganumharmala(mountain
and otherleaflessclimberssuperfirue), Sarcostemma,
Periploca,
each
other
ciallyresembling
yetbelongingto generabotanically
farapart.Less commoncandidatesare Cannabissativa(hemp),
the Afghan grape, Calonyction
muricatum
or Ipomoeamuricata,

whoseseedsareusedas purgatives,
Eleusine
thecommon
coracana,
and even"Egyptian
ofdatejuice and
millet,
beer,"a fermentation
orcoconutpalmthatwasallegedly
palmyra
broughttoIndiafrom
of
these
are
Mesopotamia.Many
hypotheses easyto refute(for
example,theidea thatSoma wasa kindof alcohol). The Vedas
Somafromthealcoholicsuradrinkthatproducesan
distinguish
formof intoxication,
whereasSoma leads to
evil, dur-mada,
mada raptureor bliss.
WendyDoniger(thenDonigerO'Flaherty)wroteher chapter
at therequestofR. GordonWasson,a WallStreetbankerwith,at
an amateur's
inmushrooms
interest
and ethnomycology
that
first,
had beenkindledbyhisRussianwife,ValentinaPavlovna.Wasson
discussedSomaand thefly-agaric
mushroom
withAldousHuxley,
whohadwritten
aboutitin BraveNewWorld
in 1932andwasabout
to publishhis novelTheIsland,whichdescribesa Sanskritic
cult
based upon a hallucinogenicmushroom.Wasson'sinterestin
Somawasinstrumental
in hisdecisionto retirefromhisbankin
to theOrientfora
June1963,and,as he putit,"translate
myself
of
some
1968:
One
resultof his
176).
stay
years"(Wasson,
researcheswas the profusely
illustrated
and magnificently
pro-

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SOCIAL RESEARCH

duced volumeSoma:TheDivineMushroom,
whichincorporates
heraldeda
WendyDoniger'schapter.This sterlingcontribution
ofSoma.
newapproachto theproblemoftheidentity
Wassondefendedthe thesisthattheVedicSoma was the "flyfamiliarfromthe birch
agaric"mushroom,Amanitamuscaria,
and
folklore
of
the cooler regionsof
forests,
alpine meadows,
EurasiafromWesternEuropeto Siberia.The fly-agaric
growsin
withbirches,conifers,
and
relationship
mycorrhizal
underground
othertreesthatalso growin the highermountainsof more
southerly
regionssuchas theHinduKushand Himalayas,
regions
Indo-Aryan
speakerscrossedbeforeenteringtheIndiansubcontinent.Summarizing
passages,Wassonwrote:"Thepoets
Rigvedic
Theymakea pointof
saythatSomagrowshighin themountains.
elsewhere.
this.Theyneverspeakofitsgrowing
Theymustmean
whattheysay"(Wasson,1968:23).
A characteristic
featureof the mushroomis its brilliantred
color.It emergesfromthesoilas a littlewhiteball,swellsrapidly
oftheenveloperemaining
itswhitegarment,
andbursts
fragments
red
skin
underneath.
Wasson's magnifias whitepatcheson the
centplatesofthemushroom
poeticexpresdepictitand illustrate
sionssuch as "thehide is of bull,the dressof sheep" (Rigveda
9.70.7). Accordingto Wasson,Soma came in twoforms.In the
thejuice itselfis drunk;in thesecond,theurineofa person
first,
as it
formis drunk.Thisis notas far-fetched
whohasusedthefirst
the
mushchewed
Siberian
shamans
knew
that
seem.
Wasson
may
are
roomand othersdrankhisurine.The psychoactive
properties
toxic
side-effects
of
and
the
notaffected
may
by process digestion
thathavethis
substances
be lessened.Thereareotherpsychoactive
It mayhelp
metabolite.
to as psychotropic
whichis referred
property,
MorarjiDesai (likemanyothexplainthatIndianPrimeMinister
ersin Indiaand China)drankhisown.
Wassonmarshaleda vastamountofevidenceand hisbookwas
and theleadreviewed
botanists,
anthropologists,
bymycologists,
I
to
am
the
of
onlycompetent commenton
day.4
ingIndologists
to thefourmostdistinguished
thelatterand shallrestrict
myself

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THE CASE OF SOMA

761

amongthem:Sir Harold BaileyfromCambridge,Daniel D. H.

IngallsfromHarvard,F. B. J. KuiperfromLeiden- all positive
- and JohnBroughfrom
reviewsbut not withoutqualifications
and entirely
London,whosereviewis themostsubstantial
negative.Ithasbeenmyprivilege
toknownotonlyWassonbuteach of
thesefoureminentOrientalists.5
Almostall reviews
agreein tworespects.Theydo notsupport
theurinetheory,
whichis notclearlysupportedbyanyevidence
fromtheRigveda.Theyall acceptthenewparadigmthatWasson
introduced
and Ingallsdescribesin thetermsof thephilologist,
limitedin scopebutfreefromhype:"Mr.Wasson's discovery
sugnew
of
at
Vedic
verses
and
new
roads
of
gests ways looking
inquiry
intotheirmeanings"(Ingalls,1971:191). Thereismoretosaybut
letme first
discussa fewofBrough's objections.
abouttheRigvedichymn
Brough(1971:341; 1996:376) writes
I quotedwiththerefrain
"HaveI notdrunkSoma?":"Sucha hymn
cannothave been composedby a poet underthe influenceof
excludesthis.It is a dramatic
soma;the artificeof itsstructure
and
could
have
been
monologue
easily
composedbyone without
personalexperienceof the originalsoma."Easilyperhaps,but
but
Brough,eventhoughhe wasnotonlyan eminentSanskritist
also a logician,commits
herethefallacy
ofapplying
theexcluded
thirdwhereitis notapplicable.Thereis an obviousthirdpossibilwhichis mostlikelytrue:thishymnwascomposedbya person
ity,
notundertheinfluence,
butfamiliar
withtheinfluence
ofSoma.
Anotherof Brough's objectionsis thatthe color word hari
means"golden"and perhapsalso,as I havealreadymentioned,
and green; but "red is absolutely
yellow,yellowish-green,
excluded."Here Broughcouldmusterhisformidable
knowledge
notonlyoftheVedasand Vedicbutofthesemantics
ofcolordistinctionsin a wide range of relatedlanguages.I have long
thoughtthathe was rightand thathere lies perhapsan insurmountableobjectionto Wasson'sthesis.But thereis something
thatbothBroughand Wassonseemto havemissed.

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762

SOCIAL RESEARCH

Brougharguedthatthetermsomadoes notreferto theplant

to itsjuice and thattheplantwascalledamsu,genbutprimarily
translated
as "stalk."If Broughis right,his argumentthat
erally
Soma cannotbe red because harimeans"golden,yellow,"
etc.,
mustapplynottotheplantbuttothe"clarified
juice,"(somapavawho
describes
and illustrates
It
therefore
Wasson,
mana).
supports
thatvery
yellow."
juice as "tawny
to his
For anotherargument,
Broughexpressesindebtedness
wife.IfSomawasthefly-agaric,
whyshouldall thepoundingand
eaten?He
andwhywastheplantnotsimply
be necessary,
filtering
likeothersbeforeand afterhim,thatSoma was"a
also stressed,
forthoseaboutto go intobattle."Thiswould
stimulant
powerful
a suitablecandidate
also "a powerfulstimulant,"
makeEphedra,
itas such),unlike
not
adds
that
he
is
suggesting
(thoughBrough
"whichis a depressant."
thefly-agaric
and
as a depressant
never
describedAmanitamuscaria
Wasson
reactedin greatdetailto Brough's critique.I am notonlyreferFor Brough,
ringto his scrupulousreadingof Brough'swords.
A.
whocouldwriteas wellas Wasson,madea fewslips.Assuming
muscariato be deadly (whichit is not), he remarkedthat
is "muchmore
Ammanita
deadly."Wassonquotesitwith
phalloides
matterof color.He
to
the tricky
serious
attention
but
pays
glee
or
but thatdoes not exclusively
refersto Renou on its intensity
Harold
red.
He
at
Bailey's
quotes
point only
unambiguously
thata cognatecolortermin KhotaneseSaka coversa
observation
wide range,includingred and orangealong withyellowand
green;but Khotaneseis MiddleIranian,relatedto,but not the
sameas Vedic.Asforthemushroom
beingeaten,a counterargumentis thatthefreshmushroommightnotbe readilyavailable
fromelsewherein driedform,which
and had to be transported
wouldexplainin turnthatit was subsequently
soaked,pressed,
To me,thisseemsthemostpromising
and filtered.
approachto
thesolutionoftheproblem.
introduced
a newparadigmin thesearch
Wasson's hypothesis
contribution
was
of theSoma plant.His greatest
fortheidentity

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THE CASE OF SOMA

763

oftheSoma plantis nota problemthat

to showthattheidentity
becauseone needsto take
Vedicscholarscan solvebythemselves
information
intoaccounttherapidlyincreasing
aboutpsychoactiveplantsamongbotanists,
and othchemists,
pharmacologists,
ers. Wassonwould have loved to have attendedthe "Altered
States"conferenceand would have expressedhis viewin no
uncertainterms:"LettheVedistsleaveofffeedingexclusively
on
and each other"(Wasson,1972:41).
theRigveda
WhatWasSoma?After
Wasson

Ifthereis one bookthathas takenWasson's warningto heartit

is David StophletFlatteryand MartinSchwartz's1989 mono-

graph,Haoma and Harmaline:TheBotanicalIdentity

oftheIndo-Iranian SacredHallucinogen"Soma" and ItsLegacyin Religion,
Language,

andMiddleEastern
Folklore.
It is pathbreaking
in thatit is largely
based on the Iranianevidence.Not exclusively,
because both
authorsare scholarsofIranian,withtheformer
familiar
withthe
of psychoactive
substancesand the lattera wellpharmacology
knownspecialist
ofIndo-Iranian.6
I cannotjudge theIranianevidencebecauseI do notknowthe
languages,butwas baffledto discoverthat,in Iran,therewere
in India amongsubstimanyhaomas.We findthatmultiplicity
tutes,butnotwithregardto theoriginalSoma.As faras I know,
all interpreters
of the Indian Soma have alwaysassumedthat
therehad been oneoriginalSoma.It is explicitly
statedbyBrough
and Falk (to whomI return).My hunch is thatmanyhaomas
meansmanysubstitutes.
and Schwartz
assumetherewasan originalSoma since
Flattery
otherwise
would
not
harthey
presentas theircandidatePeganum
mala,the mountainrue. It had been the choice of Sir William
studiesin theWest.In 1794,Jonesdid
Jones,founderofSanskrit
not knowabout it fromthe Rigveda,but froma latersource.
Somais ofcommonoccurrencein laterIndianliteratures
and sci-

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764

SOCIAL RESEARCH

The Susruta
schoolofIndianmediencesforexample,Ayurveda.
It first
causesthepatient's
cineadvocatesSomaforrejuvenation.
fall
off
then
turns
the
entirebodyinto
and
nails
to
and
hair,teeth,
skinand bones.Thisis followedbya totalreconstruction
leading
afterfourmonthsto a new adamantinebodythatlastsforten
1998: 171-7).JonesfoundSoma in a
thousandyears(Wujastyk,
lessexaltedcontextin theLawsofManu.
and Schwartzdo not saywhetherPeganumharmala,
Flattery
afterbeingputin water,
swells,althoughthatwasa characteristic
markof the originalplant.Theydescribehow it is sometimes
burnt.It is truethatsmallquantitiesof Somajuice are poured
into
offered
todeitiesare thrown
intothefiresinceall substances
thefireduringa Vedicritual.Butunlikeanyotheroblation bar- Soma has not been
leyor othervegetableor animalofferings
firstcookedon the domesticfire.It is the onlyoblationthatis
consumedin itsrawstate(CharlesMalamoudhas drawnattentionto thisexceptionin hisstudieson therawand thecookedin
to
ancientIndia [1989:56; 1996:40]). All thisappliesa fortiori
theSomajuice thatis drunkbythepriests:havingbeen pressed,
and subjectto other
it is accompaniedbychantand recitations
butnevercooked,boiled,or burnt.
specialtreatments
The mostseriousobjectiontothemountainrueas a strongcanabundant"(FlatdidatefortheoriginalSomais thatitis "uniquely
Iran
It
and
1989:
35
passim). growsthroughout
teryand Schwartz,
and plains.It is a weedon overand CentralAsia,on mountains
besideroads.
grazed,abandonedfieldsand occursmosttypically
Iranianpeopleswereacquaintedwithitfromtheearliestperiods
and Schwartz
ofwhichwehaveanyknowledge.
regardthis
Flattery
I
abundanceas a strongargumentin favorof theirhypothesis.
theoppositeconclusion.
leadstoexactly
believethatsamepremiss
of
a
rare
virtues
The Vedicpoetsextolthe
plantthatneverceases
to kindletheirenraptured
Theytellus thatitgrows
imagination.
said
mountainrue is sometimes
Actually,
highin themountains.
not
its
name
as is indeedsuggested
to growin themountains
by
onlyin Englishbutalso in Arabicand Persian.Suchinformation

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THE CASE OF SOMA

765

our authors'theorybut theybrushit away.

could strengthen
Whetherit is a Mandaeantextor a late Persianjingle,anything
thatemphasizesan elevatedoriginis turnedupsidedown:"The
and remoteoriginsofa plantthatis
emphasisgiven.. .tothelofty
in facta commonweedavailablefromthenearestrubbishheap
wouldseemtohavebeenintendednottodescribeitshabitat,
but,
to counteritsbanalprovenance"(57).
rather,
meansthe oppositeof
Claimingthata sourceof information
whatis says advocatedonly,as faras I know,bypractitioners
of
hermeneutics
such as Hans-GeorgGadamer is tantamount
to
all
if
textual
not
communication
altoabolishing
interpretation
Our authorsengagein thatquestionable
gether.
procedureagain
wheninvoking
theIndiancastesystem(of whichtherewereno
tracesin earlyVedic): Brahminpriests,
theyallege,couldnotcontroltheaccessto Soma,wantedto prevent
othersfromgetting
it,
and so obscureditsidentity
Wasson
committed
that
(93).
fallacy
also (Staal,1988 [1975], 1993: 202-1):whenopponentsof the
mushroom
do not
theory
pointedoutthatsomeVedicdescriptions
fita mushroom,
he repliedthatdifferent
were
descriptions given
becausetheidentity
oftheSomawasintentionally
concealed.
The Veda is not a do-it-yourself
manualforgrowingSoma. It
wascomposedbyand formembersofa specifictribeor commuinherited
fromtheirancestors.
nity.It wastheirsacredproperty,
It constituted
of
their
whatever
thatmaymean.It is
part
identity,
truethatmembersofothercasteswereexcludedfromtheVedas
later.Mantras
were,and stilloftenare,secret.Butthereis no trace
of duplicity
amongthe Rigvedicpoetswho are extollingforms
and virtuesof the Soma and singingitspraise.And whyshould
Book9 describein suchpainstaking
detailthepreparation
ofthe
Somaliquidifitscomposerswereeagerto concealit?
I cannotdo fulljusticetoFlattery
andSchwartz's
substantial
contribution
and anyoneinterested
in thesubjectshouldgiveit due
attention.
Itcontainsexcellentrefutations
ofrivaltheories,
suchas
thatofEphedra,
and technicaldiscussions,
forexample,ofHarold
Bailey'setymologies,
includinghis passingsuggestionthatsoma

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766

SOCIAL RESEARCH

shouldnotbe derivedfromtherootsu-and thesuffix

-ma,butanain whichthefirst
elementcorresponds
to German
lyzedas som-a,
Latin
and
related
Schwamm,
Indo-Europeantermsfor
fungus,
in Flattery
mushroom(fulldiscussionbySchwartz
and Schwartz,
in Wasson,1979:103-5).But
1989:117-21,and further
references
from
whatever
theexcellentqualitiesofthisbook,I cannotrefrain
ofthemountainrueis as wrongas thatof
feelingthatthetheory
equallyubiquitousand much more ancientas we are
Ephedra,
not only
about to discover.Soma grewin the highmountains,
accordingtoWassonbutalso accordingto theVedas.
I knowonlythreemorerecentcontributions
thatdeservebrief
comment.
and emioutwitha fundamental
HarryFalk's1989articlestarts
in
between
sensible
observation:
the
differences
mythology
nently
of
thatmythological
Indiaand Iranareso considerable
properties
of
its
career."
cannot
"stand
at
the
Soma/Haoma
beginning
must
have
been
there
firstand themythology
the
Rather, plant
withKuiper's"reasonable
added later.This is not inconsistent
discovered
a newplantevenif
the
Indo-Iranians
that
conjecture"
(supra,p. 755).
theyattachedto itan old mythology
thatSomamusthavebeenalcofromtheassumption
Falkstarts
He acceptstheconsensus
or
a
stimulant.
a
holic, hallucinogenic,
thatSomais notalcoholic.To showthatitis nota hallucinogenic,
he takesup our hymn10.119(supra,p. 756-7)and makesfour
ofa bird,oratany
he believesittobe a description
assertions.
First,
medievalIndiancommenratea wingedcreature;
then,following
in disguise.Nexthe writes
is
God
the
bird
a
he
assumes
that
tators,
in the hymn
of growing(or "surpassing")
thatthe description
of
due
to
the
effects
that
it
was
no
indication
anydrug."
"gives
the
that
of
that
all
he
declares
theory Somawas
proponents
Finally
the
basis
ofthishymn.
claim
on
maketheir
a hallucinogen,
The main
No factsknowntomesupportanyoftheseassertions.
Geldnerand Renoufollowed
ofthehymn,
translators
byDoniger,
drinker
describit
a
Soma
of
course
that
as
a
matter
depicts
accept
of a
Thatitsdepictiondoes not referto theeffects
inghimself.

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THE CASE OF SOMA

767

hallucinogenis hardlylikelywhenalmosteveryline describesa

and all are followedbytherefrain:
"HaveI
typicalhallucination
notdrunkSoma?"NeitherGeldnernorRenoucommenton hallucinogenssincetheywrotebeforeWasson.Mostadvocatesof a
Wassonand Flattery
and
interpretation,
hallucinogenic
including
do not mentionthisparticularhymnat all. But Falk
Schwartz,
proceedsquicklyto hisconclusion:Somais neitheralcoholicnor
so itmustbe Ephedra.
The mainargument
is that
hallucinogenic,
rites
Ephedraprevents
sleepingandVedictextsrefertonocturnal
subduringwhichpriestsshouldstayawake.Manypsychoactive
The
most
recent
stances,however,
preventsleep.
hallucinogen
in
the
like
wildfire
fromThaimedia,
reported
yaba,spreading
land and Myanmar(Burma),wasfirstdiscovered
German
sciby
entists
and used duringWorldWarII to keepNazi troopsawake.
In 1995,HarriNyberg,
a botanistspecializingin plantchemmade
a
effort
tothrownewlighton theSomapuzistry,
promising
zle. He paid seriousattentionto the psychoactive
ingredient
ephedrineand theVedas' assertionthatSoma comesfromthe
His mostinteresting
is thatthespecies
highmountains.
discovery
of Ephedrawiththe highestephedrinecontent,E. equisitina,
occursprimarily
in mountainous
areas.Buthe paysno attention
to anotherfacthe mentionselsewhere:thecolorof thatspecies
- a color the Vedas
especially
(Nyberg,1995: 396) is blue-green
neverattribute
to Soma. Of course,thehistory
ofcolornamesis
a tricky
matter.
to MichaelWitzel(personalcommuniAccording
red and blue/greenwas
cation),theoppositionbetweenyellow/
reversedduringtheMiddleAgesinJapan,but theIndiancolor
has been "pretty
stable".
system
The thirdrecentcontribution
is containedin themorethana
thousandpagespublishedin 1998and largely
devotedtoSomato
whichI referred
at the outset.Its author,Thomas Oberlies,is
concernedwithtextsand mythology,
in the
chiefly
interpreted
a Germanhermeneutic
theololightoftheworkofB. Gladigow,
and
scholar
of
Oberlies
is
not
interested
in the
gian
religion.
botanicalidentity
of the Soma plant:"The significance
of this

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768

SOCIAL RESEARCH

(I: 166). In thesecondvolproblemhas been muchoverrated"

once.Following
a suggestion
ume (II: 137),he descendstoreality
madebyHermannOldenberg,a leadingVedicscholarofa centuryago, OberliesarguesthatSoma poundingbymeansofmortar and pestleis compatiblewiththe procedureexplainedin
Book 9, wherethe stalksare pressedby poundingthemwith
thatthesupporting
stoneson a plank.He maintains
plankmust
in shape like the receptacles
have been square or rectangular
excavatedin Margiana,thatis,
made of stonethatarcheologists
theBMACculturalarea.A platetakenfroma 1959publication
by
this
illustrates
V.
N.
Masson
the Russianarchaeologist
parallel
fromwhichOberliesconcludesthattheformofthereceptacleis
NeolithicratherthanClassical.
is now
thatSoma is Ephedra
I mentionedthatthe hypothesis
in
on
is
based
This
wide
part archeacceptance
widelyaccepted.
ologicalevidencethatI shouldnot failto mention.The great
explorerand scholarSirAurelSteinrecoveredplantspecimens
Silk
fromgravesin theTarimBasinnearTurfanon thenorthern
Road thathe describedas Ephedra.However,as Flatteryand
to also byFalk),AllisonBailey
Schwartz
report(73 n.6,referred
Kennedywentin 1984 to KewGardenswhereStein'sspecimens
a
or "horsetails,"
are keptand discoveredthemto be Equisetum
Steindid not believethatSoma
plant.Moreover,
verydifferent
wasEphedra
since,accordingto him,Somawassweetand Ephedra
whichcan be made
His owncandidatewaswildrhubarb,
is bitter.
intorhubarbwine- althoughhe admittedthatno Indiansdo so
is due toViktorSar(Wasson,1968:133). A morerecentdiscovery
and
ianidi,whoexcavatedat theBMACarea and foundEphedra
which
obtained
in
site.
one
othersubstances
samples,
Nyberg
of
were analyzed at the Departmentof Botany,University
werefoundand NybergconHelsinki,butno pollenofEphedras
is necessary.
cluded that furtherarcheologicalinvestigation
and supporter
Vedicscholar,archaeologist,
Anotherwell-known
toSarAskoParpola,referred
oftheEphedra
hypothesis,
positively

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THE CASE OF SOMA

769

in his 1994book on theIndusscript,butin the

ianidi'sfindings
similarto Nyberg's:
moreworkis needed.
end drewconclusions
accountof earliertheories,
Introducing
DonigerO'Flaherty's
Wassonwrotethatthe lessonto be drawn"aboutthe futility
of
is humbling"(1968:92). Accordingto Brough
muchscholarship
been in the
(1971: 332; 1996: 367), the discussion"has latterly
In 2001,I cannotbutagreewiththesedistinguished
doldrums."
scientists
and feelthatwe mightdo wellto startall overagain.
A depressing
butI am happytoreportthatthereis
conclusion,
ofSomabuton itslocation.It
new,noton theidentity
something
the
Vedas'
amplysupports
repeatedassertionthatSoma grows
highin themountains.
TheBestSoma

We haveseen in the ritualdialoguethatthe chiefNambudiri

"IsitfromMountMujavat?"
and the
priestaskstheSomamerchant:
merchant
"It
is
from
Mount
is
the
name
replies:
Mujavat."
Mujavat
of the mountainfromwhich,accordingto Rigveda10.34.1and
otherearlysources,thebestSomacame.Wherewasitlocated?
Allweknowis thatMujavatis thenameofa mountain.
The -vat
suffix
is a commonpossessive
and thenamemeans:"havingmuja-'
or perhaps:"inhabitedbythe Muja tribe."The elementmujais
not Indo-European.MichaelWitzelconsideredseveralpossible
in 1980(104-5nn.16-7).Accordingto one, muj-or its
etymologies
relativemunjin thenameoftheMunjanpeomaybe preserved
ple wholivenorthoftheHinduKushin theKotchaValley.There
are also possiblecognatesin Burushaski,
thelanguageofHunza.
More recently,
Witzel(1999: 345, 363) has suggestedMuztagh
a
colossal
mountain
Ata,
(24,386ft.)close to thesourcesof the
Oxus and Yarkand-Tarim
Rivers.Taghand ata are common
and "father"
and thenamemeans
Uighurwordsfor"mountain"
"MuzMountFather."
Thereare at leasttwoothermountains
carthenameMuztaghand ofwhichMuztaghAtamaybe called
rying

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770

SOCIAL RESEARCH

The important
thefather
becauseitishigher.
pointofWitzel'slinis easilyrelatedtoVedicmuj-.Mount
guisticequationis thatmuzon
of Tajikistan
and China'sXinnow
the
border
MuztaghAta,
ofnortheast
frontier
Afghanistan,
jiang,is beyondthenortheast
the area throughwhichIndo-Aryan
speakerstrekked.Anyone
whohas seen thatpartoftheworldon a maprecallstheWakhan
thatwecouldcalla peninsula
thelongishpromontory
corridor,
- ifAfghanistan
surrounded
werea continent
likeBaja California
frontier
If
the
modern
sea.
we
take
seriously,
MuztaghAta is
by
regardthatcorridoras a
just beyondit.Ifwe,morerealistically,
we mustsaythatMustaghAtacan be reachedby
recentcreation,
itfora littleover200 miles.True,"a little"is notso litfollowing
tleat 15,000ft.,butwe are talkingabouttoughmountaineering
hereisfarlowerthantheaxialrangeof
peopleand thewatershed
fact
and geopolitical
theHinduKush,an important
geographical
first
emphasizedbyLordCurzon,laterViceroyofIndia,in hisstill
usefuland readablemonographThePamirsand theSourceofthe
Oxws(1896:40).
factis thatMuztagh
themostimportant
In ourpresentcontext,
Atais themountainthatis locatedcloseto thesourceofboththe
with
Oxus and TarimRivers.The Tarimor YarkandRiverflows,
and
streams
smaller
and
tributaries
streamlets,
throughthe
many
breadthoftheTarimBasin.Thatbasinhas recently
fullwest-east
of numeroussocome into the newsbecause of the discovery
called mummies(reallydessicatedcorpses),withtattooedskins
in excellentconditionand oftenaccompaand clothessurviving
These mummiesdo not
nied bylittlebags containingEphedra.
look like the Egyptianparadigm,"wizenedand eviscerated
pharaohswrappedin yardsof dustygauze" (Malloryand Mair,
theopennessof
2000: 8) . Becauseof theextraordinary
dryness,
some tombsthatwerewellaerated,and the factthatthe dead
so thatthecorpsesquicklylostfluprobablydied in midsummer
ids and dried,theyare so wellpreservedthattheyseem to be
VictorMair's
merelyasleep.The colorsof theirattireis striking.
Ur-Davidwearsknee-highsocks of mattedwool fibersin the

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THE CASE OF SOMA

771

brightrainbowcolorsof thegayflag. The earliestof thesediscoveriesdatefromapproximately

2000 B.C. and thelatestfrom
A.D. (Malloryand Mair,2000).
thesecondor thirdcentury
I shallnotreopenthePandorabox oi Ephedra.
The speciesconas Ephedra
tainedin thelittlebagswasidentified
sinica,the Chinese variety.
It does not affectthe Soma problembecause we
use is ubiquitous.The newsworthy
knowalreadythatEphedra
featureof thesecorpsesis thattheirphysicalappearanceand DNA
demonstrate
thattheybelongedtopeoplewhohavebeen
analysis
called by variousterms:European, Europoid,or Caucasian.
A.D. are increasingly
MonCorpsesfoundafterthethirdcentury
goloidand Chinese.
It has been widelyassumedthatthelanguagespokenbythese
mummies
beforetheyweremummies
wasIndo-European.
Ifthat
is so, theirlanguagemusthave been Indo-Iranianor an early
- the easternmost
formof Tocharian
Indo-Europeanlanguage
It
is
true
that
the
evidenceforTocharianis
(see
3).
family figure
Buddhistand ofa laterdate,butitis also truethatitwasspoken
in theverysamearea ofXinjiang.AllTochariandocumentshave
been discovered
SilkRoad. The Tarimmumalongthenorthern
mieshavebeenfoundalongthenorthern
and southern
branches
near Lop
both,but in the norththeyare mostlyconcentrated
Nor,fartotheeastand closetoChinaproper.Alongthesouthern
branch,a seriesoffindsleadscloseto thesourceoftheYarkandTarimRiver,
thecolossalmountaincomplextoweredoverbyMuzcandidateforthebestSoma.
taghAta,favorite
To sumup. The Tarimis theriverofthemummies
whoprobably spoke an Indo-Europeanlanguage,perhapsIndo-Iranian,
The Oxus is theriveroftheIndo-Iranian
Iranian,or Indo-Aryan.
southon the easternside of the Caspian
speakerswho trekked.
Sea. IfMuztaghAtais thesameas Mujavat,Soma is thepersonificationoftheIndo-Aryan
or Vediccontribution
to theformation
ofIndianculture.No wonderthatSoma developedintothemost
characteristic
Vedicritual,perhapsthe oldestsurviving
ritualof
and certainly
themostprolific.7
humanity

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772

SOCIAL RESEARCH
Conclusions

The case ofSomashowshowa psychoactive

plantwasregarded
and becamea ritual.Whenthe
as a God, inspireda mythology,
or impossibleto
originalSoma of the Rigvedabecamedifficult
a
ritual
edifice
of unpreceVedic
constructed
procure,
peoples
It
riteswithchantsand recitations.
dentedcomplexity,
combining
happened around 1000 B.C., when theirsociopoliticalcenter
shiftedfromthe IndusValleyto the Kururegionnear modern
Delhi,betweenIndusand Ganges,wheremostoftheotherthree
Vedas were composed.The entiredevelopmentdemonstrates
increasesas Soma decreases.
howritualization
of Karl Marx's
and confirmation
Is mystoryan illustration
thatreligionis theopiumofthepeople?It is to some
statement
as a genextentand I am surehe had a point.It is lesspersuasive
suberal theoryabouttheoriginof religion.Everypsychoactive
stancedoes not lead to a religionand everyreligiondoes not
arisefromsuch a substance.The formertheoryis mosteasily
refutedby counterexamples.
Broughnoted (1971: 335; 1996:
370) thatopiumusersdo notrhapsodizeoverthebeautyof the
In his recentbook,HustonSmith
flowerof Papaversomniferum.
listsRobertGraves,GordonWasson,and Alan Wattsas proposubnentsoftheidea thatmost
religionsarisefrompsychoactive
stances;and to MaryBarnard,who generalizesfrommostto all
(2000:18-9).Wasson,whopublishedwidelyon AmericanIndian
peoplesand culturesoftheNewWorld,camecloseto defending
topointswhere
thatviewas well.Smithis contenttolimithimself
drugs"surfacein seriousreligiousstudy"(ibid.). He startsout
called
himself
fromthebeliefin a monotheistic
God,sometimes
an Absolute,who unlikeany Absolutesends us a mushroom
wheneverhe so disposes(2000: 63). Thatwas not the beliefof
anyVedic peoples,for theydid not knowabsolutesor other
VedanticideasinspiredbytheUpanishads.
caseofa drugaddictoverWearepuzzledbythenotinfrequent
Is it permanentor
comingaddictionbya religiousconversion.

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THE CASE OF SOMA

773

Is ita cureor is thenewreligionitselfaddictive?

Medtemporary?
hours
for
10
to
be
an
but
addiction, isn't
mayappear
itating
daily
thatwhatBuddhadid?Here we getinvolvedin valuejudgments
and philosophers
thataccordingto somescientists
ofscienceare
I
am
and
of
science.
convinced
that
there
isno science
part
parcel
withoutthe searchfortruthbut have no good answerto these
questions.
It shouldbe pointedout,however,
thatreligionis notthesame
as ritual.The Englishterm"religion"is used primarily
in the
monotheistic
sense,but ritualsare performed
by manyanimal
The
that
Vedic
ritual
is
a
ritual
without
species.
discovery
religion
led to mythesisthatritualis meaningless.
It has helped me to
achievenotoriety.
Some anthropologists
and philosophershave
foundmyhypothesis
and otherphilosopreposterous.
Linguists
phershaveregardeditas obvious.It is truethatI havenotalways
formulated
nor has it alwaysbeen
mythinkingconspicuously
understoodadequately.Mythesissays,in a nutshell,thatritual
does not,likehumanlanguage,conveymeaning
in a systematic
manner.It has a syntax
thatconstructs
units
fromsmaller
larger
semantics
thatdoes the same. The
ones; but no corresponding
of
ritual
does
not
meaninglessness
preventit fromhavinga syninformation
tax,nor frompreserving
(forexample,
significant
about the pastof a community
or civilization).
To extractsuch
wehavetostudyeach particular
ritewithall thecare
information,
and attention
itdeserves.
The riteofsprinkling
Somawithmantrasto makeitswellpreservesinformation
abouttheoriginalSoma.Allpriests
do itin the
samemannerand thesprinkling
withmantrasand themantras
themselves
that
the
Soma
was sprinkledwithwaterto
suggest
makeitswell.Thereis a difference
butitpertainsto origins.The
the
root
Rigvedaemploys
apyai-("swell")in severalsenses,butthe
mantras
comefromtheYajurveda.The explaswelling(apyayana)
nationmustbe thatduringthe earliestRigvedictimesin the
mountains,the originalSoma was stillavailable.Later,during
Yajurvedictimesin the Indian plains,it had to be transported

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774

SOCIAL RESEARCH

fromelsewhereand wasavailableonlyin driedform.Giventhe

oftheterrain,
wouldhave
largedistancesand difficulty
quantities
oftheplant.
been small,contributing
to therarity
Whendriedplantsare soakedin water,some maintaintheir
originalsize; othersswell.The Chineseknewstalksthatswell
whentheybecome humidand used themto makedildos (van
but ifwe
Gulik,1961: 165). Ritualists
possessa vastknowledge,
wantto knowtheidentity
oftheoriginalSoma,we need botanists
of
to finda psychoactive
plantthatgrowsin thehighmountains
or similarsurroundings,
thePamirwatershed
maybe dried,and
swellswhenputin water.
We havefoundthatritualis repletewithchantand recitation
and is, at least in part,a breathingexercise.Indian traditions
speculatein depthaboutbreathand air and theirclose connecHas itsomething
to
tionswithrecitation,
chant,and meditation.
do withthehighmountainsand thinair thatare evokedbythe
"getting
high"?
Englishexpression
oftheoriginalSomaand its
I havepaidattention
totheidentity
originallocationsincetheseexplaina leastin partitssubsequent
I hope tohaveshownthatthe
Asregardsitsidentity,
ritualization.
and
of
Soma
with
Ephedra otherubiquitousstimulants
equation
does notsolvetheproblemsincetheoriginalplantwaspowerful,
to obtain.
and difficult
awe-inspiring,
and questionsaboutSoma remainand cannot
Manymysteries
between
be solvedby a singleindividual.We need teamwork
Vedic
and humanphysiology,
substances
expertson psychoactive
scholars,botanistsfamiliarwithhigh mountains,geographers,
and others.My contribuchemists,
historians,
pharmacologists
tionhasbeen ritualbutI hope thatsomereaderswilltakeup the
ofSoma in earnest.
identity
Notes
ll am gratefulto Harold Arnold,MartinSchwartz,GiovanniVitiello,
and especially Michael Witzel for valuable informationand helpful
commentson an earlierdraft.I thankAdelaide de Menil forpermitting

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THE CASE OF SOMA

775

to be used in illustrations
herphotographs
1, 2, 5 and 6 (thefirstand
thirdhaveneverbeenpublished;2 and 5 werepublishedin Staal(1983,
vol.I, plates21F and 105). I wasespeciallydelightedto receive,albeit
itsresults,
the draftof a paperentitled"Soma
too late to incorporate
in theRgveda"readbyGeorgeThompsonat themeetingof
and Ecstasy
in Torontoon March31, 2001,and forththeAmerican
Oriental
Society
coming

in

the

Electronic Journal

of

Vedic

Studies

Dr. Thompsonis similarly

dissatisfied
<www.shore.net/~india/ejvs>.
oftheSoma,equallycritical
withthepresentconsensuson theidentity
oftheinfluential
articlebyHarryFalkdiscussedin thispaper,and has
of Rigveda10.119thatis consistent
offered
a newtranslation
withmy
Some ofour arguments
butcarriesit muchfurther.
are
interpretation
but the upshotis thatthe twoarticlesand
similar,othersdifferent,
and considerably
each other.
pointsofviewcomplement
strengthen
4On the leftis LrkkaraRamanNambudin,in 1975 doyenof Vedic
scholarsamongtheNambudiribrahminsof Kerala;on the right,ProfessorE. R. Sreekrishna
VedicKausitaki
Sarma,editoroftheimportant
witha medievalNambudiri
Brahmana,
together
commentary.
3Withminorchanges.For example,I translatematinot as "prayer"
(Geldner"Gebef)butas "thought"
(Bergaigne"pensee");
pratiin verse7
in
rather
than
"set
view
of
implies"equal"
against"
Rigveda6.30.1
to
in
For
verse
8
see
(referred byGeldner). "greatness"
Brough(1971:
itbecauseitdoes notreferto physical
size
341; 1996:376),whoprefers
whereasI preferitbecauseitdoes notreferto physical
sizeonly.
4HustonSmith(2000: 57-60) has recently
discussedsome of these
reviewsin a chapteron "HistoricalEvidence:India's Sacred Soma."
Withoutevaluating
theevidence(as he had done earlier),Smithcalls
Wasson'sarguments
thestrongest
in thefield,"butthedebatecontinues" (46).
5Orientalists
havebeen regardedas politically
incorrect
and in generaldisrepute
eversinceEdwardSaid's Orientalism
(1978). Said did not
seemtoknowthatalmostall ourreliableknowledge
oftheancient(and
of
the
and
civilizations
of
Asia,includinghismodern)
many
languages
and the
sciences,literatures,
tory,archeology,
philosophies,
religions,
comes
from
Orientalists
who
like
other
of
arts,
are,
scientists, African,
and sometimes
American,
Asian,European,or some otherextraction
ofreasons.
rightbutoftenwrongfora greatvariety
"Sinceithascausedsomeconfusion,
I hope no one willbe displeased
whenI add thatthe"Flattery"
in DavidStophlethas nothingto do with
the"O'Flaherty"
nowvanishedfromWendyDoniger.

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776

SOCIAL RESEARCH

7Ritualproliferationled to the discoveryof notions of defaultand

recursiveness
byIndian scientistsof ritualand language. Theyformulated
that
rules
applyto theirown outputand generatean infinitenumberof
ritualacts or expressionsof language (Staal, 2001a, 2001b, 2001c).

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