Mellified Man
Encyclopedia
Mellified man, or human mummy confection, was a legendary medicinal substance created by steeping a human cadaver
in honey
. The concoction is mentioned only in Chinese
sources, most significantly the Bencao Gangmu of the 16th-century Chinese pharmacologist Li Shizhen
. Relying on a second-hand account, Li reports a story that some elderly men in Arabia, nearing the end of their lives, would submit themselves to a process of mummification in honey to create a healing confection. This process differed from a simple body donation
because of the aspect of self-sacrifice; the mellification
process would ideally start before death. The donor would stop eating any food other than honey, going as far as to bathe in the substance. Shortly, his feces (and even his sweat, according to legend) would consist of honey. When this diet finally proved fatal, the donor's body would be placed in a stone coffin filled with honey. After a century or so, the contents would have turned into a sort of confection reputedly capable of healing broken limbs and other ailments. This confection would then be carefully sold in street markets as a hard to find item with a hefty price.
in his Bencao Gangmu. It is described in the final section (52, "Man as medicine") under the entry for munaiyi (木乃伊 "mummy"):
In her book Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
, writer Mary Roach
observes that Li Shizhen "is careful to point out that he does not know for certain whether the mellified man story is true."
] countries"), an old name for Arabia or the Middle East"). The Chinese munaiyi (木乃伊), along with "mummy" loanword
s in many languages, derives through Arabic mūmīya (mummy) from Persian mūm "wax".
Antibacterial properties of honey are the result of the low water activity
causing osmosis, hydrogen peroxide
effect, and high acidity.
This combination of high acidity, hygroscopic and antibacterial effect make honey a plausible way to turn a human cadaver into a mummy, despite lack of any concrete evidence.
, or even other medicinal uses for breast milk
. In her book, Roach says the medicinal use of mummies, and the sale of fake ones, is "well documented" in chemistry books of 16th-18th centuries Europe, "but nowhere outside Arabia were the corpses volunteers." Mummies were a common ingredient in the Middle Ages until at least the eighteenth century, and not only as medicine, but as fertilizers and even as paint
.
The use of corpses (or body parts) as medicine goes far back - in the Roman Empire
the blood of dead gladiator
s was used as treatment for epilepsy
.
In his book Bernard Read suggests a connection between the European medieval practices and the Middle Eastern and Chinese ones:
Cadaver
A cadaver is a dead human body.Cadaver may also refer to:* Cadaver tomb, tomb featuring an effigy in the form of a decomposing body* Cadaver , a video game* cadaver A command-line WebDAV client for Unix....
in honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
. The concoction is mentioned only in Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
sources, most significantly the Bencao Gangmu of the 16th-century Chinese pharmacologist Li Shizhen
Li Shizhen
Li Shizhen , courtesy name Dongbi , was one of the greatest Chinese herbologists and acupuncturists in Chinese history. His major contribution to medicine was his 27-year work, which is found in his epic book the Bencao Gangmu...
. Relying on a second-hand account, Li reports a story that some elderly men in Arabia, nearing the end of their lives, would submit themselves to a process of mummification in honey to create a healing confection. This process differed from a simple body donation
Body donation
Body donation is the donation of the whole body after death for medical research and education. For years, only medical schools accepted whole bodies for donation, but now private programs also accept donors....
because of the aspect of self-sacrifice; the mellification
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
process would ideally start before death. The donor would stop eating any food other than honey, going as far as to bathe in the substance. Shortly, his feces (and even his sweat, according to legend) would consist of honey. When this diet finally proved fatal, the donor's body would be placed in a stone coffin filled with honey. After a century or so, the contents would have turned into a sort of confection reputedly capable of healing broken limbs and other ailments. This confection would then be carefully sold in street markets as a hard to find item with a hefty price.
Origins
Allegedly from Arabia, the mellified man legend was reported by 16th-century Chinese pharmacologist Li ShizhenLi Shizhen
Li Shizhen , courtesy name Dongbi , was one of the greatest Chinese herbologists and acupuncturists in Chinese history. His major contribution to medicine was his 27-year work, which is found in his epic book the Bencao Gangmu...
in his Bencao Gangmu. It is described in the final section (52, "Man as medicine") under the entry for munaiyi (木乃伊 "mummy"):
木乃伊, [MUNAIYI]. HUMAN MUMMY CONFECTION
Li [Shizhen]: According to 陶九成 [Tao Jiucheng] in the 輟耕錄 [Chuogenglu "Record after retiring from plowing"], it says in Arabia there are men 70 to 80 years old who are willing to give their bodies to save others. The subject does not eat food, he only bathes and partakes of honey. After a month he only excretes honey (the urine and feces are entirely honey) and death follows. His fellow men place him in a stone coffin full of honey in which he macerates. The date is put upon the coffin giving the year and month. After a hundred years the seals are removed. A confection is formed which is used for the treatment of broken and wounded limbs. A small amount taken internally will immediately cure the complaint. It is scarce in Arabia where it is called mellified man.
Mr. [Tao] has recorded it in this way but Li [Shizhen] the author of this [Bencao] does not know whether it is true so he is recording it for others to verify.
In her book Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers is a 2003 non-fiction work by Mary Roach. Published by W. W. Norton & Company, it details the unique scientific contributions of the deceased...
, writer Mary Roach
Mary Roach
Mary Roach is a columnist and popular science writer. Raised in Etna, New Hampshire, she holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Wesleyan University and currently resides in Oakland, California...
observes that Li Shizhen "is careful to point out that he does not know for certain whether the mellified man story is true."
Etymology
Li calls the concoction miren (蜜人), translated as "honey person" or "mellified man". Miziren (蜜漬人 "honey-saturated person") is a modern synonym. The place it comes from is tianfangguo (天方國 "divine square [KaabaKaaba
The Kaaba is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The Qur'an states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham, or Ibraheem, in Arabic, and his son Ishmael, or Ismaeel, as said in Arabic, after he had settled in Arabia. The building has a mosque...
] countries"), an old name for Arabia or the Middle East"). The Chinese munaiyi (木乃伊), along with "mummy" loanword
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
s in many languages, derives through Arabic mūmīya (mummy) from Persian mūm "wax".
Honey physical properties
Honey has been used in funerary practices in many different cultures. Burmese priests have the custom of preserving their chief abbots in coffins full of honey. Its reputation both for medicinal uses and durability is long established. For at least 2700 years, honey has been used by humans to treat a variety of ailments through topical application, but only recently have the antiseptic and antibacterial properties of honey been chemically explained. Because of its unique composition and the complex processing of nectar by the bees which changes its chemical properties, honey is suitable for long term storage and is easily assimilated even after long preservation. History knows examples of honey preservation for decades, and even centuries.Antibacterial properties of honey are the result of the low water activity
Water activity
Water activity or aw was developed to account for the intensity with which water associates with various non-aqueous constituents and solids. Simply stated, it is a measure of the energy status of the water in a system...
causing osmosis, hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is the simplest peroxide and an oxidizer. Hydrogen peroxide is a clear liquid, slightly more viscous than water. In dilute solution, it appears colorless. With its oxidizing properties, hydrogen peroxide is often used as a bleach or cleaning agent...
effect, and high acidity.
This combination of high acidity, hygroscopic and antibacterial effect make honey a plausible way to turn a human cadaver into a mummy, despite lack of any concrete evidence.
Similar medicine practices
Both European and Chinese pharmacopeias employed medicines of human origin, for instance urine therapyUrine therapy
In alternative medicine, the term urine therapy refers to various applications of human urine for medicinal or cosmetic purposes, including drinking of one's own urine and massaging one's skin with one's own urine...
, or even other medicinal uses for breast milk
Breast milk
Breast milk, more specifically human milk, is the milk produced by the breasts of a human female for her infant offspring...
. In her book, Roach says the medicinal use of mummies, and the sale of fake ones, is "well documented" in chemistry books of 16th-18th centuries Europe, "but nowhere outside Arabia were the corpses volunteers." Mummies were a common ingredient in the Middle Ages until at least the eighteenth century, and not only as medicine, but as fertilizers and even as paint
Mummy brown
Mummy brown was a rich brown bituminous pigment, intermediate in tint between burnt umber and raw umber, which was one of the favorite colors of the Pre-Raphaelites.-History:...
.
The use of corpses (or body parts) as medicine goes far back - in the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
the blood of dead gladiator
Gladiator
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
s was used as treatment for epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
.
In his book Bernard Read suggests a connection between the European medieval practices and the Middle Eastern and Chinese ones:
The underlying theories which sustained the use of human remedies, find a great deal in common between the Arabs as represented by AvicennaAvicennaAbū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā , commonly known as Ibn Sīnā or by his Latinized name Avicenna, was a Persian polymath, who wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived...
, and China through the [Bencao]. Body humors, vital air, the circulations, and numerous things are more clearly understood if an extended study be made of Avicenna or the Europeans who based their writings on Arabic medicine. The various uses given in many cases common throughout the civilized world, [Nicholas] Lemery also recommended woman's milk for inflamed eyes, feces were applied to sores, and the human skull, brain, blood, nails and "all the parts of man", were used in sixteenth century Europe.
In popular culture
- Ian McDonald's The Dervish House (2010), a science fiction postcyberpunk novel mentions a mellified man. One of the main characters acquires this particular "artifact" for a price.