Spikenard
Encyclopedia
Spikenard is a flowering plant
of the Valerian
family that grows in the Himalayas
of China
, also found growing in the northern region of India
and Nepal
. The plant grows to about 1 m in height and has pink, bell-shaped flowers. It is found in the altitude of about 3000–5000 meters. Spikenard rhizome
s (underground stems) can be crushed and distilled into an intensely aromatic amber-colored essential oil
, which is very thick in consistency. Nard oil is used as a perfume
, an incense
, a sedative
, and an herbal medicine said to fight insomnia, birth difficulties, and other minor ailments.
Lavender
(genus Lavandula) was also known by the ancient Greeks as naardus, nard, after the Syrian city Naarda.
, the Near East. In Rome
, it was the main ingredient of the perfume nardinum (O.L.
náladam) derived from the Hebrew שבלת נרד (shebolet nard, head of nard bunch) which was part of the Ketoret
used when referring to the consecrated incense
described in the Hebrew Bible
and Talmud
. It is also referred to as the HaKetoret (the incense). It was offered on the specialized incense altar in the time when the Tabernacle
was located in the First
and Second
Jerusalem Temples. The ketoret was an important component of the Temple service in Jerusalem. Nard is mentioned a number of times in the Tanakh
, and as part of incense in reference to hilchot shabbat in Tractate Shabbat
78b as well as Maimonides Hilchot Shabbat 18:16. It is mentioned twice in the Song of Solomon
(1:12 and 4:13).
Nard was used to perfume the body of Patroklos by Achilles in Book 18 of Homer's Iliad. Pliny's Natural History lists twelve species of "nard", identifiable with varying assurance, in a range from lavender
stoechas and tuberous valerian to true nard (in modern terms Nardostachys jatamansi).
In the New Testament
John
12:1–10, six days before the passover Jesus arrives in Bethany. In Bethany, Mary, sister of Lazarus
uses a pound of pure nard to anoint
Jesus
's feet. Judas Iscariot
, the keeper of the money-bag, asked why the ointment was not sold for three hundred denarii instead (about a year's wages, as the average agricultural worker received one denarius for 12 hours work: Matthew 20:2) and the money given to the poor. Two passages in parallel (Matthew
26:6–13, and Mark
14:3–9) speak of an occasion two days before the passover, in which an unnamed woman anoints Jesus
's head. The costly perfume she used came from an alabaster
jar, and contained nard according to the passage in Mark
. On this occasion, the disciples also protest, saying that the perfume should have been sold to benefit the poor. Yet Judas Iscariot having betrayal in his heart did not intend to sell it unto the poor, he was frustrated and spoke out of place and could not bear to see some one treat Jesus well.
It was a common flavouring in Ancient Roman foods and occurs frequently in the recipes of Apicius, though it tends to be used sparingly.
Spikenard was used to season foods in Medieval
European cuisine, especially as a part of the spice blend used to flavor Hypocras
, a sweetened and spiced wine drink. From the 17th century it was one of the ingredients for a strong beer called Stingo.
Spikenard is still used in many Tibetan healing incenses. It is used in the herbal medicine of India, Tibet and the rest of China as a nerve tonic and sedative for sleep disorders—a property it shares with the closely related valerian or Valeriana officinalis.
Spikenard is known as a healing oil and is grown in India and China. The essential oil is obtained through steam distillation and it is a base note with an earthy/musty scent.
Physically, spikenard essential oil is used as a diuretic; it is useful for rashes and skin allergies. It is anti-fungal and has a balancing effect on the menstrual cycle.
Emotionally, this oil is reserved for deep-seated grief or old pain. It is used in palliative care to help ease the transition from life to death.
Its oil is also used for preparing medicines for cholera, epilepsy, heart diseases,etc.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
of the Valerian
Valerian (plant)
Valerian is a hardy perennial flowering plant, with heads of sweetly scented pink or white flowers which bloom in the summer months. Valerian flower extracts were used as a perfume in the sixteenth century....
family that grows in the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
of China
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...
, also found growing in the northern region of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. The plant grows to about 1 m in height and has pink, bell-shaped flowers. It is found in the altitude of about 3000–5000 meters. Spikenard rhizome
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
s (underground stems) can be crushed and distilled into an intensely aromatic amber-colored essential oil
Essential oil
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove...
, which is very thick in consistency. Nard oil is used as a perfume
Perfume
Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and/or aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces "a pleasant scent"...
, an incense
Incense
Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...
, a sedative
Sedative
A sedative or tranquilizer is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement....
, and an herbal medicine said to fight insomnia, birth difficulties, and other minor ailments.
Lavender
Lavender
The lavenders are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. An Old World genus, distributed from Macaronesia across Africa, the Mediterranean, South-West Asia, Arabia, Western Iran and South-East India...
(genus Lavandula) was also known by the ancient Greeks as naardus, nard, after the Syrian city Naarda.
Historical use
The oil was known in ancient times and was part of the Ayurvedic herbal tradition of India. It was obtained as a luxury in ancient EgyptAncient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
, the Near East. In Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, it was the main ingredient of the perfume nardinum (O.L.
Old Latin
Old Latin refers to the Latin language in the period before the age of Classical Latin; that is, all Latin before 75 BC...
náladam) derived from the Hebrew שבלת נרד (shebolet nard, head of nard bunch) which was part of the Ketoret
Ketoret
The use of incense in Judaism was related to perfumed offerings on the altar of incense in the time of the Tabernacle and the First and Second Temple period, and was an important component of priestly liturgy in the Temple in Jerusalem....
used when referring to the consecrated incense
Incense
Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...
described in the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
and Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
. It is also referred to as the HaKetoret (the incense). It was offered on the specialized incense altar in the time when the Tabernacle
Tabernacle
The Tabernacle , according to the Hebrew Torah/Old Testament, was the portable dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan. Built to specifications revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai, it accompanied the Israelites...
was located in the First
Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple, was the main temple in ancient Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount , before its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar II after the Siege of Jerusalem of 587 BCE....
and Second
Second Temple period
The Second Temple period , in Jewish history, is the period between 530 BCE and 70 CE, when the Second Temple of Jerusalem existed. It ended with the First Jewish–Roman War and the Temple's destruction....
Jerusalem Temples. The ketoret was an important component of the Temple service in Jerusalem. Nard is mentioned a number of times in the Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
, and as part of incense in reference to hilchot shabbat in Tractate Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
78b as well as Maimonides Hilchot Shabbat 18:16. It is mentioned twice in the Song of Solomon
Song of Solomon
The Song of Songs of Solomon, commonly referred to as Song of Songs or Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible—one of the megillot —found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim...
(1:12 and 4:13).
Nard was used to perfume the body of Patroklos by Achilles in Book 18 of Homer's Iliad. Pliny's Natural History lists twelve species of "nard", identifiable with varying assurance, in a range from lavender
Lavender
The lavenders are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. An Old World genus, distributed from Macaronesia across Africa, the Mediterranean, South-West Asia, Arabia, Western Iran and South-East India...
stoechas and tuberous valerian to true nard (in modern terms Nardostachys jatamansi).
In the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
John
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
12:1–10, six days before the passover Jesus arrives in Bethany. In Bethany, Mary, sister of Lazarus
Mary, sister of Lazarus
Mary of Bethany is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of John and Luke in the Christian New Testament...
uses a pound of pure nard to anoint
Anointing of Jesus
The anointing of Jesus is an event reported by each of the Canonical gospels, in which a woman pours the entire contents of an alabastron of very expensive perfume over the head or feet of Jesus....
Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
's feet. Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
, the keeper of the money-bag, asked why the ointment was not sold for three hundred denarii instead (about a year's wages, as the average agricultural worker received one denarius for 12 hours work: Matthew 20:2) and the money given to the poor. Two passages in parallel (Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
26:6–13, and Mark
Gospel of Mark
The Gospel According to Mark , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Mark or simply Mark, is the second book of the New Testament. This canonical account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the three synoptic gospels. It was thought to be an epitome, which accounts for its place as the second...
14:3–9) speak of an occasion two days before the passover, in which an unnamed woman anoints Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
's head. The costly perfume she used came from an alabaster
Alabaster
Alabaster is a name applied to varieties of two distinct minerals, when used as a material: gypsum and calcite . The former is the alabaster of the present day; generally, the latter is the alabaster of the ancients...
jar, and contained nard according to the passage in Mark
Gospel of Mark
The Gospel According to Mark , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Mark or simply Mark, is the second book of the New Testament. This canonical account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the three synoptic gospels. It was thought to be an epitome, which accounts for its place as the second...
. On this occasion, the disciples also protest, saying that the perfume should have been sold to benefit the poor. Yet Judas Iscariot having betrayal in his heart did not intend to sell it unto the poor, he was frustrated and spoke out of place and could not bear to see some one treat Jesus well.
It was a common flavouring in Ancient Roman foods and occurs frequently in the recipes of Apicius, though it tends to be used sparingly.
Spikenard was used to season foods in Medieval
Medieval cuisine
Medieval cuisine includes the foods, eating habits, and cooking methods of various European cultures during the Middle Ages, a period roughly dating from the 5th to the 16th century...
European cuisine, especially as a part of the spice blend used to flavor Hypocras
Hypocras
Hippocras , sometimes spelled hipocras or hypocras, is a drink made from wine mixed with sugar and spices, most notably cinnamon, and possibly heated...
, a sweetened and spiced wine drink. From the 17th century it was one of the ingredients for a strong beer called Stingo.
Modern use
Today, oil of spikenard is not used as widely as that of its many valerian relatives.Spikenard is still used in many Tibetan healing incenses. It is used in the herbal medicine of India, Tibet and the rest of China as a nerve tonic and sedative for sleep disorders—a property it shares with the closely related valerian or Valeriana officinalis.
Spikenard is known as a healing oil and is grown in India and China. The essential oil is obtained through steam distillation and it is a base note with an earthy/musty scent.
Physically, spikenard essential oil is used as a diuretic; it is useful for rashes and skin allergies. It is anti-fungal and has a balancing effect on the menstrual cycle.
Emotionally, this oil is reserved for deep-seated grief or old pain. It is used in palliative care to help ease the transition from life to death.
Its oil is also used for preparing medicines for cholera, epilepsy, heart diseases,etc.
Further reading
- Dalby, Andrew, "Spikenard" in Alan DavidsonAlan Davidson (food writer)Alan Eaton Davidson was a British diplomat and historian best known for his writing and editing on food and gastronomy. He was the author of the 900-page, encyclopedic The Oxford Companion to Food .The son of a Scottish tax inspector, Davidson was born in Londonderry, Northern Ireland...
, The Oxford Companion to Food, 2nd ed. by Tom Jaine (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. ISBN 0-19-280681-5).
External links
- Etymology of "nard" Contains a detailed monograph on Nardostachys grandiflora, N. jatamansi (Jatamamsi) as well as a discussion of health benefits and usage in clinical practice. Available online at http://www.toddcaldecott.com/index.php/herbs/learning-herbs/354-jatamamsi