In search of traces of the mandrake myth: the historical, and ethnobotanical roots of its vernacular names

Abstract Background Mandrake (Mandragora spp.) is one of the most famous medicinal plant in western cultures since Biblical times and throughout written history. In many cultures, mandrake is related to magic and witchcraft, which is said to have a psychosomatic effect (especially when mandrake cont...

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Autores principales:	Amots Dafni, Cesar Blanché, Salekh Aqil Khatib, Theodora Petanidou, Bedrettin Aytaç, Ettore Pacini, Ekaterina Kohazurova, Aharon Geva-Kleinberger, Soli Shahvar, Zora Dajic, Helmut W. Klug, Guillermo Benítez
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	BMC 2021
Materias:	Mandragora spp. Plant names Etymology Phytonymy Other systems of medicine RZ201-999 Botany QK1-989
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/6f733b060ac948a2b56aa8ca24d4b305
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:6f733b060ac948a2b56aa8ca24d4b3052021-12-05T12:24:19ZIn search of traces of the mandrake myth: the historical, and ethnobotanical roots of its vernacular names10.1186/s13002-021-00494-51746-4269https://doaj.org/article/6f733b060ac948a2b56aa8ca24d4b3052021-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-021-00494-5https://doaj.org/toc/1746-4269Abstract Background Mandrake (Mandragora spp.) is one of the most famous medicinal plant in western cultures since Biblical times and throughout written history. In many cultures, mandrake is related to magic and witchcraft, which is said to have a psychosomatic effect (especially when mandrake contains narcotic compounds) in addition to the pharmacological influence, as occurs with other narcotic magical plants. Due to its unique properties and related myths, it is not surprising that this plant has many names in many languages. Methods This paper presents an attempt to reconstruct the historical, ethnobotanical, and folkloristic roots of 292 vernacular names of Mandragora spp. in forty-one languages. We used the plant’s morphological data, philology, myths and legends, medicinal properties and uses, as well as historical evidence and folkloric data, to explain meaning, origin, migration, and history of the plant’s names. Results The names were classified into the following main categories: Derivatives of mandragora (19 languages), alraun (7) and of yabroukh (5). The salient groups of the plant’s vernacular names are related to: Anthropomorphism (33 names in 13 languages); Similarity to other plants (28/9); Supernatural agents (28/9); Narcotic effects (21/8); Leaves, fruits, and seeds (21/8); Aphrodisiac properties (17/10); Use of a dog (15/9); Gallows (14/5); Black magic, sorcery, witchcraft (13/8), and Medicinal use (11/7). Conclusions This frequency distribution of the mandrake’s vernacular names reflects its widespread reputation as related to the doctrine of signatures, beliefs in its supernatural, natural, and mythic powers, and to a lesser extent, its uses in magic and medicine. A spatiotemporal analysis of the mandrake’s names supports the old idea that the pulling ceremonies for this plant originated in the Near East and that various other myths related to this plant may have originated in different places and periods.Amots DafniCesar BlanchéSalekh Aqil KhatibTheodora PetanidouBedrettin AytaçEttore PaciniEkaterina KohazurovaAharon Geva-KleinbergerSoli ShahvarZora DajicHelmut W. KlugGuillermo BenítezBMCarticleMandragora spp.Plant namesEtymologyPhytonymyOther systems of medicineRZ201-999BotanyQK1-989ENJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, Vol 17, Iss 1, Pp 1-35 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Mandragora spp. Plant names Etymology Phytonymy Other systems of medicine RZ201-999 Botany QK1-989
spellingShingle	Mandragora spp. Plant names Etymology Phytonymy Other systems of medicine RZ201-999 Botany QK1-989 Amots Dafni Cesar Blanché Salekh Aqil Khatib Theodora Petanidou Bedrettin Aytaç Ettore Pacini Ekaterina Kohazurova Aharon Geva-Kleinberger Soli Shahvar Zora Dajic Helmut W. Klug Guillermo Benítez In search of traces of the mandrake myth: the historical, and ethnobotanical roots of its vernacular names
description	Abstract Background Mandrake (Mandragora spp.) is one of the most famous medicinal plant in western cultures since Biblical times and throughout written history. In many cultures, mandrake is related to magic and witchcraft, which is said to have a psychosomatic effect (especially when mandrake contains narcotic compounds) in addition to the pharmacological influence, as occurs with other narcotic magical plants. Due to its unique properties and related myths, it is not surprising that this plant has many names in many languages. Methods This paper presents an attempt to reconstruct the historical, ethnobotanical, and folkloristic roots of 292 vernacular names of Mandragora spp. in forty-one languages. We used the plant’s morphological data, philology, myths and legends, medicinal properties and uses, as well as historical evidence and folkloric data, to explain meaning, origin, migration, and history of the plant’s names. Results The names were classified into the following main categories: Derivatives of mandragora (19 languages), alraun (7) and of yabroukh (5). The salient groups of the plant’s vernacular names are related to: Anthropomorphism (33 names in 13 languages); Similarity to other plants (28/9); Supernatural agents (28/9); Narcotic effects (21/8); Leaves, fruits, and seeds (21/8); Aphrodisiac properties (17/10); Use of a dog (15/9); Gallows (14/5); Black magic, sorcery, witchcraft (13/8), and Medicinal use (11/7). Conclusions This frequency distribution of the mandrake’s vernacular names reflects its widespread reputation as related to the doctrine of signatures, beliefs in its supernatural, natural, and mythic powers, and to a lesser extent, its uses in magic and medicine. A spatiotemporal analysis of the mandrake’s names supports the old idea that the pulling ceremonies for this plant originated in the Near East and that various other myths related to this plant may have originated in different places and periods.
format	article
author	Amots Dafni Cesar Blanché Salekh Aqil Khatib Theodora Petanidou Bedrettin Aytaç Ettore Pacini Ekaterina Kohazurova Aharon Geva-Kleinberger Soli Shahvar Zora Dajic Helmut W. Klug Guillermo Benítez
author_facet	Amots Dafni Cesar Blanché Salekh Aqil Khatib Theodora Petanidou Bedrettin Aytaç Ettore Pacini Ekaterina Kohazurova Aharon Geva-Kleinberger Soli Shahvar Zora Dajic Helmut W. Klug Guillermo Benítez
author_sort	Amots Dafni
title	In search of traces of the mandrake myth: the historical, and ethnobotanical roots of its vernacular names
title_short	In search of traces of the mandrake myth: the historical, and ethnobotanical roots of its vernacular names
title_full	In search of traces of the mandrake myth: the historical, and ethnobotanical roots of its vernacular names
title_fullStr	In search of traces of the mandrake myth: the historical, and ethnobotanical roots of its vernacular names
title_full_unstemmed	In search of traces of the mandrake myth: the historical, and ethnobotanical roots of its vernacular names
title_sort	in search of traces of the mandrake myth: the historical, and ethnobotanical roots of its vernacular names
publisher	BMC
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/6f733b060ac948a2b56aa8ca24d4b305
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In search of traces of the mandrake myth: the historical, and ethnobotanical roots of its vernacular names

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