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Cannabis has an ancient
history of ritual usage as an aid to trance and has been traditionally
used in a religious context throughout the Old World.
- Herodotus wrote about early ceremonial practices by the
Scythians, which are thought to have occurred from the 5th to 2nd
century BCE.
- Itinerant Sadhus have used it in India for centuries, and the
Rastafari movement has embraced it in modern times.
- Anthropologist Sula Benet claimed historical evidence and
etymological comparison show that the Holy anointing oil used by the
Hebrews contained cannabis extracts, "kaneh bosm"
(קְנֵה-בֹשֶׂם), and
that it is also listed as an incense tree in the original Hebrew and
Aramaic texts of the Old Testament
- Early Christians used cannabis oil for medicinal purposes and as
part of the baptismal process to confirm the forgiveness of sins and
"right of passage" into the Kingdom of Heaven. The Unction, Seal,
laying on of hands, the Counselor, and the Holy Spirit are all often
synonymous of the Holy anointing oil. Early Gnostic texts indicate
that the Chrism is essential to becoming a "Christian".
- Some Muslims of the Sufi order have used cannabis as a tool for
spiritual exploration.
Ancient Shamanic Cannabis Use
Several of the mummies found near Turpan in Xinjiang
province of Northwestern China were buried with sacks of marijuana next
to them. Based on this, archaeologists concluded that they were
shamans: "The marijuana must have been buried with the dead shamans who
dreamed of continuing the profession in another world." The mummies
were dated to circa 1,000 BCE.
China Xinjiang
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Location of Turpan Prefecture in Xinjiang
China
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China's Xinjiang Turpan Uygur Autonomous Region
Mummy
The early Chinese pharmacopeia 神农本草经 Shen Nong Ben Cao
Jing referred to magical uses of marijuana such as seeing demons and
communicating with spirits. Early Taoists also believed that combining
marijuana with ginseng allowed one to see into the future. A
6th-century CE Taoist medical work, 五脏经 Wu Zang Jing, recommended
marijuana for seeing demons or spirits, and in this Joseph Needham
found evidence for the influence of cannabis in the communications with
immortals recorded by a Taoist named Yangxi in the 4th century.
Herodotus wrote: "The Scythians, as I said, take some of this
hemp-seed, and, creeping under the felt coverings, throw it upon the
red-hot stones; immediately it smokes, and gives out such a vapour as
no Grecian vapour-bath can exceed; the Scyths, delighted, shout for
joy." What Herodotus called the "hemp-seed" must have been the whole
flowering tops of the plant, where the psychoactive resin is produced
along with the fruit ("seeds").
Ancient Pagan Cannabis Use
In ancient Germanic culture, cannabis was associated with
the Norse love goddess, Freya. The harvesting of the plant was
connected with an erotic high festival. It was believed that Freya
lived as a fertile force in the plant's feminine flowers and by
ingesting them one became influenced by this divine force. The Celts
may have also used cannabis, as evidence of hashish traces were found
in Hallstatt, birthplace of Celtic culture.
Norse Love Goddess
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Goddess Freya
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Erotic High Festival
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Hindu and Buddhist Cannabis
Use
Cannabis has been used in Hindu culture as early as 1500
BCE, and ganjas ancient use is confirmed within the Vedas -- Sama Veda,
Rig Veda, and Atharva Veda.
Cannabis or ganja is associated with worship of the Hindu god Shiva,
who is popularly believed to like the hemp plant. Ganja is offered to
Shiva images, especially on Shivratri festival. This practice is
particularly witnessed at temples of Benares, Baidynath and
Tarakeswar.
Ganja is not only offered to the god, but also consumed by Shaivite (a
sect of Shiva) yogis. Charas is smoked by some Shaivite devotees and
cannabis itself is seen as a gift ("prasad," or offering) to Shiva to
aid in sadhana. Some of the wandering ascetics in India known as sadhus
smoke charas out of a clay chillum.
During the Hindu festival of Holi, people consume a drink called bhang
which contains cannabis flowers. According to one description, when
elixir of life was produced from the churning of the ocean by the gods
and the demons, Shiva created cannabis from his own body to purify the
elixir (whence, for cannabis, the epithet angaj or body-born). Another
account suggests that the cannabis plant sprang when a drop of the
elixir dropped on the ground. Thus, cannabis is used by sages due to
association with elixir and Shiva. Wise drinking of bhang, according to
religious rites, is believed to cleanse sins, unite one with Shiva and
avoid the miseries of hell in the after-life. In contrast, foolish
drinking of bhang without rites is considered a sin.
Sahdu Smoking Chillum
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Lord Shiva
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Researchers claim that Siddhartha ate only hemp for six
years prior to becoming the Buddha in the 5th century BCE. Cannabis
continues to play a significant role in the meditation ritual of
Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, and has been a practice since 500 BCE when
cannabis was regarded as a holy plant.
Ancient Hebraic Cannabis Use
According to Aryeh Kaplan, cannabis was an ingredient in
the Holy anointing oil mentioned in various sacred Hebrew texts. The
herb of interest is most commonly known as kaneh-bosem
(קְנֵה-בֹשֶׂם)
which is mentioned several times in the Old Testament as a bartering
material, incense, and an ingredient in Holy anointing oil used by the
high priest of the temple.
The Septuagint (300px BCE) translates kaneh-bosem as calamus, and this
translation has been propagated unchanged to most later translations of
the Torah (1500 BCE+). However, Polish anthropologist Sula Benet
published etymological arguments that the Aramaic word for hemp can be
read as kannabos and appears to be a cognate to the modern word
'cannabis', with the root kan meaning reed or hemp and bosm meaning
fragrant. Both cannabis and calamus are fragrant, reed-like plants
containing psychotropic compounds. While Benet's conclusion regarding
the psychoactive use of cannabis is not universally accepted among
Jewish scholars, there is general agreement that cannabis is used in
talmudic sources to refer to hemp fibers, as hemp was a vital commodity
before linen replaced it.
Muslim Cannabis Use
Generally in orthodox Islam, the use of cannabis is deemed
to be khamr (intoxicant), and therefore haraam (forbidden). As with
most orthodoxies, early practices differ in this. Some say that, as
hashish was introduced in post-Koranic times, the prohibition of khamr
(literally, "fermented grape" but generally understood to mean anything
that clouds consciousness) did not apply to it. Others point to various
hadith, which equate all intoxicants with khamr, and declare them all
haraam, "if much intoxicates, then even a little is haraam". Because
some Muslims have attributed the cannabis state of consciousness with
higher states of awareness, whether its effects are even considered
intoxicating is controversial.
Although cannabis use in Islamic society has been consistently present,
often but not exclusively in the lower classes, its use explicitly for
spiritual purposes is most noted among the Sufi. An account of the
origin of this:
According to one Arab legend, Haydar, the Persian founder of the
religious order of Sufi, came across the cannabis plant while wandering
in the Persian mountains. Usually a reserved and silent man, when he
returned to his monastery after eating some cannabis leaves, his
disciples were amazed at how talkative and animated (full of spirit) he
seemed. After cajoling Haydar into telling them what he had done to
make him feel so happy, his disciples went out into the mountains and
tried the cannabis for themselves. So it was, according to the legend,
the Sufis came to know the pleasures of hashish.
1883 Haarem
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The Sufi Rumi
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Sufi Dance
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Sikh Cannabis Use
The Sikh religion developed in the Punjab in Mughal times.
The common use of bhang in religious festivals by Hindus carried over
into Sikh practice as well. Sikhs were required to observe Dasehra with
bhang, in commemoration of the founder of the Sikh religion, Guru
Nanak.
The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report
describes the traditional use of cannabis in the Sikh
religion:
'Among the Sikhs the use of bhang as a beverage
appears to be common, and to be associated with their religious
practices. The witnesses who refer to this use by the Sikhs appear to
regard it as an essential part of their religious rites having the
authority of the Granth or Sikh scripture. Witness Sodhi Iswar Singh,
Extra Assistant Commissioner, says :
"As far as I know, bhang is pounded by the Sikhs on the
Dasehra day, and it is ordinarily binding upon every Sikh to drink it
as a sacred draught by mixing water with it. Legend--Guru Gobind
Singh, the tenth guru, the founder of the Sikh religion, was on the
gaddi of Baba Nanak in the time of Emperor Aurangzeb. When the guru
was at Anandpur, tahsil Una, Hoshiarpur district, engaged in battle
with the Hill Rajas of the Simla, Kangra, and the Hoshiarpur
districts, the Rains sent an elephant, who was trained in attacking
and slaying the forces of the enemy with a sword in his trunk and in
breaking open the gates of forts, to attack and capture the Lohgarh
fort near Anandpur. The guru gave one of his followers, Bachittar
Singh, some bhang and a little of opium to eat, and directed him to
face the said elephant. This brave man obeyed the word of command of
his leader and attacked the elephant, who was intoxicated and had
achieved victories in several battles before, with the result that
the animal was overpowered and the Hill Rajas
defeated."'
The use of bhang, therefore, on the Dasehra day is
necessary as a sacred draught. It is customary among the Sikhs
generally to drink bhang, so that Guru Gobind Singh has said the
following poems in praise of bhang: "Give me, O Saki
(butler), a cup of green colour (bhang), as it is required by me at the
time of battle."
Bhang is also used on the Chandas day, which is a festival
of the god Sheoji Mahadeva. The Sikhs consider it binding to use it on
the Dasehra day -- The quantity then taken is too small to prove
injurious.
10 Sikh Gurus with Nanak in Center
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Sikh with Green Cannabis(bhang) Tea
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Founder Guru Nanak
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As Sikhs are absolutely prohibited by their religion from
smoking, the use of ganja and charas in this form is not practiced by
them. Those of old Sikh times are annually permitted to collect without
interference a boat load of bhang, which is afterwards, distributed
throughout the year to the sadhus and beggars who are supported by the
dharamsala.
Rastafari Cannabis Use
Members of the Rastafari movement use cannabis as a part
of their worshiping of God, Bible study and Meditation. The movement
was founded in Jamaica in the 1930s and while it is not known when
Rastafarians first made cannabis into something sacred it is clear that
by the late 1940s Rastafari was associated with cannabis smoking at the
Pinnacle community of Leonard Howell. Rastafari see cannabis as a
sacramental and deeply beneficial plant that is the Tree of Life
mentioned in the Bible.
Bob Marley, amongst many others, said, "the herb ganja is
the healing of the nations." The use of cannabis, and particularly of
large pipes called chalices, is an integral part of what Rastafari call
"reasoning sessions" where members join together to discuss life
according to the Rasta perspective. They see cannabis as having the
capacity to allow the user to penetrate the truth of how things are
much more clearly, as if the wool had been pulled from one's eyes. Thus
the Rastafari come together to smoke cannabis in order to discuss the
truth with each other, reasoning it all out little by little through
many sessions. They see the use of this plant as bringing them closer
to nature. In these ways Rastafari believe that cannabis brings the
user closer to Jah, Haile Selassie I, and pipes of cannabis are always
dedicated to His Imperial Majesty before being smoked. While it is not
necessary to use cannabis to be a Rastafari, some feel that they must
use it regularly as a part of their faith. "The herb is the key to new
understanding of the self, the universe, and God. It is the vehicle to
cosmic consciousness" according to Rastafari philosophy, and is
believed to burn the corruption out of the human heart. Rubbing the
ashes from smoked cannabis is also considered a healthy
practice.
Founder Hallie Selassie I
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Rasta Flag
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Rastafarian with Dreadlocks
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Other Modern Religious Movements
Using Cannabis
Elders of the modern religious movement known as the
Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church consider cannabis to be the eucharist,
claiming it as an oral tradition from Ethiopia dating back to the time
of Christ.
Like the Rastafari, some modern Gnostic Christian sects have asserted
that cannabis is the Tree of Life.
Other organized religions founded in the past century that treat
cannabis as a sacrament are the THC Ministry, the Way of Infinite
Harmony, Cantheism, the Cannabis Assembly, the Church of Cognizance,
the Sinagogue of Satan, the Church of the Universe, and The Free
Marijuana Church of Honolulu.
Modern spiritual figures like Ram Dass and Eli Jaxon Bear openly
acknowledge that the use of cannabis has allowed them to access
"another plane of consciousness" and use the drug frequently.
Religious
Naturalism is a form of neo-Pantheism (or vice versa) which
is defined as - a pluralistic way of thinking that proposes both
spiritual and intellectual approaches to life absent of supernatural
assumptions. It is religious in that it advocates a sincere subjective
interpretation of, feeling for and behavior towards life and the world.
Those things considered most important are deemed sacred and respected.
It is naturalistic in that it uses objective science, evidential truth
and reason to understand what is, rather than supernatural
explanations, although some proponents maintain a god concept. Some
sectors of it may use cultural sources to form like-minded communities.
Religious Naturalists find commonality in their ethical values, spiritual development and
tolerance for diversity of thought.
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