Soma (drink)

“ It is not necessary that the drink which the worshipper pretends to drink or to offer to Indra at the sacrifice should be really intoxicating. The object of the rite is to induce Indra in heaven to drink the water of strength, the true soma, the real ambrosia, sometimes conceived as hidden in the clouds, sometimes as dwelling in the soft light poured forth by the great Soma, Indu, the moon,—the tree whose stem, long, dark, and leafless, resembles that of the earthly plant from which the drink is ordered to be prepared. ”

“ The sieve of the hot drink is extended in the place of the sky. Its gleaming threads extend on all sides. This (soma's) swift (streams) preserve the man that purifies them, and wisely ascend to the back of the sky." In this, as in many hymns, the drink soma is clearly addressed; yet expressions are used which, if detached, easily might be thought to imply the moon (or the sun, as with Bergaigne) —a fact that should make one employ other expressions of the same sort with great circumspection. ”

“ This view, however, runs counter to native tradition, which still realizes the distinction between Soma and the moon in the Ṛgveda, and to the clear language of the texts.
Comparison with the Avesta shows that in Iran also the plant was crushed and mixed with milk, and that in Iran, as in India, the celestial soma is distinguished from the terrestrial, and the drink from the god: it grows on a mountain and is brought by an eagle; it gives light, slays demons, and bestows blessings ”

“ In certain rites both in the Indian and the Parsee religions, the devotees drink the juice of the Soma, or Haoma plant. They consider it a god as well as a plant, just as the wine of the Christian sacrament is considered both the juice of the grape, and the blood of the Redeemer. [306:2] Says Mr. Baring-Gould:
"Among the ancient Hindoos, Soma was a chief deity ”

“ In the ancient Soma sacrifices the officiants drank the residue of the sacred drink: in modern temples, where ample meals are set before the god more than once a day, it is the custom, perhaps because it is more advantageous, to sell them to the devout. ”

“ One kind of answer that would meet the case, provided it be countenanced by facts, may be briefly indicated, namely, that the berries of the rowan were used in some early period in the brewing [112] of an intoxicating drink, or better still, of the first intoxicating drink known to the Teuto-Aryan Celts.”62 The connection between the Palâsa and the Soma perhaps indicates that this may have been the case. It was again a Vedic custom to drive the cows from their calves by striking them with a rod of a Palâsa tree. ”

“ Many libations flow for him who loveth them: to Indra have the gold-hued Soma juices run. 7. The gold-hued drops have flowed to gratify his wish: the yellow drops have urged the swift Bays to the Strong. He who speeds on with Bay Steeds even as he lists hath satisfied his longing for the golden drops. 8. At the swift draught the Soma-drinker waxed in might, the Iron One with yellow beard and yellow hair. He, Lord of Tawny Coursers, Lord of fleet-foot Mares, will bear his Bay Steeds safely over all distress. ”

“ The stones used in pounding the shoots on a skin "chew him on the hide of a cow." The flowing of the juice into jars or vats after passing through the filter of sheep's wool is described in various ways. The streams of soma rush to the forest of the vats like buffaloes. The god flies like a bird to settle in the vats. The Tawny One settles in the bowls like a bird sitting on a tree. The juice being mixed with water in the vat, Soma is said to rush into the lap of the waters like a roaring bull on the herd. Clothing himself in waters, he rushes around the vat, impelled by the singers. ”

“ My-Boots drooled, his pipe between his teeth, with the dumb and grave air of a dozing ox. Bibi-the-Smoker was telling a story—the manner in which he emptied a bottle at a draught, giving it such a kiss that one instantly saw its bottom. Meanwhile Salted-Mouth, otherwise Drink-without-Thirst, had gone and fetched the wheel of fortune from the counter, and was playing with Coupeau for drinks.
“Two hundred! You’re lucky; you get high numbers every time!” ”

“ The Corean liquor, by preference, is brewed or distilled from rice, millet, or barley. These alcoholic drinks are of various strength, color, and smell, ranging from beer to brandy. In general their beverages are sufficiently smoky, oily, and alcoholic to Western tastes, as the fusel-oil usually remains even in the best products of their stills. No trait of the Coreans has more impressed [267] their numerous visitors, from Hamel to the Americans, than their love of all kinds of strong drink, from ale to whiskey. ”

“ The Soma plant is an object of particular adoration and the Vedic worshippers are in ecstacy over the exhilarating effects of the fermented juice expressed from it. [1] The Soma rasa (juice) began even to be regarded as the amrita; this immortal draught, allied to the Greek ambrosia, is "the stimulant which conferred immortality upon the gods . . . it is medicine for a sick man and the god Soma heals whatever is sick." It will be seen later on that in the Soma rasa and its attributes we have the dawn of Hindu Alchemy (Vide p. 79) . ”

“ This juice have we made sweet for thee like barley, blending it with milk. Indra, I call thee to our feast. 4. Beloved of all, Indra alone drinks up the flowing Soma juice Among the Gods and mortal men. 5. The Friend, whom not the brilliant-hued, the badly-mixt or bitter draught, Repels, the far-extending God; 6. While other men than we with milk chase him as hunters chase a deer, And with their kine inveigle him. 7. For him, for Indra, for the God, be pressed three draughts of Soma juice In the juice-drinker's own abode. ”

“ To promote this, feminine chewing is found efficacious. The taste, says Simmonds, is said to resemble that of ale, but is not “quite so agreeable—this may easily be believed.” Cela dépend, as in the case of the chica of the sierras of South America.
Japan.
Kæmpfer, in his History of Japan, i., 121, tells us that in the manufacture of Sacke or Saki, [119] a strong and wholesome beer produced from rice, the Japanese are not excelled by any other people. This beer, a very ancient drink, is white when fresh, but becomes brown, [233] if it remains long in the cask. ”

“ A kind of beer brewed from rice is a usual drink; samshu is a spirit distilled from the same grain and at dinners is served hot in small bowls. Excellent native wines are made. The Chinese are, however, abstemious with regard to alcoholic liquors. Water is drunk hot by the very poor, as a substitute for tea. Tea is drunk before and after meals in cups without handle or saucer; the cups are always provided with a cover. ”

“ Of beverages the chief are tea, which is taken without sugar or milk, and sake, an alcoholic liquor prepared from rice, whose taste has been not inaptly compared to that of weak sherry which has been kept in a beer-bottle. It is generally taken hot, and at the beginning of dinner. Only when the drinking-bout is over, is the rice brought in: at a long dinner, one is apt never to reach it. When dining quietly in the home circle, the Japanese habitually drink tea only. Besides that drunk out of a cup, it is rather usual to have a little poured over the last bowlful of one's rice. ”

“ The first requisite of savage luxury is fermented liquor; refining it is the process of a more advanced stage. The Polynesians, like the Tupi tribes, drink their kava as thick as porridge. But Henry must have kept low company, if he never saw better ale than what he abuses, for the art of refining it was known at a much earlier age among the Northern nations. Mr. Turner, in his invaluable history of the Anglo-Saxons, quotes a grant of Offa, in which clear ale is mentioned, and distinguished from mild ale and Welch ale. ”

“ I’ll never forget when he let me into the secret of the drink he gave the workmen every hot summer afternoon. A huge washtub full of cold water into which was put a quart of raspberry shrub and a quart of pure alcohol. The men did not realize what they were drinking, as it looked 79like pink circus lemonade. Mr. Stone knew the government would not O. K. large bills for rum, but pure alcohol might be used for anything.
To anyone who has not seen a fish hatchery it is a fascinating place. ”

“ The quantities of alcohol, water, and sugar in an imperial pint of Brandy, Rum, and Gin, are shown in the Case 39.
The physical degeneracy and moral degradation attendant upon taking alcohol in excess are well known; and no language is too strong to condemn the folly and wickedness of those who thus convert one of the blessings of Providence into a curse.
In Cases 38 the visitor will see samples of alcohol obtained from various sources; also a variety of flavored spirits, or “liqueurs,” from various countries, and a Japanese spirit or liqueur, distilled from rice, called “soke,” or “saki.” ”

“ When M. Zola discovered, too, that sundry gentlemen—leaving wine to their wives and daughters—were addicted to drinking whisky with their meals, he was yet more astonished, for he claims that in France nowadays, greatly as the consumption of alcohol has increased among the masses, it has declined almost to vanishing point among people with any claim to culture. On this matter, however, I reminded him that wine was often expensive in England, that beer disagreed with many people, and that some who felt the need of a stimulant were thus driven to whisky and water. ”

“ In China it is the national beverage, and it is used not only as an ordinary drink, but it is the chief factor in visits of ceremony, and in hospitality. Japan, too, is a large consumer, and its houses of entertainment are “Tea” houses. In the wilds of Thibet its use is universal, and so it is on the steppes of Tartary, where, however, it is made as nauseous and repulsive a drink as possible. In Russia, it is the traveller’s [238] comfort, and every post house is bound by law to have its samovar hot and boiling, ready for the wayfarer. ”

“ They may do anything to you, but you must not get back at them, no matter how right you are. You know, it hurts their feelings to know the truth, but don’t expect them to show any feeling for you. But to get back to the liquor question, Sana. I have several recipes with me, for very good drinks. I got them from the Duncans, friends of mine, you know. They have been making home-brew ever since the country went dry. The stuff they make is good and has a decided kick to it. I have had some several times at their home. I enjoy a good drink once in a while myself, you know. ”

“ Sherman instantly took the alarm. "I am afraid," she said, that these domestic wines create an appetite for more hurtful drinks. Don't you think so, Edward?"
"Why no, mother. If every family kept a supply of pure domestic wine in the cellar, and were at liberty to drink when they pleased, there would, in my opinion, be much less drunkenness than there is at present. Plenty of pure wine would soon do away with the adulterated liquors so common in public places and social drinking would become much more harmless than it is at present. ”

“ The proportions of the different ingredients are generally from forty to fifty pounds of grain, to which is added one pound of gaisho, and two pounds of bikkalo. From these quantities are made about thirty gallons of very good beer, but which, as I have observed before, will not keep more than ten or twelve days, which is one reason why ale is brewed generally in such small quantities.
There is no beverage so largely indulged in by the Shoans, whether Christian or Islam, as tallah. ”

“ The stanch old soakers, on the other hand,—men who, if put on tap, would have yielded a red alcoholic liquor by way of blood,—usually confined themselves to plain brandy-and-water, gin, or West India rum; and, oftentimes, they prefaced their dram with some medicinal remark as to the wholesomeness and stomachic qualities of that particular drink. ”

“ The genealogy and rank of all Samoans are so well known that, amongst themselves, there is no question in determining the order of precedence in drinking. With foreigners present, however, the matter of rank is a complicated one. Unless a native of supreme rank, like Maatafa of Apia, who was nearer our idea of a king than any other Samoan, is to be served, it is customary to offer the first drink of kava to the most distinguished [269] of the visitors, the next to the highest chief, the next to the second most important visitor, and so by alternation. ”

“ They celebrate with beer every event—the traveller’s return, the birth of a child, and the death of an elephant—a labourer will not work unless beer is provided for him. A guest is received with a gourdful of beer, and, amongst some tribes, it is buried with their princes. The highest orders rejoice in drink, and pride themselves upon powers of imbibing: the proper diet for a king is much beer and a little meat. If a Mnyamwezi be asked after eating whether he is hungry, he will reply yea, meaning that he is not drunk. ”

“ The people of the countries from the Gambia to the Senegal use a kind of beer called ballo. At a village called Wezo there is a beer called otèe, a sort of ale made from millet, of a very enlivening nature. Another sort of beer, called gear, is found at Ragada. At Whidah an excellent beer is made from two sorts of maize. The Jews at Taffilet use beer of their own brewing. Isaacs (Travels in Africa, ii., 319) says that the Zoola nation, between Delagoa Bay and the Bay of Natal, has a description of beer, with which the natives are wont to get drunk. ”

“ Soma is also rich in healing and lord of the plants. When quaffed, he stimulates speech and is the lord of speech. He is a maker of seers, a protector of prayer, and his wisdom is extolled. He gazes with wisdom on men and so has a thousand eyes. The fathers, no less than men and gods, love him, and through him they found the light and the cows. The great deeds of the gods owe their success to their drinking the soma, with three lakes of which Indra fills himself for the slaying of Vṛtra. When drunk by Indra, Soma made the sun to rise in the sky, and hence Soma is declared to perform the feat ”