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{{short description|Zoroastrian sacred plant and drink}}
{{italic title}}
'''{{lang|ae-Latn|Haoma}}''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|oʊ|m|ə}}; [[Avestan]]: {{lang|ae|{{script|Avst|𐬵𐬀𐬊𐬨𐬀}}}}) is a divine plant in [[Zoroastrianism]] and in later Persian culture and [[Persian mythology|mythology]]. {{lang|ae-Latn|Haoma}} has its origins in [[Indo-Iranian religion]] and is the cognate of [[Vedas|Vedic]] {{lang|vsn-Latn|[[Soma (drink)|soma]]}}.{{sfn|van der Toorn|Becking|van der Horst|1999|p=384}}{{sfn|Guénon|2004|p=320}}

==Etymology==
Both [[Avestan]] {{lang|ae-Latn|haoma}} and [[Sanskrit]] {{lang|vsn-Latn|[[Soma (drink)|soma]]}} derived from [[Proto-Indo-Iranian language|proto-Indo-Iranian]] *{{lang|iir-Latn|sauma}}. The root of the word {{lang|ae-Latn|haoma}}, {{lang|ae-Latn|hu-}}, and of {{lang|vsn-Latn|soma}}, {{lang|vsn-Latn|su-}}, suggests 'press' or 'pound'.{{sfn|Taillieu|2002}}

In [[Old Persian cuneiform]] it was known as {{lang|peo-Xpeo|𐏃𐎢𐎶}} {{lang|peo-Latn|hauma}}, as in the [[DNa inscription]] (c. 490 BC) which makes reference to "''haoma''-drinking [[Scythians]]" ({{lang|peo-Latn|Sakā haumavargā}}).

The [[Middle Persian]] form of the name is {{lang|pal-Prti|𐭧𐭥𐭬}} {{lang|pal-Latn|hōm}}, which continues to be the name in Modern [[Persian language|Persian]] and other living [[Iranian languages]] ({{lang|fa|هوم}}).

==As a plant==
===In the Avesta===
The physical attributes, as described in the texts of the [[Avesta]], include:
* the plant has stems, roots and branches ({{lang|ae-Latn|[[Yasna]]}} 10.5).
* it has a plant {{lang|ae-Latn|asu}} ({{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 9.16). The term {{lang|ae-Latn|asu}} is only used in conjunction with a description of {{lang|ae-Latn|haoma}}, and does not have an established translation. It refers to 'twigs' according to Dieter Taillieu, 'stalk' according to Robert Wasson, 'fibre' or 'flesh' according to Ilya Gershevitch, 'sprouts' according to [[Lawrence Heyworth Mills]].
* it is tall ({{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 10.21, {{lang|ae-Latn|[[Vendidad]]}} 19.19)
* it is fragrant ({{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 10.4)
* it is golden-green (standard appellation, {{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 9.16 et al.)
* it can be pressed ({{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 9.1, 9.2)
* it grows on the mountains, 'swiftly spreading', 'apart on many paths' ({{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 9.26, 10.3-4 et al.) 'to the gorges and abysses' ({{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 10–11) and 'on the ranges' ({{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 10.12)

The indirect attributes (i.e., as effects of its consumption) include:
* it furthers healing ({{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 9.16-17, 9.19, 10.8, 10.9)
* it furthers sexual arousal ({{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 9.13-15, 9.22)
* it is physically strengthening ({{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 9.17, 9.22, 9.27)
* it stimulates alertness and awareness ({{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 9.17, 9.22, 10.13)
* the mildly intoxicating extract can be consumed without negative side effects ({{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 10.8).
* it is nourishing ({{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 9.4, 10.20) and 'most nutritious for the soul' ({{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 9.16).

===In present-day Zoroastrianism===
Many of the physical attributes as described in the texts of the Avesta match the plant used in present-day Zoroastrian practice. In present-day preparation of ''parahaoma'' (for details, see [[Ab-Zohr]]),
* the twigs are repeatedly pounded in the presence of a little water, which suggests ancient {{lang|ae-Latn|haoma}} was also water-soluble.
* the twigs have to be imported by Indian-Zoroastrians, who believe that they are, for climatic reasons, not obtainable on the Indian subcontinent.
* very small quantities are produced.

According to Falk, [[Parsi people|Parsi]]-Zoroastrians use a variant of [[Ephedra (plant)|ephedra]], usually ''Ephedra procera'', imported from the [[Hari River, Afghanistan|Hari River]] valley in [[Afghanistan]].{{sfn|Falk|1989|p=86}}

===Botanic identification===
{{main|Botanical identity of soma–haoma}}

Since the late 18th century, when [[Anquetil-Duperron]] and others made portions of the Avesta available to western scholarship, several scholars have sought a representative botanical equivalent of the {{lang|ae-Latn|haoma}} as described in the texts and as used in living Zoroastrian practice. Most of the proposals concentrated on either linguistic evidence or comparative pharmacology or reflected ritual use. Rarely were all three considered together, which usually resulted in such proposals being quickly rejected.

[[File:Ephedra distachya.jpg|thumb|200px|A representative of the genus ''[[Ephedra (genus)|Ephedra]].'']]
In the late 19th century, the highly conservative Zoroastrians of [[Yazd]] (Iran) were found to use [[Ephedra (plant)|genus'' Ephedra'']], which was locally known as ''hum'' or ''homa'' and which they exported to the Indian Zoroastrians.<ref>[[James Edward Tierney Aitchison|J.E.T. Aitchison]], "The botany of the Afghan delimitation commission" ''Trans. LinnEan Soc. of London.'', 1888.</ref> The plant, as Falk also established, requires a cool and dry climate, i.e. it does not grow in India (which is either too hot or too humid or both) but thrives in central Asia. Later, it was discovered that a number of [[Iranian languages]] and Persian dialects have ''hom'' or similar terms as the local name for some variant of ''Ephedra''. Considered together, the linguistic and ritual evidence appeared to conclusively establish that {{lang|ae-Latn|haoma}} was some variant of ''Ephedra''.

In the latter half of the 20th century, several studies attempted to establish {{lang|ae-Latn|haoma}} as a [[psychotropic]] substance, basing their arguments on the assumption that proto-Indo-Iranian *{{lang|iir-Latn|sauma}} was a [[hallucinogen]]. This assumption relies on [[Rigveda]] [[wikisource:The Rig Veda/Mandala 8/Hymn 48|Mandala 8, Hymn 48]].  {{harvtxt|Falk|1989}} and {{harvtxt|Houben|2003a}} reject this assumption, positing that ''souma'' was not hallucinogenic.  Considering all 115 hymns dedicated to ''souma'' in whole, rather than the single hymn [[wikisource:The Rig Veda/Mandala 8/Hymn 48|RV 8.48]], and modern usage of ''Ephedra'' by practitioners, Falk and Houben conclude that ''Ephedra'' could be the only logical identity of ''souma''. Moreover, the references to [[entheogen]]ic properties were only in conjunction with a fermentation of the plant extract, which does not have enough time to occur in living custom.

In the conclusion of his observations on a 1999 Haoma-Soma workshop in [[Leiden]], Jan E. M. Houben writes: "despite strong attempts to do away with Ephedra by those who are eager to see *{{lang|iir-Latn|sauma}} as a hallucinogen, its status as a serious candidate for the Rigvedic Soma and Avestan Haoma still stands".{{sfn|Houben|2003a}} This supports Falk, who in his summary noted that "there is no need to look for a plant other than ''Ephedra'', the one plant used to this day by the [[Parsi people|Parsis]]."{{sfn|Falk|1989}}
<!-- NO ADDITIONS. Those belong in the main article at [[Botanic identity of Soma-Haoma]] -->

==As a divinity ({{lang|ae-Latn|Dūraoša|italic=no}}) ==
The [[Yazata]] {{lang|ae-Latn|Haoma}}, also known by the Middle Persian name {{lang|pal-Latn|Hōm Yazad}}, is the epitome of the quintessence of the {{lang|ae-Latn|haoma}} plant, venerated in the ''[[Hom Yasht|Hōm Yašt]]'', the hymns of {{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 9–11.

In those hymns, {{lang|ae-Latn|Haoma}} is said to appear before Zoroaster in the form of {{lang|ae-Latn|Dūraoša|italic=no}},{{sfn|Kellens|2011}} a "beautiful man" (this is the only anthropomorphic reference), who prompts him to gather and press {{lang|ae-Latn|haoma}} for the purification of the waters (see [[Aban]]). {{lang|ae-Latn|Haoma}} is  'righteous' and 'furthers righteousness', is 'wise' and 'gives insight' (Yasna 9.22). {{lang|ae-Latn|Haoma}} was the first priest, installed by [[Ahura Mazda]] with the sacred girdle {{lang|ae-Latn|aiwiyanghan}} ({{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 9.26) and serves the [[Amesha Spenta]]s in this capacity (''[[Avesta#The Yashts|Yasht]]'' 10.89). "Golden-green eyed" {{lang|ae-Latn|Haoma}} was the first to offer up {{lang|ae-Latn|haoma}}, with a "star-adorned, spirit-fashioned mortar," and is the guardian of "mountain plants upon the highest mountain peak." (''Yasht'' 10.90)

{{lang|ae-Latn|Haoma}} is associated with the [[Amesha Spenta]] {{lang|ae-Latn|Vohu Manah}} (Avestan, Middle Persian {{lang|pal-Latn|Vahman}} or {{lang|pal-Latn|Bahman}}), the guardian of all animal creation. {{lang|ae-Latn|Haoma}} is the only divinity with a ''Yasht'' who is not also represented by a day-name dedication in the [[Zoroastrian calendar]]. Without such a dedication, {{lang|ae-Latn|Haoma}} has ceased to be of any great importance within the Zoroastrian hierarchy of angels.

==In tradition and folklore==

===In the legend of Zoroaster's conception===
The Haoma plant is a central element in the legend surrounding the conception of [[Zoroaster]]. 
In the story, his father Pouroshaspa took a piece of the Haoma plant and mixed it with milk. He gave his wife Dugdhova one half of the mixture and he consumed the other. They then conceived Zoroaster who was instilled with the spirit of the plant.

According to tradition, Zoroaster received his revelation on a riverbank while preparing ''parahaoma'' for the [[Ab-Zohr]] (Zatspram 21.1), that is, for the symbolic purification of ''[[Aban]]'' ("the waters"). This symbolic purification is also evident in {{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 68.1, where the celebrant makes good for the damage done to water by humanity: "These offerings, possessing {{lang|ae-Latn|haoma}}, possessing milk, possessing pomegranate, shall compensate thee".

===Traditional ''barsom''===
It is possible that the ''barsom'' (Var. Avestan ''baresman'') bundle of twigs was originally a bundle of Haoma stalks. The Haoma divinity is identified with priesthood (see [[#As a divinity (Dūraoša)|Haoma as a divinity]]), while the ''barsom'' stalks "cut for the bundles bound by women" ({{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 10.17) is the symbol and an instrument of Zoroastrian priests. Today the ''barsom'' is made from pomegranate twigs (''cf:'' preparation of ''parahaoma'' for the [[Ab-Zohr]]).

===In the ''Shahnameh'' ===
In [[Ferdowsi|Ferdowsi's]] ''[[Shahnameh]]'', which incorporates stories from the Avesta (with due acknowledgement), Hom appears as a hermit, dweller of the mountains, incredibly strong. He binds [[Afrasiab]] (Middle Persian, Avestan: "the fell Turanian {{lang|ae-Latn|Frangrasyan}}", {{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 11.7) with the sacred girdle, and drags him from deep within the earth (named the {{lang|ae-Latn|hankana}} in Avestan, {{lang|pal-Latn|hang-e-Afrasiab}} in middle Persian) where Afrasiab has his "metal-encircled" kingdom that is immune to mortal attack.

In another episode, Vivaŋhat is the first of the humans to press {{lang|ae-Latn|haoma}}, for which Hom rewards him with a son, [[Jamshid]]. {{lang|ae-Latn|Yasna}} 9.3-11 has [[Zoroaster]] asking the divinity who (first) prepared {{lang|ae-Latn|haoma}} and for what reward, to which Haoma recalls Vivanghvant (Persian: Vivaŋhat) to whom Yima Xshaeta ([[Jamshid]]) is born; [[Abtin|Athwya]] (Abtin) to whom Thraetaona ([[Fereydun]]) is born; and Thrita to whom Urvaxshaya and Keresaspa (Karshasp and Garshasp) are born. The latter two are also characters in priestly heroic tradition, and among conservative Zoroastrians of the hereditary priesthood, Haoma is still prayed to by those wanting children (in particular, honorable sons who will also become priests).
The account given in the Indian Vedas closely agrees with that of the Iranian [[Avesta]].  The first preparers of Soma are listed as Vivasvat, who is the father of [[Yama (Hinduism)|Yama]] and [[Manu (Hinduism)|Manu]], and [[Trita|Trita Aptya]].

===Darmesteter===
[[James Darmesteter]], in his 1875 thesis on the mythology of the Avesta, speculating on the [[Parsi people|Parsi]] belief that Ephedra twigs do not decay, wrote:<blockquote>...&nbsp;it comprises the power of life of all the vegetable kingdom ... both the Ved[as] and the Avesta call it the 'king of healing herbs' ... the zarathustri scriptures say that homa is of two kinds, the white haoma and the painless tree. Could it be that soma is the [[tree of life]]? the giver of immortality?</blockquote>

The Indian-Zoroastrian belief mentioned above also manifests itself in the present-day Zoroastrian practice of administering a few drops of ''parahaoma'' to the new-born or dying (see [[Ab-Zohr]]). The belief also appears to be very old, and be cross-cultural. As Falk, recalling [[Marc Aurel Stein|Aurel Stein]]'s discovery of Ephedra plants interred at 1st-century CE [[Tarim Basin]] burial sites, notes: "an imperishable plant, representing or symbolizing the continuity of life, is most appropriate to burial rites".{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

=== In the ''Wizidagiha-i Zadspram'' ===
A legendary 'White Hom' grows at the junction of the "great gathering place of the waters" <!-- (named {{lang|ae-Latn|Vourukasha}} in Avestan, Middle Persian: {{lang|pal-Latn|Varkash}}) --> and a mighty river<!-- (proto-Indo-Iranian: ''*harahvati'', Avestan: ''Aredvi Sura'', Middle Persian: {{lang|pal-Latn|Ardvisur}}) -->. According to the ''[[Wizidagiha-i Zadspram]]'', at the end of time, when [[Ahura Mazda|Ormuzd]] triumphs over [[Angra Mainyu|Ahriman]], the followers of the good religion will share a ''parahom'' made from the 'White Hom', <!-- (named ''Gaokerena'' in Avestan, middle Persian: ''Gokarn'') --> and so attain immortality for their resurrected bodies. (''Zadspram'' 35.15)

==Comparison of haoma/soma==
Beyond the establishment of a common origin of {{lang|ae-Latn|haoma}} and ''soma'' and numerous attempts to give that common origin a botanical identity, little has been done to compare the two. As [[Indologist]] Jan Houben also noted in the proceedings of a 1999 workshop on Haoma-Soma, "apart from occasional and dispersed remarks on similarities in structure and detail of Vedic and Zoroastrian rituals, little has been done on the systematic comparison of the two".{{sfn|Houben|2003a}} As of 2003, no significant comparative review of cultural/sacred Haoma/Soma had extended beyond [[Alfred Hillebrandt]]'s 1891 comparison of the Vedic deity and the Zoroastrian divinity.{{sfn|Hillebrandt|1891}}

All more recent studies that address commonality have dealt only with botanical identification of proto-Indo-Iranian *{{lang|iir-Latn|sauma}}. Houben's workshop, the first of its kind, dealt with "the nature of the Soma/Haoma plant and the juice pressed from it" and that "the main topic of the workshop (was) the identity of the Soma/Haoma."{{sfn|Houben|2003b}}
<!--
These often include a side-by-side enumeration of descriptions of the plant from the ancient texts, but usually focus on the Vedic attributes because of the lack of Avestan ones: only three chapters of the ''[[Yasna]]'' and some additional fragments among the ''Yashts'' deal with {{lang|ae-Latn|haoma}} (''cf.'': ''ca.'' 120 hymns of the [[Rig Veda]] that are dedicated to [[soma (drink)|soma]]).-->

==See also==
* [[Botanical identity of soma–haoma]]
* [[Ab-Zohr]], preparation and use of ''parahaoma'' in this rite
* ''[[Manna]]'', the Biblical edible equivalent.
* ''[[Soma (drink)|Soma]]'', the Vedic equivalent of {{lang|ae-Latn|Haoma}}.
* [[Tree of life]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Boyce|first=Mary|author-link=Mary Boyce|title=Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices|url=https://archive.org/details/zoroastriansthei00boyc_0|url-access=registration|publisher=Routledge|location=London|year=1979|isbn=0-415-23903-6}}
* {{cite book|title=History of Zoroastrianism|last=Dhalla|first=Maneckji Nusserwanji|year=1938|location=New York|publisher=OUP}}
* {{cite journal|last=Falk|first=Harry|title=Soma I and II|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies|volume=52/1|year=1989|location=London|publisher=UCL Press|jstor=617914|pages=77–90|issue=1|doi=10.1017/S0041977X00023077|s2cid=146512196}} <!-- pp 77-90 -->
* {{cite book |last1=Guénon |first1=René |title=Symbols of Sacred Science |date=2004 |publisher=Sophia Perennis |isbn=978-0-900588-77-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CnFHWKHBlEgC&q=soma+haoma&pg=PA320}}
* {{cite book|last=Hillebrandt|first=Alfred|year=1891|title=Vedische Mythologie. I: Soma und verwandte Goetter|location=Breslau|publisher=Koebner}}
* {{cite journal|last=Houben|first=Jan E. M.|title=The Soma-Haoma problem|journal=Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies|volume=9/1a|date=May 4, 2003a}}
* {{cite journal|last=Houben|first=Jan E. M.|title=Report of the Workshop|journal=Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies|volume=9/1b|date=May 4, 2003b}}
* {{Cite EncIranica |last=Kellens |first=Jean |article=Dūraoša |orig-year=1996 |date=2 December 2011 |article-id=duraosa}} <!-- {{cite encyclopedia |last=Kellens |first=Jean |article=Dūraoša |title=Encyclopaedia Iranica | orig-year=1996 |date=2 December 2011 | url=https://www.iranica.com/articles/duraosa | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205093030/https://www.iranica.com/articles/duraosa | archive-date=5 December 2017 | url-status=usurped | access-date=6 April 2022}} -->
* {{cite book|translator-last=Mills |translator-link=Lawrence Heyworth Mills|translator-first=Lawrence Heyworth|chapter=''Yasna'' 9-11 (Hom Yasht)|chapter-url=http://www.avesta.org/yasna/yasna.htm#y9 |editor-last=Müller|editor-link=Max Müller |editor-first=Friedrich Max |title=[[Sacred Books of the East]] |volume=31|year=1887|publisher=Oxford University Press}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|title=Haoma|last=Taillieu|first=Dieter and [[Mary Boyce|Boyce, Mary]]|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Iranica]]|year=2002|location=New York|publisher=Mazda Pub|url=http://www.iranica.com/articles/v11f6/v11f6059.html|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060629013423/http://www.iranica.com/articles/v11f6/v11f6059.html|archive-date=2006-06-29}}
* {{cite book |last1=van der Toorn |first1=Karel|last2=Becking |first2=Bob |last3=van der Horst |first3=Pieter Willem |title=Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible |date=1999 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-2491-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&q=soma+haoma&pg=PA384}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Soma (drink)| ]]
[[Category:Ancient Iranian religion]]
[[Category:Yazatas]]
[[Category:Entheogens]]
[[Category:Persian mythology]]