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Haoma (; Avestan: ) is a divine plant in Zoroastrianism and in later Persian culture and mythology. Haoma has its origins in Indo-Iranian religion and is the cognate of Vedas soma.
In Old Persian cuneiform it was known as ðð¢ð¶ hauma, as in the DNa inscription (c. 490 BC) which makes reference to " haoma-drinking Scythians" (SakÄ haumavargÄ).
The Middle Persian form of the name is ð§ð¥ð¬ hÅm, which continues to be the name in Modern Persian language and other living Iranian languages (ÙÙÙ ).
The indirect attributes (i.e., as effects of its consumption) include:
According to Falk, Parsi people-Zoroastrians use a variant of ephedra, usually Ephedra procera, imported from the Hari River valley in Afghanistan.
In the late 19th century, the highly conservative Zoroastrians of Yazd (Iran) were found to use genus Ephedra, which was locally known as hum or homa and which they exported to the Indian Zoroastrians.J.E.T. Aitchison, "The botany of the Afghan delimitation commission" Trans. LinnEan Soc. of London., 1888. 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 haoma was some variant of Ephedra.
In the latter half of the 20th century, several studies attempted to establish haoma as a psychotropic substance, basing their arguments on the assumption that proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma was a hallucinogen. This assumption relies on Rigveda . and reject this assumption, positing that souma was not hallucinogenic. Considering all 115 hymns dedicated to souma in whole, rather than the single hymn , 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 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 *sauma as a hallucinogen, its status as a serious candidate for the Rigvedic Soma and Avestan Haoma still stands". 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."
In those hymns, Haoma is said to appear before Zoroaster in the form of italic=no, a "beautiful man" (this is the only anthropomorphic reference), who prompts him to gather and press haoma for the purification of the waters (see Aban). Haoma is 'righteous' and 'furthers righteousness', is 'wise' and 'gives insight' (Yasna 9.22). Haoma was the first priest, installed by Ahura Mazda with the sacred girdle aiwiyanghan (Yasna 9.26) and serves the in this capacity ( Yasht 10.89). "Golden-green eyed" Haoma was the first to offer up haoma, with a "star-adorned, spirit-fashioned mortar," and is the guardian of "mountain plants upon the highest mountain peak." ( Yasht 10.90)
Haoma is associated with the Amesha Spenta Vohu Manah (Avestan, Middle Persian Vahman or Bahman), the guardian of all animal creation. 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, Haoma has ceased to be of any great importance within the Zoroastrian hierarchy of angels.
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 Yasna 68.1, where the celebrant makes good for the damage done to water by humanity: "These offerings, possessing haoma, possessing milk, possessing pomegranate, shall compensate thee".
In another episode, VivaÅhat is the first of the humans to press haoma, for which Hom rewards him with a son, Jamshid. Yasna 9.3-11 has Zoroaster asking the divinity who (first) prepared haoma and for what reward, to which Haoma recalls Vivanghvant (Persian: VivaÅhat) to whom Yima Xshaeta (Jamshid) is born; Abtin (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 and Manu, and Trita.
... it comprises the power of life of all the vegetable kingdom ... both the Vedas 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?
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 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".
All more recent studies that address commonality have dealt only with botanical identification of proto-Indo-Iranian *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."
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