Food, Religion and Medicine: Black Seed

Referent/in: Remke Kruk, Leiden

Abstract

Interest in herbal lore is widespread in the Arab world. Books on herbal lore, often directly connected to the medieval tradition, are available in even the smallest bookshops in the Arab world. In these books, interest in the medical properties of plants alternates with culinary applications. The discussion about the useful properties of plants is sometimes embedded in a religious context. All this is particularly clear in the case of “black seed”, habba sawda’ (Nigella sativa). Attention for this particular herb has boomed in recent years. Some modern Arabic treatises on this herb as well as material from the Internet will be discussed.