Danuta Penkala-Gawęcka

Syrian rue (Peganum harmala L.) in Central Asian traditions and its popularity in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic: perspective of medical anthropology

Syrian rue (Peganum harmala L.) has been traditionally used in Central Asia for medical purposes, e.g. for treating skin diseases, joint pain, sore throat and cough. It is also applied as an apotropaic means – fumigation with the smoke of burning dried twigs of Syrian rue is commonly practised to ward off evil spirits, “evil eye” and other malevolent forces. According to the other explanations, it has purifying effects and kills microbes. In this article I briefl y outline early descriptions of Peganum harmala in the medical texts of scholars and physicians representing Greek- Arabic-Persian medicine, and focus on the role of this plant in people’s everyday life in Central Asia, based on my field materials from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and literature. In addition, I present the career of Peganum harmala in Central Asian countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, when fumigation with its smoke has been widely practised to protect against the coronavirus. Syrian rue was also used – beside several other plants – by some heads of state, who promoted local traditional medicines at time when they were failing to tackle the pandemic crisis. Applying an anthropological perspective, I pay particular attention to the wider context of these developments and analyse socio-cultural, political and economic factors that have contributed to the increased popularity of Peganum harmala. I also point out possible benefits of testing traditional herbal medicines as potential treatments for COVID-19 and other viral infections and refer to Asian traditional medical systems, especially traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), whose contribution to overcoming the pandemic has been recognised by the WHO.

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