Hittite · Ottoman
Punica granatum
Pomegranate · Granatapfel · Nar
The fruit that has carried symbolic weight across every Anatolian culture since the Bronze Age.
Punica granatum — nar in Turkish — has appeared in Anatolian visual culture from Hittite Bronze Age reliefs through Iznik ceramic ware to today. The fruit has carried fertility, marriage, eternal life, and royal patronage in turn.
On the skin and hair, the dried peel — nar kabuğu — gives an astringent decoction the older Anatolian bridal preparation used for closeness of pores and the gentle dark tannin sheen the bridal day required.
Properties: astringent, antioxidant, mildly colouring. Traditional uses: peel decoction, hair rinse, skin tonic, gargle.
A fuller reading of this plant — etymology, documentation, ritual, the aktar tradition, regional specificity — will follow in time. The Journal carries one long-form piece each month; this plant will receive its own entry in the editorial rhythm.
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