Seeds in Ancient Malay, Part II

Continuing with the last post regarding the small seeds in Malay that Ralph Olsen mentions to equate with “sheum,” the following seeds are about the only ones found in ancient Malay. This is taken from the “seeds of Malay”:

Fennel is a highly aromatic and flavorful herb indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean, but is called variyali in Tamil and Malayalam language. Sesame, edible seeds grown in pods, though indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa, was first domesticated in India and flourished in Pakistan, was called ellu in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada. A tomentose herb with eight tiny seeds in each cell, called Nelsonia, grew in sub-tropical areas, such as Malay. The kerbau or carabid is a plant that yields fragrant, spicy seeds, used to flavor bread, etc.

Upper left: Quinoa Seeds, a grain grown in South America; Upper right: Fennel, an herb in Malay; Lower Left: tomentose, an herb in Malay; Lower right: kerbau, in Malay--it is not a grain

Dried fruits or seeds, such as fennel, mustard and black pepper were part of the spice trade in the Malay area. Seeds of the Saga Tree are red and highly decorative, but only eaten during famine. The fruit papaya is found in India, China, Sri Lanka, Malay, Mexico, Brail, Peru, Venezuela, Africa, Philippines, Australia and most of the Pacific Islands. Fenugreek is a small stony seed from the pod of a bean-like plant found in Malay. The fruit bat in Malay rain forest disperses small seeds of trees in the rain forest. The small seedpod of the Cardamom, native to India, is a kind of Indian spice plant—the Elettaria and Amomum are part of the ginger family.

Interestingly enough, there are no “small seeds” in the many lists that could equate to Olsen’s claim that “sheum,” a small seed from Mesopotamia, made its way to the Malay Peninsula.

Keep in mind that “sheum” was raised by the Nephites in the Land of Nephi and was planted by Zeniff (Mosiah 9:9) along with the other grains of corn, wheat, barley and neas.

On this subject, Olsen also quotes John L. Sorenson who wrote that “sheum was a small grain grown near Nimrod where Jaredites collected seeds about 3,000 B.C.“ Olsen wrote about this: “Later the name would have changed. Finding the term in Mosiah provides excellent support for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon and for Mala but not for Meso. Small grains were not grown in Ancient Mesoamerica.”

However, small grains were grown in the Andean area of South America, and not one (sheum) but two (sheum and neas) were found there dating to about 3000 B.C. These are supergrains and their value has been written about in these posts many times.

In fact, by the time the Inca arrived on the scene, quinoa was such an important grain in the Andes, that they called it chisiiya mama or "mother grain" in the Quecha language. The grain was so sacred that each season the first seed was planted by the Inca king using a golden spade. Today, quinoa is still a staple crop grown by farmers throughout the highlands of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. For the people of this region, quinoa is an important source of protein–a protein of such high quality from a nutritional standpoint, that it often takes the place of meat in their diets.

The seeds of quinoa are very small, about the size of millet. They range in color from ivory to pinks, brown to reds, or almost black depending on the variety. There are over 120 species of Chenopodium, but only three main varieties are cultivated; one producing very pale seeds, called the white or sweet variety; a dark red fruited variety called red quinoa; and a black quinoa. The seeds are similar in size to millet but are flat with a pointed oval shape and look like a cross between a sesame seed and millet. Quinoa has a delightful characteristic that is all it's own: as it cooks, the outer germ around each grain twists outward forming a little white, spiral tail, which is attached to the kernel. The grain itself is soft and delicate and the tail is crunchy which creates and interesting texture combination and pleasant "crunch" when eating the grain. Quinoa has a fluffy consistency and a mild, delicate, slightly nutty flavor that borders on bland. The leaves of the Goosefoot (quinoa) plant are also edible and make a pleasant vegetable, like spinach. A quinoa leaf salad is generally more nutritious than most green salads.

Of all the seeds associated with Malay, none are grains and none have the food value and range of use as the quinoa seed.

(See the next post, “Sheum in Ancient Times,” for more information on the plant that is known as Sheum in the Book of Mormon, and its ancient useage and growth area)