Religious and Cultural Significance of the Citron
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Journal ofEnvironmental Science and Engineering A 4(2015)203—209 doi:10.17265/2162.5298/2015.04.006 Religious and Cultural Significance of the Citron iamante’)from Calabria(South Ita Iy): A BiblicaI Fruit of the Mediterranean Land Gina Maruca ,Gaetano Laghetti and Karl Hammer2 ,.Institute ofBioresources and Bioscience,National Council ofResearch,Bari 70126,Italy 2.Former Institute ofCrop Science,University ofKassel,Witzenhausen D一3 7213,Germany Abstract:The history and geographical origin of citron(Citrus medica L.)is still unknown but most of authors agree that it originated in Southeast Asia.There are different opinions about the exact period and the steps by which it was brought from its country of origin to the Mediterranean basin where it is cultivated in Corsica.Crete and in southern Italy(Calabria region).In particulary,Citrus medica‘Diamante’grows,almost exclusively,in a restricted area ofthe Tyrrhenian cost ofthe region Calabria, called“Riviera dei Cedri”,a relevant local economic district.This citron has been and is,still being used by Jews for worship during the Feast of Tabernacles,a very important religious ritual,where it plays a prominent part;in fact,for this holiday of Sukkot,the use of the authentic citron that grows in Calabria region is recommended,because it is not grafted.In this paper,the fascinating history of e medica and its spread from the centers of origin to the Mediterranean is reported with the aim to investigate the religious and cultural signiicance ofthe C.medica‘Difamante’.an exclusive and historical heritage ofthe Calabria region. Key words:Citron(Citusr medica L.),sukkot,Hebrew 1.Introduction Louvre Museum[ 7J_Evidence of citron seeds were found in the excavation of Sumerian ruins of old The citron(Citrus medica L.)is a species of the genus Citrus(Rutaceae).It is one of the three“basic’’ true species of this genus,with mandarin(C Nippur,in southem Babylonia(present・day Iraq), which date back to about 4000 B.C.[8].These seeds were probably brought either as an offering to a divinity or as a gift to a king.The citron was considered a valuable commodity due to its healing qualities,symbolic use and pleasant smell on the one reticulata Blanco)and pummelo(C maxima(Burm.) Merr.)[1,2],from which all the other are thought to be derived by interspecific hybridization[3,4]. C medica was the first citrus fruit brought under cultivation and the first species of Citrus to spread hand and its rarity on the other[9]. medica originated in eastern India and south west[5].In fact,according to most authors,the next-to—arrive citrus fruits,lemon and some oranges, China[5];in fact,the earliest references are to be found in the Vajasaneiy Samhita,a compilation of reached the Mediterranean only much later[6].The name of this plant itself is considered to provide evidence of its ancient origin.Knowledge on early history of citron crop is poor.This species was known in Egypt,at Pharaohs times,as a model proves which Vedic religion texts, called Yajur-Veda(ca. 1 200—1 000 B.C.)in which the term jambila appears indicating the citron.The Latin name medica,present in its binomial naming,refers to the ancient Media,a region that later became incorporated into the kingdom of Persia.Theophrastus,the great Greek was taken from a tomb(1200 B.C.)and stored at the COrrespOnding author: Gina Maruca, researcher, main botanist.in his Historia P ntarum.writes that there is research ifeld:ethnobotany.E—mail:gina.maruca@ibbr.cnr.it. 204 Religious and Cultural Significance of the Citron(Citrus medica k.‘Oiamante’l from Calabria(South Italy):A Biblical Fruit of the Mediterranean Land a plant in Persia which produces a fruit called the ‘‘Fruit of Persia’’or‘‘Fruit of Media’’or Persian citron or Median Apple(Book IV,Chapter IV).He gave an excellent morphological description of citron tree, describing how to produce and utilize its fruit that is not edible;moreover,he writes that the highly perfumed furits and leaves are used to protect laundry from moths[9].Also,the first of Latin writers,Virgil (70—19 B.C.)in his Georgics(Book II-146),describes the citron using the name Median apple whose juice with a persistently wretched taste,is an excellent remedy against poisons.Pliny the elder(25—79 A.D.), in his Historia Naturalis,names the citron Malus assyria and also,changed the Greek name Kedros into the Latin Citrus.Moreover,he says that the citron was used as antidote to poisons[1 0]. The diffusion of citron from its centre of origin in South—east Asia to the Mediterranean and other areas is still debated.Most taxonomists agree that the Jews knew the citron from Egypt,during a very long period of captivity(four・hundred years).They brought it to Palestine,and from there they carried it to all Mediterranean regions along with them in their diaspora,since the second century B.C.【l1—12].This Jewish migration took place towards Syrian areas of Minor Asia and Greece in the third and second century B.C..After the second destruction of the Salomon’s temple,in Jerusalem(70 A.D.)[13],a stream of Jewish people arrived to South Italy[1 4—1 6]. Some of them,landed in Rome[1 7]where they founded an important communiyt near Ancient Ostia, in the ruins of which the citron is often represented [1 8,1 9].The Jewish population increased in Italy, over the time[20,2 1]establishing communities in many other towns[22].C medica played a prominent role in Jewish religious rituals and appeared on Jewish coins,during 66-70 A.D. and other artistic representations【23].The presence of cirton in Italy is closely connected to the Jewish people that cultivated it for the Sukkot,or festiviyt of the Tabernacles, remembering the shelters used in the desert by the Jews escaping from Egypt,during the Exodus[24]. This important and sacred feast is celebrated after the vintage--time and olive harvest of which Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus(46-1 20 A.D.)writes in his Quaestiones Convivales[4,6,251. During the Sukkot,celebrated on the 1 5th day of the month of Tishrei and varying in time from late September to late October,due to the fact that the Jewish religion relies on a lunar calendar,the Jews have to walk around the perimeter of their synagogues, holding in their right hand a small bundle made up by an date—palm branch,two willow branches and three myrtle branches,while gripping in the left hand a citron furit[1 8].According to the Jewish rtadition,the four species used in this feast,mean the most important sins from which to escape,the palm is the pride,the willow is the slander,the myrtle is the inquisitiveness and the citron is the lust[26].For this important feast,the Jews used C.medica‘Diamante’ that is,almost exclusively,cultivated on a short stretch of Tyrrhenian coast,called“Riviera dei Cedri”, in Cosenza province(Fig.1 1. It is of unknown origin,but it is the leading cultivar in Italy and preferred elsewhere,because it furnishes the best candied peel,for food industyr[24,27].e medica‘Diamante’is suitable for Jewish riuta1 use. ofr reasons both of rtadition and morphology(shape, size,ecc.).It is the authentic citron(Fig.2)required ofr the Festiviyt,with fruit stalk present,light yellow fruit colour with a green tone and no black spots or blemishes,and should be,at least,twice the size of an egg,oblong shape,broad at the bottom and narrow at the top;moreover,it is very important that the fruits must be grown on trees which neither have been grafted nor any of their ancestors or preancestors[6]. 2.Material and Methods Scarciyt of information accounts for poor nkowledge about the history of the C medica‘Diamante’and its presence in Italy.So,classical and recent literature for understanding the symbolic—religious role of the citron Religious and Cultural Significance of the Citron(Citrus medica L.‘Diamante’)from Calabria(South Italy):A Biblical Fruit of the Mediterranean Land 207 country,at 300 m asl,with few little farms. Commercial farmers need large investments of time and labor to perform the horticultural practices necessary to produce salable fruit.This includes careful protection of the fruit against blemishes caused by wind,sunburn,thorns,and insects.The beauty of the fruit is important to observant Jews,and unblemished,shapely fruits,always a small minority of the crop,can sell for 1 00 dollars or more each. Blemished specimens,and fruits from grafted trees, are sometimes sold for culinary use.The rind is used to make preserves,and as a flavouring ingredient for savory dishes and alcoholic beverages.The candied peel is widely employed in the food industry and it is an essential constiutent in certain cakes(plum pudding, buns,sweet rolls)and confections.A special typical Calabrian dessert is‘'pannicello”that is made with raisins and citron candied fruit gathered into baked leaves;it is mentioned by the famous Italian poet Gabriele D’Annunzio in his narrative opera‘‘Leda senza cigno”(Leda without swan),for its wonderful taste【28].The gastronomic use of citron is very ancient;already,the Roman gastronomist Marco Gavio Apicio(25 B.C.),in his De re coquiraria, describes some recipes with a basis ofcitron[29]. Recent studies have been reported that the consumption of certain foods with a basis of citron, have a positive effect on health due to the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and hypoglycaemic potential of this fruit,at maturiyt stages [3 1]. Moreover,the anticholinesterase effect of‘Diamante’peel extract is important to treatment of diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease【321.Also,the essential oils characterized by a high content of limonene,a very effective terpene against cellular proliferation in the colon and pancreas cancer, are utilized in pharmaceutics and cosmetics[33]. 4.Discussion The citron is one of the most commercially important fruits together with mandarin f reticulata Blanco),sweet orange(C sinensis(L.)Osbeck),sour orange(Citrus aurantium L.),grapefruit(C.paradisi Macf.),lemon(C.1imon(L_)Osb.)and lime(C auranti 砌 (Christm.) Swingle), in the Mediterranean citurs industyr[3].It has been successfully grown and processed in other countries but its culutre has not persisted because of the inability to withstand competition from the Mediterranean.It was.and still is.an important cash crop for agricultural regional economy;the C medica ‘Diamante’cultivation for religious uses represents a ufrther pillar of the importance of citrus culutre.From commerciaI and industrial point of view. its production is totally used for industrial transformation Moreover,its medical qualities suggest a potential use f0r f0od or nutraceutical product due t0 the high content of interesting phytochemicals.From a historical perspective,the results of the present study, evidence the special role played by Jews in the spread of the citron as the authentic sacred furit used in their Tabernacles ritua1.Presumably.in the course of their wandering,Jewish people brought citron fruit or seed with them and,wherever possible,established the culutre of this unique citrus species. 5.Conclusions Scanty information has been responsible for poor knowledge about early history of this prestigious fruit that is involved in the origin of important citrus hybrids known to us today,such as the bergamot fe bergamia Risso et Poiteau).C medica is one of hte donor genotypes of modern cultivated varieties,with C.maxima and C.reticulata even if,the lineages that gave rise to most of them.have been lost in undocumented antiquiyt.Since the Roman period,the citron was the only citrus fruit known in the Mediterranean area.A better understanding is necessary of its cultural importance and the role of Jews in its spreading;in fact,since the first century A. D.,it became a fixed element in their feast of Tabernacles where played a prominent part.This nkowledge is crucial for the development of a 208 Religious and Cultural Significance of the Citron(Citrus medica L.‘Diamante’l from Calabria(South Italy):A Biblical Fruit of the Mediterranean Land … management policy that is aimed both at nature conservation and at improving the livelihood of local producers;they should be encouraged to cultivate this citrus,to allow the historical continuity of a millenary tradition.This fruit that the ancient Greeks and Romans held in high esteem as a delicate and pleasant perfume and moth repellent,represents an exclusive and historical heritage of this strip of Mediterranean land that unconsciously maintains aN enormous bib1 ica1 value. Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to Pietro Molinaro for his help in the planning activity.Many thanks are also due to Sig.Francesco Perrone for his support and assistance in hte visit of the places.The authors would like to thank Prof.Francesco Galiano for his most valuable notes and Dr.Angelo Pagliaro for his useful comments. References Scora.R.W.1 975.“On the History and Origin of Citrus.”Bull 710 Df C b l02 r61:369.375. Barret.H.C.,and Rhodes.A.M.1 976.“A Numerical Taxonomic Study of A伍nity Relationships in Cultivated Citrus and Its Close Relatives.”Syst.Bot.1(2):105—136. Mabberley,D.J.2004.“Citurs(Rutaceae):A Review of Recent Advances in Etymology, Systematic and Medicinal Applications.”Blumea 49(2):49l一498. Wu.G.A.201 4.“Sequencing of Diverse Mandarin. Pummel and Omnge Genomes Reveals Complex History of Admixture during Citms Domestication.”Nature Biotechnology 32(7):597-698. 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