Introduction

For a long time, Aloe Vera has been used by different communities. The diversity of its use has sparked different believes and stories that surround the herbal medicine. Some of the stories have been tested over time, and their validity has been proven over generations by experience. There are diverse folklores that surround Aloe Vera, and some of the stories add value to its use while others depict the weakness of the plant. The history of the plantdates w back to centuries where dynasties and early Greek medicine men used it in curing different diseases. The superstitions that surround the plant vary from one community to another. The existence of some of the beliefs was based on good luck and the evil that was associated with the plant. However, the culture of the community determined the type of myth, superstition, or stories created around Aloe Vera.

Stories

The ancient Egyptians and chines were among the first people to recognize the medicinal value of Aloe Vera. The two communities used the plant to treat wounds, burns, and reduce fever. One of the old stories reports that Alexander the Great, the king of ancient Greek, conquered Socotra, an island off the coast of Africa, to obtain more Aloe Vera for injured soldiers in the war. Aristotle primarily supported the conquest of the island. Aloe Vera was believed to cure more soldiers who were injured in battle. As a result, the conquest to obtain more of the plant intensified. The coastal islands of north Africa were pursued heavily by armed men sent by Alexander the Great. Since Greek had many medical scholars, part of their work was to discover new medical interventions not only for the soldiers but also for the community. As a consequence, Aristotle supported the invasion of Africa and the acquisition of more Aloe Vera products. He advised the King, Alexander, about getting the supply of the plant from Africa after he had demonstrated the effectiveness of the plant in wound healing. Moreover, the community embraced the medicine and more quantities were needed. In essence, the value of the Aloe Vera plant was discovered in early times and the urgency to acquire more of the product was heightened in the ancient times.

On another account, Cleopatra, an Egyptian queen, used Aloe Vera to advance her beauty. Her reputation of maintaining her beauty was accredited to the regular application of Aloe Vera on her skin. Her beauty forced her lover, Mark Antony, name Aloe Vera the “beauty herb”.Being one of the most famous queens of Ancient Egypt, Cleopatra had to sustain her splendor and appearyouthful. Besides, she intended to impress her lover continuously. The two needs necessitated the royal workers to discovera secret for her to look younger and attractive. The breakthrough came after discovering Aloe Vera plant. The queen, therefore, embraced the culture of using the juice extract of the plant for her skin. In essence, the skin application of Aloe Vera can be traced to many years ago as the story informs. Besides, the Japanese soldiers who were exposed to bombing during the ancient days are reported to have used Aloe Vera herb for the wounds they survived. Moreover, the plant was important in reducing the size of a scar after healing.

Myths

One of the popular myth on Aloe Vera is based on Astarte, the Phoenician goddess of love and fertility. The legend states that love and fertility powers of the goddess emanated from her unceasing use of the Aloe Plant on the skin. The result of the constant use of Aloe Vera was that her skin was continually glowing and this gave her powers to maintain fertility and love among the population. This myth was based on the Phoenician culture that would directly relate the occurrence of good events to a goddess. Moreover, the goddess needed to be accredited to a natural plant or animal that she liked or used. As a result, the community termed the Aloe Vera plant as the goddess of love and fertility based on her constant use of the plant.

Increasingly, a myth surrounded the use of Aloe Vera by Queen Cleopatra. It is believed that she used to wake up and sit by the Nile River all day while her servants applied the Aloe extract on her skin. The same myth states that she never didanything substantial except caring for her skin using the Vera Plant. This myth was not true since the queen had tasks within the kingdom. The day-to-day governance of the empire depended on her. However, the mismatch between her beauty and the different kingdom tasks she had to complete, made the society come up with this myth. Moreover, in the rural African community, the members of a society would bathe in Aloe Vera extract to prevent any attacks of plague or flu. Therefore, these myths were coined to create an understanding of the secret of beauty after using Aloe Vera.

Superstitions

In South America, Aloe is was considered as a sign of good luck. As a result, a majority of the homesteads had hung the plant on their doorsteps and business premises to improve their chance of business returns and visitors coming into the house. Known as Sabila, the plant was used in the Columbian culture as a sign of a supernatural proof of the “good things”. As a consequence, more respect was extended to the plant. An article published in The New York Times showed how people from South America used the plant to symbolize the triumph of Afrikaner couples over agonies by using the Aloe plant. The supernatural ability of the plant in “creating good out of bad” started to be observed when many Columbian couples who had marital misunderstandings were advised to bath and drink the juice from Aloe and what followed was agreements in marriage and good luck in theirsubsequent lives. Therefore, the community labeled Aloe as a good luck plant.

In Africa, growing an Aloe Vera plant in the kitchen was alleged to avert people from burns, and other kitchen-related accidents. Many individuals used the plant in their workplaces to attract more customers. The protective nature and the good luck that was associated with Aloe Vera came from a supernatural power that was hidden within the plant. Therefore, negative intentions were filtered by the power of the Aloe and only beneficial qualities were carried into the house. Since the culture of the Africans had embraced good over evil, many approaches of preventing evil had been activated by the society but had failed. However, the encounter with Aloe Vera would change the way people embraced guests to their houses or their businesses. Aloe Vera uses resulted in more good for the household. The power of the plant was attributed to the relationship with a supernatural being. Increasingly, in Nepal, Aloe Vera is also known as the god of all herbs because the plant has numerous uses than any other herb in the region. Its leaves have been used in Nepal to reduce aging of the skin and improve beauty in women. This superstition has been held up to the current generation. Since the Nepal culture assigns goddesses to different sections of the community, Aloe Vera has gained popularity as the god of all herbs.

Lastly, the Egyptians termed Aloe Vera as the “blood of the gods” because its juice was efficient in healing several ailments. Over 5000 years ago, the Egyptians identified the plant, and they used it in injured soldiers. The results of the application of Aloe Vera were as follows. Firsts, all soldiers were cured of their wounds and thus regained their normal health in a few days. Second, the Egyptians noticed that the death span of the soldiers was increased. As a result, they first named it the “plant of immortality”. Over time, they started to put the Aloe plant in pharaoh’s womb to create immortality in those still living. It was therefore termed as the “blood of the gods” that would bring back life after death.

Overall, there are different superstitions, myths, and folklores concerning Aloe Vera in different communities. The diversity of these beliefs is based on the cultural history of the community and the use of the plant for different purposes. Some of the strong opinions have been held to even the current generation. Despite their diversity in defining Aloe Vera, the bases of their arguments are that the plant has many benefits for human health.

Works Cited

FITCH, CHARLES. “Leisure; ALOE, A GOOD LUCK PLANT.” Breaking News, World News & Multimedia – The New York Times, 15 Feb. 1981, www.nytimes.com/1981/02/15/arts/leisure-aloe-a-good-luck-plant.html.

Jamir, T.T., et al. “Folklore medicinal plants of Nagaland, India.” Fitoterapia, vol. 70, no. 4, 1999, pp. 395-401.

Kaur, Gurpreet. “Aloe Vera: The Miracle Plant and its Therapeutic Uses.” The Indian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics, vol. 54, no. 4, 2017, p. 474.

KNEZOVIC, JASMINA. “Http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search’q=cache://contemporaryfoodlab.com/hungry-world/2014/07/aloe-vera-gotterblut/.” ALOE VERA, BLOOD OF THE gods, contemporaryfoodlab.com/hungry-world/2014/07/aloe-vera-gotterblut/. Accessed  2019.

 
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