These particular roots are steeped in spirit, to make 'ginseng wine'. Here's a photo I took of a ginseng vendor's display at Namdaemun market on that previously-referenced trip to South Korea, with signs in Vietnamese and Japanese. Although most of the commercially available supply is cultivated on farms, the most valuable kind is wild ginseng, which grows in mountainous terrain. To my mind it may owe this favored status to the physical remoteness of the Korean peninsula and the air of mystery that goes with it, as well as whatever actual efficacy the plant possesses but in any case native ginseng is still a perennial favorite at gift shops in Seoul that cater to tourists from other Asian countries. Here's a piece of ginseng trivia: while ginseng is found in diverse places in East Asia, I've read that traditionally the kind that grows in Korea is the most highly prized. This 'mandrake root' is, therefore, really a model ginseng root more or less (still, I think it's a close approximation), with the addition of a tuft of 'hair' for effect. The only images of mandrake roots I've ever seen are fanciful old prints that exaggerated their anthropomorphic qualities and made them look like actual homunculi, complete with facial features (like the ones in the Harry Potter movie) but I wanted to make a more naturalistic one, so my only real guide was the ginseng root, the Asian counterpart to the mandrake, with which I am well familiar. Half a dozen sheets of unbleached, recycled-paper towels were used to make this one 'mandrake root'. Since I had no good guidebooks to tell me where to go in Downey or Los Angeles to look for mandrake plants - where's a witch when you need one ( like this one from last year)? - I decided to make my own. I couldn't think of any better way to utilize it than in the procurement of a mandrake root - after all, who hasn't fantasized about owning their very own magic mandrake root, wrestled from the unyielding earth at the risk of being driven mad by the terrible scream it emitted when dragged out of its native habitat? Leah sleeps with Jacob that night and becomes pregnant with her fifth son (verse 17).Today I had a lot of time on my hands. Rachel, who was as yet childless, accepts the trade, believing that the mandrakes would help her conceive at a later time. Leah then trades the mandrakes to Rachel in exchange for the opportunity to sleep with Jacob that night (Genesis 30:14–16). Leah’s son Reuben finds some mandrakes in the field and gives them to his mother. Rachel wants a child, and Leah wants more children. There, Jacob’s two wives, Rachel and Leah, vie for Jacob’s attention.
The one other biblical account to speak of mandrakes is found in Genesis 30.
#Cooked mandrake full
The description of this romantic time is full of beautiful imagery, including the mention of mandrakes in the verses that follow, as the husband and wife enjoy each other among the vineyards.
In this particular scene, the Shulammite invites King Solomon to join her for a sexual rendezvous out of doors in the early morning: “Let us go early to the vineyards / to see if the vines have budded, / if their blossoms have opened, / and if the pomegranates are in bloom- / there I will give you my love” (Song of Solomon 7:12). The entire description in verses 10–13 is of a romantic setting that enhances the desire of the husband and wife for each other. The mandrakes are providing a fragrance, and, given their reputation as an aphrodisiac, are suggestive of intimacy. Mandrakes were around them in the countryside, along with grapes, pomegranates, and “every delicacy” (Song of Solomon 7:13). The mention of mandrakes in the Song of Solomon is part of a romantic encounter between Solomon and his new wife. There are many references to mandrakes in folklore and superstitions in various cultures.
In the ancient world, mandrake roots were considered an aphrodisiac and were commonly prepared and eaten as a fertility drug. Mandrakes have unusually large, forked roots that sometimes resemble a human body with open arms and legs. Mandrakes are mentioned in one passage in Genesis and once in Song of Solomon. In Song of Solomon 7:13 we read, “The mandrakes send out their fragrance, / and at our door is every delicacy, / both new and old, / that I have stored up for you, my beloved.” A mandrake is a short-stemmed, flowering plant in the nightshade family (and therefore related to the potato).
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