Date Palm: The Ancient Gift
A few days back when I was in Srinagar and had a very busy clinic in our center, I knew that we will not complete our work till the time of Iftar. For this reason, I had carried a box of date palms and a crate of orange juice with me. Lo and behold my prediction turned out to be right and we consumed the contents as soon as the nearby mosque announced the time to break the fast.
This gave me the inquisitiveness to dwell deeper into the importance and history of date palms which I want to share with readers of my columns. It is borne on an evergreen tree Phoenix dactylifera which is a large and diverse family. The tree has a long life up to 100 years and can survive in hot and arid conditions growing up to a height of 25 meters. However, it can also survive cold and sub-zero temperatures. The roots of date palm trees are long and deep allowing other plants to grow around it. The tree’s robust body protects it from blown away by strong sandy storms. In fact, it provides food and shelter to local residents, travelers and also to desert animals.
It has been in existence for around 50 million years. The rock carvings and archeological studies from Northern Arabia show humans having been eating dates since the Middle Stone Ages, which was about 200,000 years. This tree was one of the first plants to be cultivated and is therefore a part of our modern civilization. Based upon archaeological findings the plant was first domesticated in the Persian Gulf around 6000 years ago by wild populations from Oman.
The date palm fruit as we all know is sweet and nutritious with high content of proteins and fat. It also is high in fiber, anti-oxidants, potassium, iron. magnesium and phytohormones. A date palm fruit changes colors from green to yellow, brown, reddish brown (mahogany) and finally black as it matures. Dates are resilient to pests, do not rot, when ripe, so can be stored and transported easily. All parts of the plant yield products of economic value, including timber, crates, furniture, basketry, fuel, rope, cordage and packing material and of course the fruit.
Cultivating the plant has offered stable wealth and good economic growth for populations living in hot climates for thousands of years. Egypt is the world’s largest producer of the fruit exporting 1.87 million tonnes of dates. Other top date producing countries are Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan and Iran. In India Kutch in Gujrat is the highest producer of dates. Rajasthan also produces around 1600 tonnes a year. There are over 600 varieties of dates worldwide. Some of the well-known ones are: Ajwa from Saudi Arabia, Deglet Noor, Medjool, Safawi, Sukkari, Dayri, Khudri etc. These come in different flavors, including soft, semi-dry, nutty and dry sweet and are available in abundance from street vendors and shops. They play an important role in many cultures. The fruit also symbolizes gratitude, generosity and good health. These are served at weddings, religious ceremonies and festivals. The tree is associated with lot of symbolism and has been associated with ancient fertility goddesses. In mythology the legendary bird “Phoenix” that rose from the ashes of its predecessor built its nest atop the date palm tree.
Date palms and dates are associated with three very important religions; Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Breaking the dawn to dusk Ramadhan fast with the date palm remains the most preferred choice to an extent that almost 1,500 quintals of dates are imported to the valley during this holy month. According to sources from date merchants, we import dates worth more than Rs 20 Crores and it is has increased more than three times during the last decade.
Prof Upendra Kaul, Founder Director Gauri Kaul Foundation
