Introduced to China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE), the pomegranate (Chinese: 石榴; pinyin: shíliu) in olden times was considered an emblem of fertility and numerous progeny. This symbolism is a pun on the Chinese character 子 (zǐ) which, as well as meaning seed also means offspring thus a fruit containing so many seeds is a sign of fecundity. Pictures of the ripe fruit with the seeds bursting forth were often hung in homes to bestow fertility and bless the dwelling with numerous offspring, an important facet of traditional Chinese culture.[77]
In Hinduism, the pomegranate (Sanskrit: Beejpur, literally: replete with seeds) symbolizes prosperity and fertility, and is associated with both Bhoomidevi (the earth goddess) and Lord Ganesha (who is also called Bijapuraphalasakta, or the one fond of the many-seeded fruit).[75][76] The Tamil name maadulampazham is a metaphor for a woman's mind. It is derived from, maadhu=woman, ullam=mind, which means as the seeds are hidden, it is not easy to decipher a woman's mind.
Every part of the plant (root, bark, flowers, fruit, leaves) is used for medicinal purposes in Ayurveda[citation needed].
Annually in October, a cultural festival is held in Goychay, Azerbaijan known as Pomegranate Festival. The festival features Azerbaijani fruit-cuisine mainly the pomegranates from Goychay. At the festival, a parade is held with traditional Azerbaijani dances and Azerbaijani music.[74]
Pomegranate was the symbol of fertility in ancient Persian culture.[citation needed] In Persian mythology Isfandiyar eats a pomegranate and becomes invincible. In "The Persian War" Herodotus mentions golden pomegranates adorning the spears of warriors in the Persian phalanx. It also sometime symbolizes patriotism in death for the country. Even in today's Iran pomegranate sometimes implies love and fertility.[citation needed]
The pomegranate is one of the main fruits in Armenian culture, the others being the apricot and grapes. Pomegranate juice is famous with Armenians in food and heritage. One of the results of the Armenian Genocide is that it left millions of Armenians spread all over the world; Armenians use the pomegranate and its many seeds to symbolize the Armenian people. The pomegranate is also seen as the fruit of life for Armenians because during the genocide the only food they had came from fruits on trees. It is said that there are approximately 365 seeds in each pomegranate and the Armenians survived by eating one seed each day during their exile.
sumber dari: en.wikipedia.org
