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Soma (Sanskrit: ''sóma'') or Haoma (Avestan), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *''sauma-'', was a Vedic ritual drink〔(soma ). CollinsDictionary.com. Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 11th Edition. Retrieved 2 December 2012.〕 of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the subsequent Greater Indian and Greater Iranian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, whose Soma Mandala contains 114 hymns, many praising its energizing qualities. In the Avesta, Haoma has the entire ''Yasht'' 20 and Yasna 9-11 dedicated to it. It is described as being prepared by extracting juice from the stalks of a certain plant. In both Hinduism and Zoroastrianism, the name of the drink and the plant are the same, and also personified as a divinity, the three forming a religious or mythological unity. There has been much speculation concerning what is most likely to have been the identity of the original plant. There is no consensus on the question, although some Western experts outside the Vedic and Avestan religious traditions now seem to favour a species of Ephedra, perhaps ''Ephedra sinica''.〔("Botany of Haoma" ), from ''Encyclopædia Iranica''. Accessed 15 March 2007.〕 ==Etymology== Both Soma and the Avestan ''Haoma'' are thought to be derived from Proto-Indo-Iranian '' *sauma-''. The name of the Scythian tribe ''Hauma-varga'' is related to the word, and probably connected with the ritual. The word is derived from an Indo-Iranian root '' *sav-'' (Sanskrit ''sav-/su'') "to press", i.e. '' *sau-ma-'' is the drink prepared by pressing the stalks of a plant.〔K.F.Geldner, Der Rig-Veda. Cambridge MA, 1951, Vol. III: 1-9〕 According to Mayrhofer, the root is Proto-Indo-European ('' *sew(h)-'')〔M. Mayrhofer, Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen, Heidelberg 1986–2000, vol II: 748〕 According to Anthony, ''Soma'' was introduced into Indo-Iranian culture from the Bactria–Margiana Culture. The Old Indic religion probably emerged among Indo-European immigrants in the contact zone between the Zeravshan River (present-day Uzbekistan) and (present-day) Iran. It was "a syncretic mixture of old Central Asian and new Indo-European elements", which borrowed "distinctive religious beliefs and practices" from the Bactria–Margiana Culture. At least 383 non-Indo-European words were borrowed from this culture, including the god Indra and the ritual drink Soma. According to Anthony, 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Soma」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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