Ma () is the Chinese word for cannabis. The term ''ma'', used to describe medical marijuana by 2700 BCE, is the oldest recorded name for the

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...

plant.

History and migration of the word ma

The word ''má'' has been used to describe the hemp plant since before the invention of writing five-thousand years ago. Ma is likely to be derived from the masculine energy associated with cannabis in traditional Chinese medicine. Evidence of one of the earliest human cultivation of hemp/cannabis was found off the coast of mainland China, on the island of Taiwan. Chinese trading travelers who moved west towards India and Africa acquired seeds of the ma plant and also brought the plant's name with them.

Ma in poetry and song

Ancient Chinese prose and poems, including poetry in the '' Shi jing (Book of Odes)'', mention the word ''ma'' many times. An early song refers to young women weaving ma into clothing.

Use of the word ma in other languages

The term ''ma'' is commonly used to describe hemp in Asia. The word is used for cannabis in Japan. In the West, the word was used by scholars and journalists when discussing cannabis regulations and law publicly (due to prohibition).

Root of Mexican Spanish word marijuana

The term ''marihuana'' or ''marijuana'' is thought to have originated, at the end of the 19th century, with Mexican immigrants to the United States who began using the word after hearing Chinese-American immigrants calling marijuana ''ma ren hua'', an expression which translated literally means “hemp-seed-flower”. An exact origin of the word marijuana is uncertain. Possible explanations include other terms that can be traced to the Chinese word ma.Alan Piper,
The Mysterious Origins of the Word 'Marijuana'
, Sino-Platonic Papers, 153 (July 2005)

Variations

The word ma is often paired with the Chinese word for "big" or "great" to form the compound word ''dàmá'' (大麻) which is sometimes used to describe hemp, as there is less associated with the word ''ma'' by itself, as it lacks descriptiveness Historical Chinese medical texts (c. 200 CE) through contemporary twentieth century Chinese medical literature discuss individual terms for ma, including ''máfén'' (麻蕡), ''máhuā'' (麻花), and ''mábó'' (麻勃), referring to specific parts of the male and female flowers of a cannabis plant.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{Cannabis, state=collapsed Cannabis Cannabis culture Chinese words and phrases Etymologies