la mun la moer

Witnessed by: Western · Unani

Armenian bole, of the clay/earth (iron-bearing aluminosilicate) family. A soft, fine-grained red to brownish-red earthy clay in friable lumps; native range: a fine red ferruginous clay reported from Armenia and neighbouring Anatolia, and later from other red-earth beds sold under the same name. Globally recognized as gil-e-armani, bura-e-armani in Arabic/Urdu, bolus armenus, terra armena in Latin, and Armenian bole, bole armeniac in English. The part used is the levigated (washed and elutriated) earth. Pale to brick red, smooth and unctuous to the touch, adhering to the tongue with a faint astringency and no grittiness; breaks with an earthy fracture.

In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.

ARMENIAN BOLE

IDENTITY

Name

Common
Armenian bole
Family
clay/earth (iron-bearing aluminosilicate)

Form

Part used
the levigated (washed and elutriated) earth

PROPERTIES

Nature

Taste

how the plant declares itself on the tongue

Western
astringent
Unani
astringent
Temperature
Western
cold
Unani
cold & dry (2nd degree)

PRACTICE

Virtue

Actions
Western
astringent, styptic, absorbent and antidiarrhoeal; formerly reckoned an alexipharmic
Unani
habis-ud-dam (styptic), qabiz (astringent), mundamil-e-qurooh (heals ulcers), dafe-taffun (checks putrefaction), muqawwi-e-meda (stomachic)

Cautions

Contraindications
constipation and cold dry temperaments; obstruction
Toxicity
an inert earth in itself, but of uncertain composition — commercial boles have carried clay impurities, and prolonged use binds the bowels

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la mun la moer — Herbal Tome, CC BY 4.0. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.