Uses of Hemp is a magic plant with multiple uses. The various occasions that hemp offers are quite well known to this day, and yet it has been a forbidden plant for a meaningful duration of time. It turns out that our forefathers knew the advantages of the hemp flower even better than we do – they have used it for everything!
To observe the Farm Bill 2018 – which has legalized the cultivation and uses of hemp across the United States (for those who gain proper licensure) – we have collected a list of the best ways ancient civilizations used this clever plant. By the end of this post, we bet you’ll be absolutely surprised by all the things hemp is able of.
- Hemp Fiber and Clothing
Back in the days, clothes were hard to get for people to come by. It’s quite hard to imagine in the era of fast fashion, but producing clothes was a long and costly process for people at that age. Hemp was pretty much-saving mercy for our naked ancestors. Scientists have found parts of hemp cloth at a number of places; a piece located in present-day Iran and Iraq was dated at 10,000 years old.
Over in China, rotating wheels were created to spin the difficult hemp fibers, producing a piece of material that would last a longер period. Until today, Chinese people will wear hemp cloth when regretting their deceased relatives, as it is passed in tradition. Moreover, the Sumo fighters in Japan uses of hemp as their holy fabric – it is the only cloth permitted to enter the tatami.
Uses of hemp were to producing rope as well as apparel. Also in areas with cooler environments like England, hemp was cultivated and turned into tough ropes used for a different purpose. In a small village named Castleton in the county of Derbyshire, the hemp rope manufacturers supported the village for plenty of years. In fact, that new fiancées in the village were given a hemp washing line to celebrate their wedding up until the 1960s; the hemp rope had to be traditionally done in Peak Cavern.
The question is why did we stop wearing hemp clothes?
- Hemp Paper
As the field of antique innovation, the first paper produced by the man was founded in China. Before the hemp, the Chinese been using bamboo slips and wooden tablets for writing; as well as silk was available, but it was very costly. According to legend, a government administrator with the name Ts’ai Lun created the first paper by pressing hemp grains and combining them with mulberry tree skin. The compound was placed in the water; when it grew to the top, all the fibers were trapped together. Ts’ai Lun set them into a form, and it dried into layers.
The hemp paper discovery spread very slowly across the world. It gets to Japan only in the 5th Century, while Ts’ai Lun is supposed to have implored the invention in 105 AD. After that, the Arabs discovered how to produce paper from their Chinese prisoners, taken after the Battle of Talas in 751 AD. Therefore, when the Arabs developed to Moor-occupied Spain by the 12th Century, hemp paper came to Europe.
Lyster Hoxie Dewey and Jason L. Merrill of the US Department of Agriculture only in 1916 decided that producing paper from trees was a better idea than doing it from hemp. Now we all know that deforestation of trees for paper has a disastrous environmental impact, so we may need to rethink this option.
- Food and Nutrition
Okay, so this one might be cheating a little – some people use hemp for nutritional purposes. The hemp plant seeds are amazingly useful, carrying a vast display of nutrients and fatty acids. The only plant-based sources of full protein. Hemp seeds can be eaten raw, cooked, or pressed into an oil. The buds can also be used as tea! It is obvious that hemp is truly nutritious, as well as easy to grow, this is the reason why it’s been used by many ancient civilizations.
And again, it was the Chinese who were expanding hemp as a staple of their diet. Hemp seeds are still utilized in great amount there but are only just starting in demand in the United States. At the local supermarket or wholefood store, you might be seen hemp seep oil and shelled hemp hearts for your next healthy meal.
- Hemp as an “Ancient Form of Relaxation”
Another use of hemp in biblical times was as a source of relaxation. In 2737 BCE, there is written proof of hemp being used for different approaches; Emperor Shen-Nung in Ancient China was applying topical hemp oils and teas to help with a variety of challenges. Moreover, in nearly 77 AD, there is written confirmation of Romans also practicing hemp for different sorts of relief. Although hemp has been banned for such a long time now, we are just starting to reopen the advantages of this incredible hemp plant.
- Hemp in Spiritual Ceremonies
Maybe unsurprisingly that hemp and cannabis have long been used in sacred ceremonies. Psychoactive cannabis has been used in many traditions over the centuries, as spiritual shamans assume that the intoxicating results bring them closer to sacred objects.
As well as hemp had its time in the spiritual spotlight. For instance, ‘bhang’ is a delicious mixture formulated in India by combining cannabis buds and leaves with water, milk, yogurt, and spices. Bhang was used through several social and spiritual events, often as a way to ward off evil spirits during carnivals and marriage celebrations.
Final Thoughts: Should We Bring Back Hemp?
Today people using hemp in many ways and forms, such as oil in the vape pen cartridges
