History, Uses, &c.—In Hindu mythology Sesamum seed is symbolic of immortality. According to the "Brahma purana," Tila was created by Yama, the " king of death," after prolonged penance. The Grihyasutra of Āśvalāyana directs that in funeral ceremonies in honour of the dead, Sesamum seeds be placed in the three sacrificial vessels containing Kusa grass and holy water, with the following prayer : "O Tila, sacred to Soma, created by the gods during the Gosava (the cow-sacrifice, not now permitted), used by the ancients in sacrifice, gladden the dead, these worlds and us!" Sesamum seeds with rice and honey are used in preparing the funereal cakes called Pindas, which are offered to the Manes in the Sraddh ceremony by the Sapindas "or relations" of the deceased.
On certain festivals six acts are performed with Sesamum seeds, as an expiatory ceremony of great efficacy, by which the Hindus hope to obtain delivery from sin, poverty, and other evils, and secure a place in Indra's heaven. These acts are, tilodvarti, "bathing in water containing the seeds" ; tilasnayi, "anointing the body with the pounded seeds" ; tilahomi, "making a burnt offering of the seeds" ; tilaprada, "offering the seeds to the dead"; tilabhuj, "eating the seeds"; and tilavapi, "throwing out the seeds." Water and Sesamum seeds are offered to the Manes of the deceased. In the first act of Sakuntala this practice (called Til-anjli) is alluded to by the anchorite's daughter in love with King Dushyanta, when she tells her companions that if they do not give their assistance, they will soon have to offer her water and Sesamum seeds. (De Gubernatis.) In proverbial language a grain of Sesamum signifies the least quantity of anything—Til chor so bajjar chor, "who steals a grain will steal a sack" ; Til til ka hisab, "to exact the uttermost farthing."
A worthless person is compared to wild Sesamum (Jartila, Sans.) which yields no oil—In tilon men tel nahin, "there is no good in him." Dutt remarks:—"The word Taila, the Sanskrit for oil, is derived fromTila; it would therefore seem that Sesamum oil was one of the first, if not the first oil manufactured from oil-seeds by the ancient Hindus. The Bhavaprakasa describes three varieties of Til seeds, namely, black, white, and red. Of these the black is regarded as the best suited for medicinal use; it yields also the largest quantity of oil. White Til is of intermediate quality. Til of red or other colours is said to be inferior and unfit for medicinal use. Sesamum seeds are used as an article of diet, being made into confectionery with sugar or ground into meal. Sesamum oil forms the basis of most of the fragrant or scented oils used by the natives for inunction before bathing, and of the medicated oils prepared with various vegetable drugs. It is preferred for these purposes from the circumstance of its being little liable to turn rancid or thick, and from its possessing no strong taste or odour of its own. Sesamum seeds are considered emollient, nourishing, tonic, diuretic, and lactagogue. They are said to be especially serviceable in piles, by regulating the bowels and removing constipation. A poultice made of the seeds is applied to ulcers. Both the seeds and the oil are used as demulcents in dysentery and urinary diseases in combination with other medicines of their class." (Mat. Med. of the Hindus, p. 216.)
Mahometan writers describe the seed under the Arabic name of Simsim. In Africa it is called Juljulān, and in Persia Kunjad. The Mahometan bakers always sprinkle the seeds upon their bread, the sweetmeat-makers mix them with their sweets. The following Delhi street-cry indicates the properties attributed to them by the latter class of people: —
"Til, tikhur, tisi, dana,
Ghi, shakkar men sana,
Khae buddha, hoe javana."
"Sesamum, tikhur, and linseed,
Butter and sugar, poppy seed,
Old men it makes quite young with speed." (Fallon.)
The oil, which is called in Arabic Duhn-el-hal, is used for the same purpose as olive oil is in Europe. Sesamum is considered fattening, emollient, and laxative. In decoction it is said to be emmenagogue; the same preparation sweetened with sugar is prescribed in cough; a compound decoction with linseed is used as an aphrodisiac; a plaster made of the ground seeds is applied to burns, scalds, &c.; a lotion made from the leaves is used as a hair-wash, and is supposed to promote the growth of the hair and make it black; a decoction of the root is said to have the same properties; a powder made from the roasted and decorticated seed is called Rāhishi in Arabic and Arwah-i-Kunjad in Persian; it is used as an emollient, both externally and internally.
Sesamum (σησαμον) is frequently mentioned by Greek and Latin authors. Lucian (Pisc. 41) speaks of a σησαμαιος πλχους: this was probably similar to the til ka laddu of India.
Sesame oil was an export from Sind to Europe, by way of the Red Sea, in the days of Pliny. In the Middle Ages the plant was known as Suseman or Sempsen, a corruption of the Arabic Simsin or Samsim. It is now called by Europeans, both in India and Europe, Jinjili, Jugeoline, Gigeri, Gengeli, or Gingelly, which appear to be corruptions of the word Juljulān. The oil is one of the most valuable of Indian vegetable oils; it keeps for a long time without becoming rancid, and is produced in large quantities in almost every part of the Peninsula. The following mode of preparation is described in the Jury reports of the Madras Exhibition:—"The method sometimes adopted is that of throwing the fresh seeds, without any cleansing process, into the common mill, and expressing in the usual way. The oil thus becomes mixed with a large portion of the colouring matter of the epidermis of the seed, and is neither so pleasant to the eye nor so agreeable to the taste as that obtained by first repeatedly washing the seeds in cold water, or by boiling them for a short time, until the whole of the reddish-brown colouring matter is removed and the seeds have become perfectly white. They are then dried in the. sun, and the oil expressed as usual. The process yields from 40 to 44 per cent, of a very pale straw-coloured sweet-smelling oil, an excellent substitute for olive oil."
Hydraulic presses are now in use in the more civilized parts of India for extracting the oil, but have as yet by no means superseded the native oil mill.
Sesamum oil may be used for plaster-making, but it takes more oxide of lead than groundnut oil, and does not make so light-coloured or so hard a plaster. After a prolonged trial at the Government Medical Store Department in Bombay, its use was abandoned in favour of the latter oil for the following reasons:—The rolls of Sesame oil plaster soften in hot weather. The plaster has a disagreeable odour. It darkens in colour when kept for any time. For liniments and ointments, except Ung. Hydr. Nitratis, it appears to be a perfectly satisfactory substitute for olive oil. F. H. Alcock (Pharm. Joum. [3], xv., 282) recommends its use in making Lin. Ammoniae B. P. Sesame or Benne leaves, preferably in the fresh state, are much used in America as a demulcent in disorders of the bowels; they yield an abundant mucilage.