Y is for Yellow Diamonds (Gemstone Folklore)

Welcome to the 2022 A to Z Blogging Challenge! My theme this year is Gemstone Folklore. Because I love stories about shiny things. Read the introduction to the project here.

YELLOW DIAMONDS

I have already written about diamonds earlier in the challenge. Yellow diamonds gain their color from nitrogen being trapped in their crystal structure. They are the most common among the colored diamonds.

The death of the demon Bala

Myth from India

This myth is from the Garuda Purana, a Hindu religious text written in Sanskrit. Manuscripts originate from the 9th-10th century CE, but the myths themselves are likely much, much older.

This story takes place at a time when there was a fierce battle raging between the gods and various demons. The most fearsome duel ensued between the god Indra, and the demon Bala. Bala's body was radiant and no weapon could pierce it; at his laughter, pearls fell from his mouth. Seeing that he could not kill him, Indra praised him, and asked for a boon. Bala agreed to grant a wish for the gods - and they asked him to sacrifice himself. Bala gave his life willingly as a sacrificial offering. Indra struck him with a thunderbolt, shattering Bala's body into pieces - and because of the merit earned by voluntary sacrifice, various parts of the body, falling to the ground, became gemstones. 

Bala's eyes turned turned into sapphires, ears and blood into rubies, bone marrow and nose into emeralds, tongue into corals, teeth into pearls. His semen produced silver, his urine turned into copper, from his sweat came brass, his nails gold, his blood mercury, his marrow crystals. The gods fought over the gems, and as they flew in the air with their chariots, many gems scattered, landing in places where they are still mined today. Bala's grieving widow, Prabhavati, transformed into a river, uniting her body with her husband's, and polishing the gems that came from him.

The text says that yellow diamonds, coming from Bala's body, were especially reserved for kings. They were also sacred to Indra, for doing the original sacrifice.

Sources: The death of Bala here, more lore about diamonds in the Garuda Purana here. Find another text here.

If you could pick a colored diamond, what color would you go for?

D is for Diamonds and Onions (Gemstone Folklore)

Welcome to the 2022 A to Z Blogging Challenge! My theme this year is Gemstone Folklore. Because I love stories about shiny things. Read the introduction to the project here.

DIAMOND

Diamonds are probably the most well-known gemstone in the world (although they have not always been the most precious). There are thousands of tales and legends that feature them, so it was hard to choose just one. In the end, I picked a story that I find both wise and amusing. Because diamonds have never been my favorite.

Diamonds for Onions

Jewish folktale

A young man (a prince or a merchant) is shipwrecked on an island with a cargo of onions. The shores of the island are covered with diamonds, as abundant as pebbles. Coming to a city, the young man discovers that diamonds have no value to the locals, being so common. On the other hand, they have no idea what onions are. Our hero cooks some onion dishes for the king, and he is so impressed that he rewards his guest with a ship full of diamonds in exchange for the onions.

Someone else (a sibling or a jealous rival) decides to pull the same trick. He packs his ship with garlic, and sails for the distant island. He offers garlic dishes to the king, who is very impressed, and praises the new flavor. The merchant asks for diamonds as payment, but the king offers to pay in something even more precious instead... And the man gets to sail home with the most precious cargo the island has ever known. Onions.

(I love this story, because the price of diamonds has been artificially kept high for decades, and they are not even that uncommon, geologically speaking...)

Sources: 

The Jewish Story Finder lists a bunch of variants for this tale. You can read a popular retelling here, and another one here.

Do you like diamonds? How about onions and garlic?