Note: MIPC stands for Magic in Popular Culture and this is a series of posts in which I take a magical belief or practice from a work of fiction such as movies, books, comic books, or tv shows and analyze them against real-world magical beliefs and practices.
The Spell or Belief
For each person who comes into the shop there is a special spice for that one person. “It is called mahamul, the root spice, and for each person it is different. Mahamul is to enhance fortune, to bring success or joy, to avert ill luck.”
The Mistress of Spices (1998)
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Commentary
Within the context of the story, Tilo is of Indian descent and has gained the status of a Mistress of Spices (one of many). She has been charged to go to LA and run a spice shop out of which she uses various spices to assist other Indian immigrants who come into her shop.
For instance, there is a young man who barely speaks English who is being bullied by his classmates so she wraps some cinnamon in newspaper and tucks it in his turban to help him make friends. In another instance, she gives fennel to a woman who is being abused by her husband because it is believed that fennel will help take power from one person and give it to another when they both eat it at the same time.
As you can see Tilo is effectively the Indian equivalent of a Rootworker. Whereas Rootworkers work with roots and herbs, Tilo works with the spices native to India. In fact, Tilo has a special relationship with the spices in that she speask to them and they speak to her in return. Again, rootworkers and other magical practitioners often develop relationships not with the roots and herbs per se but with the spirit within them. In my personal practices, I often meet with the spirit of any number of plant spirits in the dream time to learn how to use them for any number of purposes.
Tilo and the spices have a working relationship - that is - so long as she obeys the rules of her tradition. For example, she is not allowed to leave the shop for any reason. Nor is she allowed to use the spices for personal gain. Finally, she is not allowed to fall in love with anyone. However, this being a work of fiction I don't have to tell you that Tilo eventually breaks all of these rules.
The author drew upon the rich traditions of India and the relationship they have with their spices to craft this wonderful, magical story. After all no Indian kitchen is complete without a Masala Dabba. The Mistress of Spices gives us a Sister-Tradition to Rootwork and Witchcraft albeit a fictional one and the novice rootworker can learn a lot of how the relationship with the plant spirits and the human from this novel.
- Carolina Dean
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