For thousands of years, cannabis has been intertwined with human culture, medicine, and spirituality. While today’s discussions often focus on wellness or recreation, early civilizations viewed the plant through a different lens—one rooted in ritual, healing, and sometimes battle preparation. Archaeological evidence, ancient texts, and ethnobotanical studies suggest that cannabis played a meaningful role in both meditation practices and pre-combat rituals among several early cultures across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
The earliest documented use of cannabis dates back to ancient Central Asia. Excavations in the Xinjiang region of China uncovered 2,500-year-old tombs containing wooden braziers filled with cannabis residue, indicating the plant was burned during ritual ceremonies. Researchers believe these rituals were aimed at facilitating trance-like states, spiritual communication, or honoring the dead—activities more closely aligned with meditation than physical conflict. The Scythians, a nomadic warrior culture living near the Eurasian Steppe around the same period, also left behind significant evidence. Greek historian Herodotus wrote that Scythian warriors used cannabis smoke in purification rituals following battle. While this practice occurred after combat, it reveals the plant’s association with cleansing, emotional recovery, and spiritual grounding for ancient fighters.
In India, cannabis has been part of sacred tradition for more than 3,000 years. Ancient Vedic texts reference bhang, a preparation made from cannabis leaves, as one of the five sacred plants associated with the god Shiva. These texts describe its ability to “release fear” and promote heightened awareness, qualities that could benefit both meditation and warriors preparing for combat. Some scholars believe early Kshatriya warriors may have consumed mild cannabis preparations to calm nerves or enhance ritual focus before battle, though concrete evidence remains limited.
Meanwhile, in ancient Africa, cannabis found a home in tribal spiritual ceremonies. The Bantu-speaking peoples and groups across eastern and southern Africa used the plant in rituals aimed at communication with ancestors, divination, and communal meditation. Warrior societies in some regions inhaled cannabis smoke before hunts or conflict as part of spiritual preparation, believing it strengthened their connection to protective spirits and elevated their courage.
The Middle East also offers historical insight. The Assyrians, around 900 BCE, incorporated cannabis into sacred temple ceremonies. They called it qunubu, a term many scholars believe is the root of the modern word “cannabis.” The Assyrians burned cannabis resin in religious rituals to invoke altered states of consciousness and deepen communication with their gods. While not explicitly tied to combat readiness, these ceremonies likely shaped the mental and spiritual culture surrounding warfare and leadership.
Although direct evidence of cannabis being used explicitly as a performance-enhancing substance before combat is limited, its presence in warrior purification rites, meditative rituals, and spiritual ceremonies suggests a powerful cultural synergy. Early cultures seemed to value cannabis not for physical advantage, but for its ability to influence mindset—reducing fear, easing pain, enhancing spiritual focus, or promoting communal unity. These mental states were essential components of both meditation and the psychological preparation required for conflict.
Modern understanding continues to evolve, yet the archaeological and textual records agree on one thing: cannabis held deep symbolic and functional significance across ancient civilizations. Whether burned in sacred chambers, consumed for spiritual clarity, or used in rituals surrounding battle, the plant was woven into the cultural fabric of societies seeking balance between body, mind, and the divine.