Ganja (/ˈɡændʒə/, US: /ˈɡɑːndʒə/; Hindi pronunciation:[ɡaːɲd͡ʒaː]) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for
marijuana. Its usage in English dates to before 1689.[1]
Etymology
Ganja is borrowed from
Hindi/Urdugāñjā (Hindi: गांजा, Urdu: گانجا, IPA:
[ɡaːɲd͡ʒaː]), a name for
cannabis in the
Indo-Aryan language that descended from an early form of Vedic Sanskrit. The
Sanskritgañjā refers to a "powerful preparation from Cannabis sativa".[2][3][4][5][6] But the word only refers to a certain product derived from cannabis plants. Gāñjā is the title given to the flowers, whereas “charas” refers to the resin, and “bhang” the seeds and leaves.[7]
The word ganja reached the Western world through victims of slavery. Victims of the Atlantic slave trade were brought from Africa to Jamaica in 1513. In 1845, the British Empire started to traffic enslaved Indians to the Caribbean to strengthen the workforce on sugar plantations. They brought with them elements of their culture, including ganja.[8]
One academic source places the date of introduction of ganja in Jamaica at 1845.[9] The term came with 19th century workers whose descendants are now known as
Indo-Jamaicans.[10]
The word was used in Europe as early as 1856, when the British enacted a tax on the "ganja" trade.[11]
In 1913, Jamaica banned cannabis with the Ganja Law.[12]
Cultural figureheads such as
Bob Marley popularized Rastafari and ganja through reggae music. In 1976,
Peter Tosh defended the use of ganja in the song "
Legalize It".[14] The
hip hop group
Cypress Hill revived the term in the United States in 2004 in a song titled "Ganja Bus", followed by other artists, including rapper
Eminem, in the 2009 song "Must Be the Ganja".[11][15]
In other languages
Derivatives of the term are used as generic words for marijuana in several languages, such as
Indonesian/
Malay (ganja),
Khmer (កញ្ឆា, kanhchhea),
Lao (ກັນຊາ, kan sa),
Thai (กัญชา, gancha),
Tiwi (kanja),[16] and
Vietnamese (cần sa).
References
Look up ganja or गांजा in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.