The Tibetan Radish and the Harry Potter Universe

In the wizarding world of Harry Potter, the Pan-Himalayan region makes only rare appearances. A head adorned with turquoise hair, a waist resembling a conch shell's spiral, and a tail that ends in a snake's tail—this describes something that looks like a radish (ལ་ཕུག) yet is not actually a radish, widely recognized as both exceptional food and exceptional medicine; the answer is a turnip (ཉུང་མ).

In the lore across various works, a handful of details still reference the Pan-Himalayan region. For one, the Yeti are found there, and because they are hard to locate precisely and could pose risks, dedicated wizarding staff keep constant watch over their activities. Separately, *Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore* (2022) chose Bhutan as the venue for the wizarding world’s next supreme leader election, a decision that generated considerable controversy when the film came out.

Turnips hold a significant place in Tibetan daily life. In the film *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*, a possibly imaginary magical plant is mentioned during a conversation between Harry and Neville about tackling the second task. This plant is usually rendered as "Tibetan radish" in translations, but the original text indicates it should be "Tibetan turnip." Additionally, the 1926 edition of *Transfiguration Today* featured an interview with the "Tibetan Oracle," a figure thought to have powerful magic.

In Tibetan, the turnip is known as ཉུང་མ་ / ཉུངས་མ་ / ཡུང་མ་, with the plant having many regional names, while ལ་ཉུང་ / ལ་ཡུང་ is the collective term for turnips and radishes. Records of turnips appear as early as the ancient Tibetan wooden slips and medical texts unearthed in Dunhuang, and their juice is used in certain local ritual practices. "Transfiguration Today" references the "Tibetan Oracle" from the film *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them* (2016).

Turnip farming in Tibet stretches back to extremely ancient times. Across agricultural and pastoral communities, the vegetable is widely recognized for its "threefold utility: medicinal, nutritional, and as animal feed." As for the vegetable's origins in Tibet, two main viewpoints exist: the "indigenous theory" and the "Central Plains theory." The latter holds that the Tibetan term for turnip corresponds to the Chinese word "葑" (feng), and certain works composed after the dissemination period—such as *The Religious History of Nyang*—make mention of a connection between turnips and the "legend of the princess's arrival in Tibet." As an old saying goes, "Even if meat, butter, and pastries are not all available, turnip soup is never lacking at any of the three meals." Across Tibet, the number of turnip preparation methods tops forty (with slight local differences).

Turnips, which are said to “satiate hunger even in lean years,” became a favored food among Tibet’s ancestors because of the region’s distinctive climate and terrain. Sages viewed turnip soup, just like nettles, as a representation of resolve in spiritual practice and adherence to doctrinal principles. As an example, Dractepa Rinchen Namgyal (སྒྲ་ཚད་པ་རིན་ཆེན་རྣམ་རྒྱལ་; 1318–1388), a disciple of Butön, used turnip soup to pass on teachings to his own disciples.

While both radishes and turnips belong to the Brassicaceae family, they are classified under different genera. In Tibetan, the radish is called ལ་ཕུག་, a name derived from the Chinese word for radish. The carrot, in contrast, belongs to the Apiaceae family (not Brassicaceae) and is known as གུང་ལ་ཕུག་. Meanwhile, in Bhutan, legends persist that Thangtong Gyalpo used supernatural powers to create turnips and feed famine victims.

The *Qianlong Pentaglot Dictionary* names the carrot ལ་ཕུག་མངར་པོ་ (sweet radish), and in Tibetan dialects it is also known as ལ་ཕུག་སེར་པོ་ or ལབ་སེར་ (yellow radish). Meanwhile, Berthold Laufer (1874–1934), a sinologist, concluded from his study of the term's etymology and phonetic development that "it is difficult to understand it as 'foreign' or 'red'." This runs counter to the interpretation of most modern scholars, who view the གུང་ element as meaning "foreign" or "red." The German missionary and Tibetologist H.A.

In his *Tibetan-English Dictionary*, Jäschke (1817–1883) recorded the term གུང་དམར་ལ་ཕུག་, observing that it was employed by inhabitants of Western Tibet and by merchants hailing from the Ü-Tsang area. Within this term, the contested component གུང་ appears alongside དམར་, which denotes "red." Certain scholars have proposed a connection between གུང་ and the Chinese honorific "公" (gong), positing that the word designates radishes cultivated in Chinese vegetable gardens overseen by the Amban stationed in Tibet.

In Tibet, radishes are categorized according to two systems. One is based on color, dividing them into ལ་ཕུག་དཀར་པོ་ (white radish) and ལ་ཕུག་དམར་པོ་ (red radish). The other is based on origin, yielding བོད་ལ་ཕུག་ (Tibetan radish), རྒྱ་ལ་ཕུག་ (Chinese radish), and རྒྱ་གར་ལ་ཕུག་ (South Asian radish). These two schemes are sometimes used interchangeably, and in certain areas, what is called Tibetan radish may also be known as ལ་ཕུག་ནག་པོ་ (black radish). Furthermore, in Western Tibet, the word སེ་རག་དུར་སྨན་ refers to carrot, and it is thought to come from the Persian term *Zardak turma*.

Radishes in Tibet, much like turnips, serve three functions: medicinal, edible, and as fodder. They are known for promoting blood circulation and removing stasis, and their seeds or juice are incorporated into certain Tibetan medicines. Pickled radish and radish stew are staple dishes within Tibetan cuisine. As the folk saying goes: "Turnips treat diarrhea, radishes benefit the eyes.

Radish depictions are seldom found in Tibetan art, though at least three instances exist, including a "woman washing radishes" in a painting by the Tenth Karmapa, Chöying Dorje, that illustrates "The Buddha and the Sixteen Arhats." The "Blue Beryl Medical Thangka: Dietary Guidelines," dating to the early 20th century and housed at Lhasa Men-Tsee-Khang, features a section on radish-based dishes, which are prepared in various forms and are said to warm the stomach, alleviate diarrhea, and benefit conditions associated with the *rLung* (wind-related ailments).

In addition to folk decorative art, radishes appear in other artworks that bear Chinese stylistic influences, including those with themes like Pure Lands. The deity Ganapati (ཆོགས་བདག་, referred to as the Lord of Offerings or the Obstructor) is fond of sweet and sour flavors, so his depictions show him holding sweets and a radish (Mūlaka; मूलक). This radish is said to have eight flavors and to heal eight ailments; it is also believed to clear obstacles and to serve as a food that supports spiritual practice.

From SuolangWangqing's blog, this article is translated. The radish is a valued plant serving three purposes: medicinal, edible, and as animal fodder. In artworks depicting the great adept Saraha, his wife is shown presenting him with a carefully made radish curry or stew.