Sea Beans of Maritime History

[elle]

I have been doing a study of the different religious items sailors once carried or wore throughout the centuries.

I came across the heart beans by accident which were carried by men of the sea for good luck.
These beans are quite fascinating and prove to have played a part in maritime history.

Does anyone collect these...and does anyone know if they were shipped as cargo for their special functions?
If you read this link, the different beans from various countries were used for many purposes and even had druglike compositions.

Any feedback is appreciated!

Laura

www.beachbeans.com

 

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[Galleon Hunter]

Contact Ed Perry at the McLarty Museum in Sebastian, he wrote a very nice book all about sea beans.

 

[Galleon Hunter]

The book is called "Sea-Beans from the Tropics: A Collector's Guide to Sea-Beans and Other Tropical Drift on Atlantic Shores" By Edward L. Perry, John V. Dennis and Cathie Katz. You can by it at the McLarty Museum gift shop and I also found it on Amazon.com

Rob

 

[treshuntintom]

Hey Rob,arriving in Sebastian on 20th for a few days.Hollar if your gonna be around.Tom

 

[ScubaFinder]

Thanks Laura, we see those all the time down here but I never much knew what they were other than some sort of seed. Local artisans here make interesting pieces out of them. They score religous and indian symbols into them with a sharp metal point. Once you scratch through the outer layer, the inside is much lighter and they make interesting trinkets for tourists. I've seen the heart type as well as the rounded types.

We had a big depression come through last night, so today would be a good day to find some as they usually show up on our beaches after a storm.

Jas

 

[elle]

Thank you Rob and Jas!

 

[culverin]

I saw heart beans growing on a vine in Belize. when I was living in the Dominican Republic, one of my crew members gave me a kids toy he made out of 2 heart beans a stick and some string.

 

[S.S.Tupperware]

I find a lot of them after storms, the heart shaped ones and the smaller ones. I tried planting some once... they grew, but its not tropical enough so winter wiped them out...

 

[elle]

Culverin...how cool is that...your crew member using his imagination to make a toy out of objects he found.
I hope he mass produced it and made a fortune...good for him!

S.S.Tupperware...I know what you mean about things dying in cold weather.

Which reminds me of two stories where things that sprout should have been discouraged.
My grandma once told me of a boy down her block (this was in 1916)...and he put a bean up his nose. It did begin to sprout and caused a major medical issue requiring an operation. (Fact or fiction? It's up for you to decide!)
This other story concerns a small dog and is truly documented in veternarian science books as a true case.
This lady who lives in my grandma's complex was walking her pet in the spring when developing seed and pollen filled the air close to the ground.
The poor dog got terribly ill within a couple weeks. Turned out...it was a "fir" tree...evergreen...that began growing in the dog's brain.
An operation was performed...the dog lived...and this lady has the tree growth in a vile for evidence.

Anyways...I've been trying to find written documentation about the heart-shaped beans carried by the sailors because I believe there is a true connection with them representing the "Sacred Heart," a symbol used by Franciscans, Jesuits, and other Orders of the Catholic Church.
The sailors, three hundred years ago, wore small palm leaves designed for different purposes that they received when leaving mass.
Some were made for funerals...and some for God's protection.
These heart beans would have been perfect symbols that the Church could have also handed out, as the Sacred Heart was becoming popular in the New World during the time period I am studying.
I have a feeling if I dig harder in some more church history books...I may find the documentation I am looking for.

 

[crzhors]

Hello Elle, I've attached a couple pics of seabeans we found on the beach at Fort Sherman,Colon,Panama. From what I've researched, these are near record size.And also loads of other types,pottery,glass, and!!!. Later,JD

 

[elle]

Crzhors...that is unbelievable!
What a wonderful and unique find.
Hundreds of years ago, people thought these beans were Aphrodite's favorite pleasure to eat.
Imagine if one ingested the entire contents of that one you found...LOL.

On a professional standpoint...I am still curious as to the cargo of these beans being transported back to Europe.
They had to have been loaded in the New World in barrels. Remember they are impervious to salt water...and some sink instead of float.
No one has ever heard of a shipment of these being found on any wrecks?

p.s. ... Crzhors...good luck in Panama with the artifacts you are discovering!