The Women Warriors

[Lilly]

MAKE YOUR OWN HERBAL TINCTURES

FROM ANY LOOSE HERB

By Herbalist Mary Satchell

WHY MAKE TINCTURES?

Tinctures are more powerful and last longer than dried herbs.
It is much cheaper than buying ready made herbal products. You can make about a quart of your own tincture for the price of a few ounces of tincture at retail stores.
You can control the quality of the product you are making by starting with herbs you collect yourself or purchase through a reputable source. You are also ensured of the purity of the final product.
You can make special combination formulas.
There is something to be said about getting involved in your own health. Some herbalists say that you benefit by absorbing some of the herb through the skin and from the aroma.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN TINCTURES

THE ITEMS YOU WILL NEED:

Dried or fresh herbs in powdered or cut form.
80 -100 proof vodka or rum (NEVER use rubbing, isopropyl or wood alcohol).
Wide-mouthed glass jars with lids (mason jar or equivalent).
Unbleached cheesecloth or muslin.
Labels and markers.

STEP BY STEP

You should plan to start your tinctures on the day of the new moon and let them sit at least 2 weeks until the full moon - this adds a natural drawing power.

Pour the amount of herb you desire into the glass jar and slowly pour the alcohol until the herbs are entirely covered. Then add an inch or two of additional liquid.

Seal the jar tightly so that the liquid cannot leak or evaporate. Put the jar in a dark area or inside a paper bag.

Shake the jar every day.
When ready to bottle, pour the tincture through a cheesecloth into another jar or dark colored tincture bottle. Squeeze the saturated herbs, extracting the remaining liquid until no more drips appear.
Close the storage container with a stopper or cap and label.

ADDITIONAL TIPS ON TINCTURES

200 grams dried or 300 grams of fresh herbs (chopped) to one liter of liquid is needed.
Rum helps hide the taste of bitter herbs.
Distilled water, vinegar or glycerol can be used to make nonalcoholic tinctures.
Standard dosage is 1 teaspoon, 1-3 times daily, diluted in tea, juice or water.
Tinctures can last up to two years when stored in a tightly closed container.
A wine press or juicer may be used to extract liquid from the herbs.
Several herbs can be combined into a tincture formula.
Experiment and have fun!

http://www.kcweb.com/herb/tincture.htm

[RawMahdiyah]

More: The Preperation of Herbs


Internal Remedies



There are three basic kinds of preperations that can be taken internally: water-based, alcohol-based, and fresh or dried herbs.



WATER-BASED PREPERATIONS

There are two ways to prepare water-based extracts: infusions and decoctions. When the herbs to be used contain any hard, woody material, decoctions are used.


Infusion

-If you know how to make a tea, you know how to make an infusion.
-Perhaps the most simple/common method of taking herbs, both in dried or fresh form. 1 part dried = 3 parts fresh (1 tsp . dried = 3 tsp. fresh).
-For larger quanitities, the proportion should be 30g/1oz of herb to 500ml/1pt of water (store in a well-stopped glass bottle in the fridge, checking it often). Ideally make infusion when needed.
-Can make cold infusions (for herbs that are sensitive to heat). The proportion is the same, but should be left for 6-12 hours + in a well-sealed earthware pot. When the liquids is ready, strain and use.
-Herbal teabags can be made by filling little muslin bags with herbal mixtures, taking care to remember how many teaspoonfuls have been put into each bag.
-Any aromatic herb should be infused in a pot that has a well-sealing lid, to ensure that only a minimum of the volatile oil is lost through the process of evaporation.



TO MAKE INFUSION

1) Take a china or glass teapot which has warmed and put one teaspoon of the herb or herb mixture into it for each cup of tea that you intend to have.

2) Pour a cup of boiling water in for each teaspoon of herb that is already in the pot and then put the lid on. Leave to steep for ten to fifteen minutes.



Decoction
-Whenever the herb to be used is hard and woody, it is better to make a decoction to ensure that the soluble contents (inside their strong cell walls)of the herbs actually reach the water.
-When preparing a mixture containing soft and woody herbs, it is best to prepare an infusion and a decoction seperately to ensure that the more sensitive herbs are treated accordingly. When using a woody hearb that contains a lot of volatile oils, is is best to make sure that is is powdered as finely as possible and then used in an infusion rather that a decoction, to ensure that the oils do not boil away.


TO MAKE DECOCTION

1) Put one teaspoonful of dried herb or three teaspoonfuls of fresh materials for each cup of water into a pot or saucepan. Dried herbs should be powdered or broken into small peices, while fresh herbs should be cut into small peices. If large quantities are made use 30g/1oz. of dried herb for each 500ml/1pt of water. The container should be glass, ceramic, enamell, or earthenware.

2) Add the appropriate amount of water to the herbs in the pan.

3) Bring to a boil and simmer for the time given for th m ixture or specific herb, usually 10-15 minutes. If the herb contains volatile oils, put a lid on.

4) Strain the tea while still hot. Enjoy! (teas can be sweetened with Licorice Root, honey, or natural sweeteners).




ALCOHOL-BASED PREPARATIONS/TINCTURES

-In general, alcohol is a better solvent than water for the plant consituents. Mixtures of alcohol and water dissolve nearly all the relevant ingredients of a herb and at the same time act as a preservative.
-For home use, the best alcohol is of at least 30% (60 proof), vodka for instance, which has the weakest alcohol/water mixture witha long-term preservative action.
-One can take the tincture straight or mix a few drops with water. Tinctures can also be added to a bath, or footbath, or used in a compressor mixed with oil or fat to make an ointment. Suppositories and lozenges can be made this way too.
-Often tinctures are also made with wines (although not as long shelf life). There is a long history of aperitifs and liqeurs orginally used as herbal remedies, based on herbs such as Wormwood, Mugwort, and Aniseed, to aid the digestive process.


TO MAKE ALCOHOLIC TINCTURE

1) Put 120g/4oz. of finely chopped or ground dried herbs into a container that can be tightly closed. If fresh herbs are used, twice the amount should be taken.

2) Poor 500ml/1pt. of 30% (60 proof) vodka/rum on the herbs and then close the container tightly.

3) Keep the container in a warm/dark place for two weeks and shake it well twice every day.

4) After decanting the bulk of the liquid, poor the residue into a muslin cloth suspended in a bowl.

5) Wring out all the liquid. The residue makes excellent garden compost.

6) Pour the tincture into a dark glass bottle. Keep it well stoppered. Tinctures are much stronger, volume for volume, than infusions or decoctions, so check for approprate herbal dosage details.


VINEGAR-BASED TINCTURES

-Tinctures can also be made using vinegar, which contains acetic acid that acts as a solvent and preservative in a way similar to alcohol.
-It is best to use apple cider vinegar, as it has in itself excellent health-augmenting properties. Synthetic chemical vinegars should NOT be used.
-The method is the same as for alcohol, & if you steep spices or aromatic herbs in vinegar, the resulting fragrant vinegar will be excellent for culinary uses.


GLYCERINE-BASED TINCTURES

-Tinctures based on glycerine have the advantage of being milder on the digestive tract than alcohol tinctures, but they have the disadvantage of not dissolving resinous or oily materials quite as well.
-Generally better than water but not as good as alcohol.
-To make a glycerine tincture, makeup 500ml/1 pt of a mixture consisting of one part glycerine and one part water, add 120g/4 oz of the dried, ground herb and leave it in a well-stoppered container for two weeks, shaking daily. After two weeks, strain and press or wring the residue as with alcohol tinctures.
-For fresh herbs, due to their greater water content, put 240g/8oz into a mixture of 75% glyerine/25% water.


Syrup

-In the case of fluid medicine- be it infusion, decoction or tincture - that has a perticularly unpleasant tast, it is sometimes advisable to mask the taste combining the fluid with a sweetner.
-You can simply add a teaspoonful or two of pure honey, but another way to do this is to use a syrup.
-Traditionally is used to make cough mixtures more palatable for children, or any herbal preperation more 'toothsome', as the great herbalist Nicholas Culpeper (1616-54) used to call it.
-A simple syrup base is made as follows:
-Poor 500ml/1pt of boiling water onto 1.1kg/21/2ib of rawsugar, place over heat and stir until the sugar dissolves and the liquid begins to boil. Remove from heat.
-This simple syrup can best be used together with a tincture:
-mix one part of the tincture with three parts of syrup and store for future use.
-For use with an infusion or decoction, it is simple to add the raw-sugar directly to the liquid:
-For every 500ml/1pt of liquid add 350g/12oz of raw-sugar and heat gently until the sugar is dissolved. This again can be stored for future and will keep in the refrigerator.
-Since too much sugar is not healthy, syrups are best used for gargles and cough medicines only.


OXYMEL

-When you have to tke a perticularly powerful tasting herb, such as Garlic, Squill or Balm of Gilead, the taste can best be covered by making an oxymel, which is made from five parts honey with one part apple cider vinegar.
-To make an oxymel base, put 500ml/1pt of vinegar and 1kg/2 1/4ib of honey into a pot and boil until the liquid has the consistency of syrup.
-This is an established herbalist's recipe for the preperation of oxymel of Garlic:
-put 250ml/1 1/2pt of vinegar into a vessel, boil in it 7.5g/1/4oz of Caraway Seed and the same quantity of Fennel Seeds.
-Add 45g/1 1/2 oz of fresh Garlic Root sliced, then press out the liquid and add 300g/10oz of honey. Boil until it is like syrup.
-This oxymel can either be used as a gargle or you can take a dose of about 2 tablespoons internally



DRY-BASED PREPERATIONS

Sometimes it is more appropraite to take the herbs in a dry form, with the advantage that you do not taste the herb and also that you can take the whole herb, including the woody material. The main drawback lies in the fact that the dry herbs are unprocessed, and therefore ther plant consituents are not always readily available for easy absorption. In a process like infusion, heat and water helps to break down the walls of the plant cells and to dissolve the constituents, somthing whch is not always guaranteed during the digestive process in the stomach and the small intestines. Also, when the consituents are already dissolved in liquid form, they are available a lot faster and begin their actions sooner.
A second drawback to taking some of the herbs dry, as in capsules, is the issue of not tasting the herb. For various reasons - even though they taste unpleasant - the bitter herbs work much better when they are tasted (on the tongue), as their effectiveness depends on the neurological sensation of bitterness. When you put bitters into a capsule or pill, their action is lost or diminished.
Taking all these considerations into account, there are still a number of ways to use herbs in dry form. The main thing you have to pay attention to is that the herbs be powdered as finely as possible. This guarantees that the cell walls are largely broken down, and helps in the digestion and absorption of the herb.


Capsules

- The easiest way to take dry powedered herbs internally is to use gelatine capsules.
-These come in various sizes and can be obtained from most chemists. Capsules not made of animal products are also availabe; ask in your area for suppliers.
-The size you need depends on the amount of herbs prescribed per dose and on the volume of the material. A capsule size 00 for instance will hold about 0.5g/ 1/6oz of finely powdered herb (ie. you may have to take more than one capsule).


TO FILL CAPSULES

1) Place the powdered herbs in a flat dish and take the halves of the capsules apart.

2) Move the halves of the capsules through the powder, filling them in the process.

3) Push the two halves together!

There are capsule-making machines, or you can buy ready-made capsules from a herbalist pharmacy; however by making your own, you can produce customized remedies and only make as many as you need at a time, fresh.



Pills

-There are a number of ways tin which to make pills, depending on the degree of technical skill that you possess (research!).
-The simplest way to take an unpleasant remedy is to roll the powder into a small pill with fresh bread, which works most effectively with herbs such as Golden Seal or Cayenne. Instead of using bread, the powder can be combined with yogurt or cream cheese.
-If necessary, you can make a more storable pill by making lozenges.


Lozenges

-Lozenges are the ideal preparation for remedies to help the mouth, throat and upper respiratory tract, as taken in this way they can work where they are most needed.
-Lozengens containing the most used herbal remedies for the respiratory tract are easily available in herbal pharmacies, but it is very simple and economical to make your own.
-Stored in an airtight container, they will keep for months.
-The method of making lozenges is based on combining a powdered based herb with sugar and a mucilage (thick, viscous jelly) to produce the characteristic texture (candy).
-The musilage may be obtained from Marshmallow Root, Slippery Elm Bark, Comfrey Root or from one of the edible gums such as Tragacanth orAcacia.
-A good selection for respiratory tract complaints include anti-microbial herbs such as Red Sage for tonsillitis or mouth ulcers, demulcents such as Coltsfoot, Licorice or Lungwort for sore throats, expectorants such as Angelica, Aniseed and Thyme to clear mucus, and specifics such as White Horehound for coughs.
-Instead of using dry herbs you can also use essential oils.
-A good example would be Peppermint oil. Mix 12 drops of pure oil with 60g/2oz of rawsugar/honey and then combine this with enough of the mucilage of Tragacanth to make a paste. Then proceed as shown in the step-by-step preperation below, and store in airtight container for later use.


TO MAKE LOZENGES

1) Soak 30g/1oz Tragacanth in water for 24 hours, stirring as often as possible. Boil 500ml/1pt of water. Mix in the Tragacanth.

2) Using a wooden spoon, beat the mixture to a uniform consistency. Force it through a muslin strainer to make a mucilage.

3) Mix enough of your chosen herb (in dried, powdered form) into the mucilage to make a paste. Add unrefined brown sugar if you like.

4) Dust the pastry board and rolling pin with icing sugar or cornflour to prevent sticking and roll out the paste to a layer about 1.25cm/ 1/2in thick.

5) When the paste has cooled slightly, cut the paste into lozenges, in any shape and size you like. Leave to dry. Store in an airtight tin...


David Hoffmann ~ The Holistic Herbal



More to come:

-Herbal Post




RawMahdiyah
_________________
"Cast down what is in your right hand. It will swallow up what they have wrought. Verily they have wrought only a sorcerer's stratagem; and a sorcerer does not succeed (no matter) from whatsoever (skilled group) he may come." (Quran-20:69)

[RawMahdiyah]

Herbal Infusion


Infusion:

Add 30g of dried herb in tall glass jar
Fill jar with boiling water. Seal
Let sit for at least 4 hrs. or overnight...
Strain leaves. Drink...
Mix with other tea flavours. Hot & Cold (as seen above).




Good Infusion Herbal Choices Are:


STINGING NETTLE

-High in calcium, Magnesium and Iron.
-Excellent tonic for cleansing and rebuilding immune system, kidney energy and adrenal energy.


OATSTRAW

-Stabalized blood sugar levels, relieves depression, eases emotional uproar, rich in Calcium
-(Not for those with allergies and Hay Fever).


COMFREY LEAF (Knit Bone) (Symphytum Uplandica)

-This is the cultivated Comfrey that has no harmful alkaloids
-*A Must For Women Wishing To Have Children After 40.
-Strengthens ALL linings of the body.



RED CLOVER

-Reverses premature menoupause; Improves memory, clears confusion and increases energy.
-Relieves muscle and joint pain and eases anxiety.
-Prevents and reverse breast cancer.



RawMahdiyah

[RawMahdiyah]

External Remedies


*As the body can absorb herbal compounds through the skin, a wide range of methods and formulations have been developed that take advantage of this fact. Douches and suppositories, though they might appear to be internal remedies, have traditionally been categorized as external remedies.



WATER THERAPY

Baths

-The best and most pleasant way of absorbing herbal compounds through the skin is by bathing in a full body bath with 500ml/1 pt of infusion or decoction added to the water.
-Alternatively, you can also take a foot or hand bath, in which case you would use the preparations of undiluted form.
-Any herb that can be taken internally can also be used in a bath. There are many herbs and they can be used on their own or in combination to make different kinds of bath with different properties.
-For a bath that is relaxing and at the same time exquisitely scented infusions can be made of Lavender Flowers, Lemon Balm, Elder Flowers or Rosemary Leaves.
-For a bath that will bring about a restful and healing sleep, add an infusion of either Valerian, Lime Blossom or Hops to the bath water.
-For children with sleep problems or when babies are teething, try either Chamomile or Lime Blossom, as herbs mentioned above may be too strong.
-In feverish conditions or to help the circulation, stimulating and diaphoretic herbs can be used, such as Cayenne, Boneset, Ginger or Yarrow.
-These are just some of the possibilities. Try out others for yourself (try also adding a few drops of pure essential oil/s to the bath water).
-Instead of preparing an infusion or decoction of the herb/s beforehand, a handful of it can be places in a muslin bag which is suspended from the to water so that the water flows through it.



Douches

-Another method of using herbs externally is a douche, the application of herbs to the vagina, which is particularly indicated for local infection.
-Whenever possible, prepare a new infusion or decoction for each douche.
-Allow the liquid to cool to a temperature that will be comfortable internally. Pour it into a container of a douche bag and insert the applicator. Allow the liquid to rinse the inside of the vagina. Note that the liquid will run out of the vagina, so it is easiest to douche sitting on the toilet.
-It is not necessary to actively hold in the liquid. In most conditions it is advisable to use the liquid undiluted for a number of days, three times daily. If however, a three to seven day course of douching (along with the appropriate internal herb remedies) has not noticeably improved a vaginal infection, see a qualified practitioner for a diagnosis.




SURFACE THERAPY


Ointments

-Ointments or salves are semi-solid preparations that can be applies to the skin.
-Depending on the purpose for which they are designed, there are innumerable ways of making ointments; that can vary in texture from very greasy to a thick paste, depending on what base is used and what compounds are mixed together.
-Any herb can be used for making ointments, but Arnica, Chickweed, Comfrey Root, Cucumber, Elder Flower, Golden Seal, Greater Plantain, Lady’s Mantle, Marigold Flower, Marshmallow Root, Slippery Elm Bark, Woundwort and Yarrow are particularly good for use in external healing mixtures. Note that Arnica is used not advisable on open wounds.

-In more traditional ointments, instead of using petroleum jelly (while being simple to use is highly toxic) a combination of oils is used that acts as a vehicle for the remedies and helps them to be absorbed through the skin, plus hardening agents to create the texture desired.
-Some carriers to use (one or more):
White wax (2oz/60gr), lard (3oz/90g) and almond oil (3fluid oz/90ml).
Or instead use: lanolin, cocoa butter, wheat germ oil, bees wax, olive oil and vitamin E.


TO MAKE A HERBAL OINTMENT

1) Make 500ml/1pt of the appropriate water extract (infusion or decoction), strain off the liquid for use in step 4.

2) Measure out the fat and oil for the base.

3) Pour 90ml/3fl.oz olive or almond oil into the pan. Mix the fat and oil together.

4) Add the strained herbal extract and stir into the base.

5) Simmer until the water has completely evaporated and the extract has become incorporated into the oil. You might find it easier to place the pan in a large pan of water to prevent from burning. Be careful not to overheat the mixture and watch particularly for the point when all the water has evaporated and the bubbling stops. If additional thickeners (such as beeswax) need to be incorporated, they can be added at this point, and melt with the base, heating slowly and stirring until blended.

6) If a perishable base is used (such as lard) a drop of tincture of benzoin should be added for each 30g/1oz of base.

7) Pour the mixture into a container.



Suppositories

-Designed to enable the insertion of remedies into the orifices of the body. While they can be shaped to be used in the nose or ears, they are most commonly used for rectal or vaginal problems.
-They act as carriers for any herbs that it is appropriate to use, and there are three general categories for these.
-Firstly, there are herbs acting to soothe the mucous membranes, such as the root and leaf of Comfrey, the root of Marshmallow and of Golden Seal, and the bark of Slippery Elm.
-Secondly, there are the astringent herbs that can help in the reduction of discharge or in the treatment of hemorrhoids, such as Periwinkle, Pilewort, Witch Hazel and Yellow Dock.
-And thirdly there are remedies to stimulate the peristalsis of the intestines to overcome chronic constipation, or in other words the laxatives. In any of these three categories it will often be appropriate to include one of the anti-microbial herbs with whatever combination of herbs you are using.
-As with ointments, you can choose from different bases, keeping in mind that they have to be firm enough to be inserted into the orifice, while at the same time being able to melt at body temperature once inserted, to liberate the herbs they contain.
-The herbs should be distributed uniformly in the base – particularly important when you are using a powdered herb, the easiest form for this.
-The kind of suppository you make depends on whether you need the herb material to enter the body or not.

TO MAKE A SUPPOSITORY

Simple suppositories can be made by mixing a finely powdered herb with a good base such as cocoa butter, and then molding it as below. A more complex method has to be used if you want to avoid the introduction of powdered plant material into the body. The simplest way uses gelatine and glycerine and either an infusion, a decoction or a tincture, in the following proportions:

Gelatine - 10 parts
Water
(Or infusion/decoction/tincture) – 40 parts
Glycerine – 15 parts

Soak the gelatine for a while in the water-based material. Add the glycerine and heat the whole mixture in a water bath to evaporate. The final consistency depends on how much water is removed through evaporation. If it is removed completely, a very firm consistency will be achieved.
The easiest way to prepare a mould is to use aluminium foil shaped, as you need. The best shape is a torpedo-like, 2.5 cm/1in long suppository.
Pour the molten base into the mould and let it cool; store the suppositories in the moulds in a refrigerator for a while, though it is always preferable to make them when they are needed.



Compresses

-A compress or fomentation is an excellent way to apply a remedy to the skin to accelerate the healing process.
-To make a compress, use a clean cloth – made either of linen, gauze, cotton wool or cotton – and soak it in a hot infusion or decoction.
-Place this as hot as possible upon the affected area.
-As heat enhances the action of the herbs, either change the compress when it cools down or cover the cloth with plastic or waxed paper and place on it a hot-water bottle, which is changed when necessary.
-All the vulnerary herbs make good compresses, as do stimulants and diaphoretics in many situations.



Poultices

-The action of a poultice is very similar to that of a compress, but instead of using a liquid extract, the solid plant material is used to for a poultice.
-Either fresh or dried herbs can me used to make a poultice.
-With the fresh plant you apply the bruised leaves or root material either directly to the skin or place them between thin gauze.
-Dried herbs must be made into a paste by adding either hot water or apple cider vinegar until the right consistency is obtained.
-To keep the poultice warm, you can use the same method as for the compress and place a hot-water bottle on it.
-When you are applying the herb directly to the skin, it is often helpful first to cover the skin with a small amount of oil, as this will protect it and make removal of the poultice easier.
-Poultices can be made from warming and stimulating herbs, from vulneraries, astringents and also from emollients, which are demulcents that are soothing and softening on the skin, such as Comfrey Root, Flax Seed, Marshmallow Root, Oatmeal, Quince Seed and Slippery Elm Bark.
-Poultices are often used to draw pus out of the skin and there are a multitude of old recipes. Some of them use cabbage, which is excellent, others use bread and milk, and some even use natural made soap and sugar.



Liniments

-Are specifically formulated to be easily absorbed through the skin, as they are used in massages that aim at the stimulation of muscles and ligaments.
-They must only be used externally, never internally.
-To carry the herbal components to the muscles and ligaments, liniments are usually made of a mixture of the herb with alcohol or occasionally with apple cider vinegar, sometimes with an addition of herbal oils.
-The main ingredient of a liniment is usually Cayenne, which may be combined with Lobelia or other remedies.

Old Fashioned Liniment
The following liniment is described by Jethro Kloss in his book Back to Eden.
‘Combine 2oz powdered Myrrh, 1oz powdered Golden Seal, 1/2oz Cayenne Pepper, one quart grain-alcohol. Mix together and let stand seven days; shake well every day, decant off, and bottle in corked bottles. If you do not have Golden Seal, make it without.’ Another excellent liniment that warms and relaxed muscles at the same time is made from equal parts of Lobelia and Cramp Bark plus a pinch of Cayenne. This is made into a tincture or liniment in the same way.




Oils

-There are many herbs that are rich in essential oils. There are herbs like Peppermint, where the oils are volatile, which make the plant aromatic, and there are also those whose oils are not particularly aromatic, such as St John’s Wort.
-Herbal oils can be used in two forms, depending on the mode of extraction.
-First of all there are the pure essential oils, which are extracted from the herb by a complex and careful process of distillation. These oils are best obtained from specialist suppliers who distil them as the basis for aromatherapy and as such take care that they are as pure as possible.
-The second way of extracting oils is much simpler and resembles the method of cold infusion. Instead of infusing the herb in water, it is put into an oil, whereby a solution of the essential oil is obtained in the oil base.
-The best oils to use are pure plant oils such as olive, sunflower or almond oil, but any good pressed vegetable oil can be used and these are preferable to mineral oils.
-To make a herbal oil, first cut the herb finely; cover it with oil and put it in a clear glass container. Place this in the sun or leave in a warm place for two to three weeks, shaking the container daily. After that time, filter the liquid into a dark glass container and store the extracted oil.
-A typical and very soothing example of such an oil is St John’s Wort oil, which males a very red oil that can be used externally for massages and to help sunburns and heal wounds. It can also be taken internally in very small doses to ease stomach pains.


~The Holistic Herbal . Hoffmann



RawMahdiyah