The incense story

Incense - a group of aromatic substances that have been used by people since ancient times as a therapeutic or healing, perfumery, as well as for the performance of religious rituals. The most ancient incenses include volatile aromatic substances (LAV) of plant origin - backgammon, frankincense, camphor, sandalwood, myrrh; and animal origin - musk, ambergris, operculum.

In Buddhism, incense was used during meditation. In Christianity, incense is mainly used during worship. In Asia, the use of incense is wider. In addition to use in temples, it is traditionally used in homes as a religious tool, as well as a flavoring agent for indoor or outdoor air.

The first "fragrant" finds date back to about the third millennium BC. During the excavations of the largest ancient city of the Indus Valley, Mohenjo-Daro and the ancient Indian city of Harappa, clay jars for incense were found among various luxury items. Of course, there was no smell left, but the fact of such a find already means something.

In general, there was no problem with incense in the Indus Valley - since ancient times, the nature there has been rich in all kinds of essential oil plants, from which the inhabitants of Mohenjo-Daro extracted aromatic oils and other perfumes. Incense in Egypt was very fond of, but the Egyptians were not lucky with the natural conditions, so they visited Punt, a small state, somewhere in the center of modern Ethiopia. Moreover, these visits were not always peaceful in nature, incense — aloe, saffron, musk, frankincense and others — were so desired for the Egyptians. Even the process of mummification was not complete without incense - for embalming, several buckets of aromatic resins, aloe, frankincense, palm wine and other incense were needed. True, this method of mummification was very expensive and was suitable only for persons of noble origin.

By the middle of the first millennium BC, the incense production center moved to Arabia. Incense trading was one of the main components of the welfare of this “incense country”. Large trade empires grew on the export of myrrh and frankincense. Aromatic resins, rose oil, spices and dried flowers went along the famous trade "incense route" from Arabia to Egypt, Asia, Greece, Rome and India.

Incense was used for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes. Even in ancient Egypt, it was noticed that resins have an excellent antimicrobial agent - during mass ceremonies, many people fell ill with infectious diseases, but when incense was burnt in the temples, the disease did not occur.

The Greeks were especially fond of incense. Incense was smoked in temples, there were special incense for the body, for clothes, shoes, hair and for the home. All the time, new flavors were sought, and the trade was no longer in small bottles, but in large vessels. Later, a passion for incense came to Rome. Here, everyone always used incense - clothes, shoes and hair were saturated with fragrant essences, incense was burned in the premises, incense powders were added to clothes, drinks and water for washing and for furniture, and incense was sprinkled on the bed. And in order not to feel the sickening smell of Roman slums and garbage dumps, the emperors ordered incense to pour on the streets along which they passed.

Incense was loved in China, ink and paper were even perfumed there, and the basics of traditional fans were made of fragrant sandalwood. Sandalwood was also loved in India - temples were built from it, and rich people threw not ordinary wood into the funeral pyre, but fragrant sandalwood or juniper.

In the Middle Ages, musk was especially honored by the nobility, because it interrupted the smells of uncleaned bodies with its harsh aroma (baths and soap appeared a little later, during the Crusades they were brought from their travels by knights). It was the desire that arose then to surpass the "infidels" that caused the beginning of all kinds of experiments with odorous substances. Thanks to these studies, alcohol appeared, which began to be used to dissolve essential oils, and as a result - perfumes.

In Japan, incense was turned into a real art. There and now there are special schools in which they teach how to make and properly incense, and in addition, in these schools they teach special ritual dances that must be performed before incense. And Japanese geisha calculated the cost of the evening by the number of incense sticks burned.

Now in stores you can find incense sticks, cones and aromatic oils for almost every taste. They are not expensive and are mainly used to create an atmosphere and mood, and there is a whole science that tells what, when and why to incense. For example, aromas of rosemary, eucalyptus or rosewood are recommended during the day, and in the evening, ylang-ylang or patchouli. In addition, from ancient times, incense was endowed with healing and magical properties. It is believed that a rose brings love and happiness, bergamot attracts money, and rosemary expels evil spirits.