2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29
Incense is a sacred aromatic resin that brings spiritual purification. Called "divine tears", incense is one of the most ancient incense, which remains unchanged to this day. Logically, incense is one of the most ancient commodities ever traded.
The aromatic mixture has been used since ancient times as incense in India, China, as well as during Christian worship. The Egyptians used incense to beautify, using it to prepare rejuvenating face masks.
The incense is a tree sap in the form of an aromatic resin of a tree of the Burseraceae family. This low tree with a dense crown and charming pale pink flowers is extremely rare - in East Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia), the Arabian Peninsula and in India and Iran. The tree is particularly beautiful, and its Latin name is Boswellia sacra (synonyms B. carteri, B. thurifera).
The incense of incense has a millennial religious commitment. It is believed that its aroma purifies, and it itself is strictly specific - when heated, the resin softens and emits a strong pleasant balsamic aroma. In ancient Egypt, incense, along with cedar resin and nutmeg, were used for embalming.
For real incense is considered the resin of the tree Boswellia Carteri. There are other types of incense that are named after their origin - Indian incense, Jerusalem incense, African incense.
The closest tree to the smell of Boswellia Carteri is Boswellia pupurifera, namely it is found in Somalia and Ethiopia. This African tree "cries" with resin, which is sometimes called Abyssinian. Indian incense is derived from the Boswellia Serrata Roxb tree, which grows in India and Persia.
On the peninsula of Crete and in Asia Minor, the so-called Cretan incense, which is extracted from the wild shrubs Cistus creticus and C. cyprius from the family Cistaceae. This resin is released from the bark of the stem and branches as a result of accidental mechanical damage by animals.
The fur of the animals grazing nearby is glued to the separated incense grains. The shepherds then comb the animals and collect incense. Oval cakes or sticks are made from it. This wood resin is brown and stretchy, with a characteristic pleasant odor.
The incense is a natural product that is often mentioned in ancient biblical texts alongside gold. In the Bible, in Church Slavonic incense is spoken under the name "Lebanon" - one of the most ancient incense. In older translations of the Bible there is the Church Slavonic "Lebanon" (or incense) from the ancient Greek is "ladanon". This is an Arabic word for vegetable resin.
To this day, incense is a purifying religious incense used for incense by many religious denominations. It is believed that the spreading aromatic smoke symbolizes the sacrifice before Heaven. The symbolic meaning of incense can also be found in dreamers. According to them, if a person dreams of incense or incense with it, he will succeed, get rid of danger or solve his problems. If you smell incense in your dream, it is a sign of hope and good news.
Extraction of incense
The incense is obtained from the tree sap of a rather drooping tree, and in the spring, most often at the end of March, deep incisions are made in the bark of the tree. As a result, milk juice begins to flow from these incisions, which as a result of the air influence begins to gradually harden.
The form in which incense is formed in this way is in round grains with an amber yellow to rusty red color and a characteristic odor. The Arabs called this milky juice "tears of the gods" thousands of years ago. Drying of incense on the trunk of trees takes about three to four weeks. Then it's time to harvest, collecting up to 400 g of incense from one tree.
History of incense
The history of incense is traditionally connected with the Dofar plateau in Oman, which the locals venerate as an open-air temple. It is here that the precious trees grow, which "cry" with divine tears - beautiful forests with dense crowns and dense shade, which carry a rich aroma of incense.
For thousands of years the incense was the only source of income for the local Bedouins, who lived in this seemingly remote place, bordering the southern part of the desert, which runs through the entire Arabian Peninsula. It is there that the Omani province of Dofar is located, where incense forests grow on the rocky high plateau. The area was constantly permeated by thick fog, so the locals thought that incense was the dew of the trees.
Over time, Dofar became an extremely important center for the incense trade. A legend tells of one of the three wise men who came to worship the infant Jesus. It is believed that the incense that the sage wore as a gift was from Dofar. Even before that, people thought that the incense of this fragrant resin could drive away the devil.
Incense is sacred in various religions. Even the Prophet Muhammad said that he valued prayers and pleasant scents the most, and it was no coincidence that every Friday his incense was felt, driving away evil spirits from the Muslim world. The smell of smoldering incense is widely used in both Christianity and Hinduism as a sign of divine intimacy.
Nowadays, only the elderly know where incense trees grow and what the whole procedure for obtaining it is, and there are only a few places in the world where incense is extracted.
Among the religious traditions associated with incense are also those of the ancient Chinese. They bathed in incense smoke, which was believed to purify their minds and souls. When incense burns, its fragrant smoke rises in a spiral, so the Chinese believed that it was a source of inspiration that went up and provided direct contact with the divine.
Incense composition
The incense contains 50-60% resins, 20-30% gum, 6-8% minerals and 3-7% essential oils. The incense can be ground, and the resulting powder is partially dissolved in water and forms a cloudy emulsion with a bitter taste. The resin of incense trees dissolves better in ethanol.
Benefits of incense
Apart from religious rites and incense, the raw material of incense is widely used in the cosmetics industry and especially in perfumery. C incense soaps, deodorants and mostly men's perfumes with oriental aromas are produced. Incense essential oil is widely used in aromatherapy, but also in homeopathy and even medicine.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Jerusalem and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have found that only small doses of incense have an antidepressant effect and can significantly suppress fears, depression and anxiety.
The use of incense is great in psychotherapy and meditation. This is because it is believed that the aroma of incense can raise a person's overall tone by overfilling him with energy. Incense is considered to be the strongest means of protecting the aura, which at the same time creates a feeling of well-being and peace. In medicine, the aroma of incense is used because it has been proven to eliminate insomnia, eliminate night fears and anxieties and completely strengthen sleep in humans. According to the great Peter Deunov, an incense solution is able to treat arthritis well.
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