General history of incense

     Incense is a group of fragrant substances that have been used by people since ancient times as a healing or health-improving, perfumery, as well as for the administration of religious rituals. Among the most ancient incense are volatile aromatic substances (VAS) of plant origin - backgammon, incense, camphor, sandalwood, myrrh; and of animal origin - musk, amber, 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 being used in temples, it is traditionally used in homes as a religious instrument and also as an indoor or outdoor fragrance.

     The first "aromatic" 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 a variety of luxury items. Of course, no smell remained, but the very fact of such a find already means something.

     In general, there were no problems with incense in the Indus Valley - since ancient times, the local nature was rich in all kinds of essential oil plants, from which the inhabitants of Mohenjo-Daro extracted aromatic oils and other perfumery products. They loved incense in Egypt, but the Egyptians were unlucky 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, incense - aloe, saffron, musk, incense and others - were so coveted for the Egyptians. Even the mummification process was not complete without incense - several buckets of aromatic resins, aloe, incense, palm wine and other incense were needed for embalming. True, this method of mummification was very expensive and was suitable only for persons of noble birth.

     By the middle of the first millennium BC, the center for the production of incense moved to Arabia. The incense trade was one of the main components of the well-being of this "land of incense". Exports of myrrh and frankincense grew into large trading empires. Aromatic resins, rose oil, spices and dried flowers went from Arabia to Egypt, Asia, Greece, Rome and India along the famous trade route of incense.

     Incense was used for medicinal 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 burned in 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 house. At that time there was a search for new fragrances constantly, and trade was no longer in small flasks, but in large vessels. Later, the passion for incense came to Rome. Here everyone always used incense - clothes, shoes and hair were soaked in aromatic essences, incense was burned in rooms, incense powders were added to clothes, drinks and water for ablution and furniture, beds were sprinkled with incense. And in order not to feel the nauseating smell of Roman slums and garbage dumps, the emperors ordered to sprinkle incense on the streets along which they passed.

    Incense was loved in China, ink and paper were even scented there, and the bases of traditional fans were made from fragrant sandalwood. Sandalwood was also loved in India - there they built temples from it, and not an ordinary tree was thrown into the funeral pyres of the rich, but fragrant sandalwood or juniper.

     In the Middle Ages, musk enjoyed special respect among the nobility, because with its sharp aroma it interrupted the smells of bodies that had not been washed for a long time (baths and soap appeared a little later, during the Crusades it was brought from their travels by knights). It was the desire to surpass the "infidels" that arose then that caused the beginning of all kinds of experiments with odorous substances. Due to these studies alcohol had appeared, which began to use for dissolving essential oils, and as a result - perfume.

     In Japan, burning incense has become a real art. There and now there are special schools in which masters teach how to make and correctly burn incense, in addition, in these schools they teach special ritual dances that should be performed in front incense. And Japanese geishas calculated the cost of the evening by the number of incense sticks that 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 atmosphere and mood, and there is a whole science of telling what, when and why to light incense. For example, rosemary, eucalyptus or rosewood scents are recommended during the day, and ylang-ylang or patchouli in the evening. In addition, since ancient times, incense has been endowed with healing and magical properties. It is believed that rose brings love and happiness, bergamot attracts money, and rosemary expels evil spirits.