Incense - what is it? Each person will answer this question without hesitation. Of course, everyone will say that this is church incense. But what is it? Is it a natural substance, or is it made from any raw material? How long have people practiced incense fumigation? Is only incense used in churches? What properties does this substance have and how does it affect health? Can I burn it myself at home?
Not everyone can answer these and many other questions. Meanwhile, frankincense is an incense that has been used since ancient times and not only in occult or religious rituals.
What it is?
In many ancient texts, not only related to religion, but also describing various medical, cosmetic procedures, incense is mentioned. What it is? Nothing but petrified woody aromatic resin.
However, you should not think that natural incense is simply collected on trees and placed in smoking rooms or aromatic lamps. The resin is pre-treated, including cleaning and sorting.
In addition to pure natural products, various aromatic mixtures based on this wood resin are also produced. Of course, such incense is no longer incense, but it is they that are usually used not only at home, but also in churches.
What is incense made of?
Not every tree can give tar for this incense. The resin needed for making incense is collected exclusively from trees belonging to the genus Boswellia.
Of greatest value to resin collectors are trees, which are called “incense”. Their Latin name is Boswellia sacra. It is from their resin that the incense is obtained, which is considered selective, the purest and the best.
However, not only incense tree is a source of raw materials for the manufacture of incense. Resin is also collected from all plants belonging to the burserium family. The Latin name for these trees is Burseraceae.
Of course, the vegetation that serves as a source of raw materials for making incense is not found everywhere. The trees necessary for this grow exclusively on the Arabian Peninsula and in the eastern part of the African continent. In Arabia, they grow mainly in Yemen and Oman, and in Africa they are engaged in the production of incense in Somalia. It is in this country that most of the incense is currently being used, used in all corners of the world.
How is the resin collected?
The properties of incense directly depend on compliance with a number of rules when collecting resin from a tree. There are many subtleties in this process, however, the main nuances relate to the spirit of the moments - the time of collection and the mechanics of its implementation. In fact, the key nuances of the resin collection technique were determined in ancient times and remain unchanged.
In late February or early March, depending on weather conditions, neat, almost “surgical” incisions are made on the trees. When exercising them, it is important not to damage the trunk. That is, only the bark is cut. After this, the tree is not touched for a long time.
Responding to an incision that has appeared, the trunk begins to produce resin in a very large amount, trying to "heal" the resulting "wound". The resin flows down the cortex and freezes. This process lasts until the incision is tightened.
Only after the integrity of the bark is restored, the leaked and already petrified resin is collected manually. This is done very carefully, so as not to damage the tree. After assembly, the pieces of resin are cleaned and sorted.
What varieties of incense exist?
Sorting the resin, that is, what incense is made of, implies distributing it into two categories:
These categories are varieties of incense. In other words, the variety in this case is a quality parameter of the cured wood resin. Of course, each of the categories has its own characteristics characterizing it.
Selective Incense
The Latin name for this incense is Olibanum electum. Of course, this class includes only completely flawless, best pieces of frozen wood resin. As a rule, resins collected from trees of the burser family do not possess the necessary properties, figuratively speaking, do not reach the quality standards. Accordingly, selective incense is made exclusively from resins collected from trees of the same name.
What smells of the highest grade incense that does not contain any impurities? Pieces of such a resin have a pleasant, delicate aroma of wood balm, with hints of bitterness and a slight piquant spiciness. The smell is very stable. This quality of it allows the use of resin as a filler for sachets.
When grinding such a resin into a powder, dust of an even, pure, milky color is obtained, without any impurities or “dirty”, yellow, gray shades.
In its entirety, this variety is even pieces of a round or oblong shape, similar to drops. Color varies from yellowish to light pink. The pieces have a pronounced waxy shine, and their surface is usually covered with a light dusty coating of white color. This plaque appears as a result of friction between the drops of resin, which is inevitable during transportation or storage.
Frankincense
The properties of the incense of this variety, as well as its external characteristics, differ from the characteristics of incense obtained from selected resin. The Latin name for this incense is Olibanum in sortis.
Externally, such incense is a piece of various shapes and sizes, giving the impression of debris. It is more dense than selective, and much worse rubbed. When grinding this incense does not form dust of the same consistency, a large number of coarse particles and lumps remain in the powder.
The aroma of incense of this variety is thicker and heavier, it is much more pronounced. However, the characteristics of the smell themselves are no different from the aroma characteristic of selected varieties.
As for the color, the pieces of ordinary incense are dark. The color palette is diverse - from brown tones to murky yellow and dark gray.
Properties and composition
How to use incense? The properties and use of this substance are interconnected. Application is not limited to smoking. For example, this resin is capable of dissolving in water, forming an emulsion, and when heated, pieces of incense soften. Of course, pieces of resin can smolder and burn. When smoldering, a smoke spreads and fills the room with a specific and easily recognizable aroma.
These properties were noticed in ancient times and thanks to them, resin was used not only as incense, but also used in medicine, cosmetology and embalming the bodies of the dead.
What are the components of frankincense? The composition of this substance is truly unique. It includes:
- aromatic resins;
- boswellic acid, both free and associated with olibanoresen;
- esters - terpenes, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes;
- gum;
- mineral and organic substances.
This composition makes incense not only incense pleasant for human smell, but also a valuable cosmetic and medical raw material.
How do incense from incense affect a person?
How does this substance affect a person? The properties of incense are such that when it is lit in the room and, accordingly, inhaled by the haze, people come to inner peace, feelings of calm and emotional comfort come. Even a very nervous person, who is on the verge of hysteria, having spent some time near a smoker with incense, calms down and gains the ability to think clearly.
It was this quality, along with a pleasant aroma, that caused people to use incense from ancient times during worship. The properties and use of this resin as incense, respectively, are not harmful to human health and psycho-emotional state. In other words, incense does not have a psychotropic or narcotic effect.
The pacifying effect is achieved due to the specific volatile substance contained in the smoke - incensol acetate. It is a powerful natural antidepressant that has a beneficial effect on the human nervous system.
Where and for what else is it used?
The properties of incense allow the use of this resin not only as incense or as the basis for an aromatic mixture. Although, no doubt, it is in religious rites and aromatherapy that the substance is most often involved.
In folk medicine, frankincense is used very widely. For example, the powder from it is included in the formulations of ointments used for disinfection and treatment:
- festering wounds;
- mastitis
- boils.
With this resin, stomatitis, periodontal disease and some tumors are treated. Incense is also included in a number of folk cosmetic products.
As for official medicine, the resin is not currently used. However, as far back as the last century, frankincense was the basis for bactericidal and warming healing plasters, and was part of toothpastes, ointments, and various elixirs.
Also, it is often included in the composition of aromatic candles, along with other pleasantly smelling substances of plant origin.
Can this substance harm?
At first glance, such a question seems absurd. Indeed, in every church since ancient times, incense has been used at divine services. If this resin could be harmful, the priests would not use it.
However, everything is not as simple as it seems. Firstly, churches do not use frankincense in its purest form, and secondly, the premises of any church and the height of its arches still differ from an ordinary apartment. The smoke from the censer rises. Accordingly, the concentration of incense inhaled in the church will be much weaker than with home use of this resin.
Allergy sufferers should pay attention to this nuance. If a person painfully reacts to odors, then smoking incense in the apartment may well trigger a migraine or cause an allergic reaction.
Curious enough is one historical fact that characterizes the resin from a completely unexpected angle. Powdered selective incense was mixed with wine and given to war elephants before the start of battles. This remedy enraged animals and gave them strength, dulling pain. In other words, the drug acted on the elephants used in battles in the same way as the “mushroom elixirs” on the Vikings, on the berserkers.
How to use incense yourself?
How to burn incense at home? In the same way as they do in any of the churches. The easiest way to light incense in the room is as follows:
- place a small piece of resin in an aroma lamp;
- set it on fire, and as soon as the tongues of flame appear - immediately blow them out.
Thus, the incense will not burn, but will begin to smolder, spreading a pleasant aroma throughout the house. If you want to use the substance as a dry flavoring agent for laundry, pieces of resin should be placed in a fabric bag, which will need to be hung on the wall of the cabinet. But it should be noted that incense is subject to friction. Therefore, gauze fabric for the manufacture of sachets should not be used.
As for the use of this resin as a therapeutic or cosmetic means, then, having no experience, you should not prepare creams or ointments, elixirs on your own. Although in folk medicine there are many recipes for various incense-based products, their preparation requires certain knowledge and practical experience.