Heidi Norton
Incense is a material that is burned for its strong fragrance. It is made from a combination of aromatic ingredients such as resins, woods, herbs, spices, musk, and ambergris. The process of making incense involves selecting and grinding these raw ingredients, mixing them with a binder, forming them into a dough, and extruding them into sticks that are then dried. The person who makes incense is an incense maker or a perfumer. They are artists who carefully select and compose different ingredients to create unique olfactory expressions that uplift the soul of the beholder.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | No specific name found. The closest term found is perfumer, which refers to someone who works with fragrances more generally. |
| Description | Someone who makes incense combines raw herbs, woods, spices, resins, musk, and ambergris in specific quantities and grinds them to a certain grit. They may also form the incense into balls or sticks using a binder and dry the incense at a specific speed. |
| Purpose | To uplift the soul of the beholder with the final composition. |
| Training | Some incense makers have a background in composing fragrances and receive professional training in this area. |
| Tools | Tools used include a censer or thurible (a vessel for burning incense), charcoal or glowing embers as a heat source, and a variety of raw ingredients. |
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What You'll Learn
- Incense-making ingredients: woods, resins, spices, herbs, musk, ambergris
- Incense formats: sticks, chips, blocks, powder, paste, balls, coils
- Incense burners: censers, thuribles, mabkhara, dabqaad, koro, egōro
- Incense usage: religious ceremonies, air freshening, medicinal, entertainment, purification
- Incense history: traded on the Silk Road, used by ancient Egyptians, Romans, Japanese
Incense-making ingredients: woods, resins, spices, herbs, musk, ambergris
The term "incense maker" or "incensier" is used to describe someone who makes incense.
Incense makers use a variety of ingredients to create incense, including woods, resins, spices, herbs, musk, and ambergris. Each ingredient contributes to the unique fragrance and properties of the incense.
Woods
Incense makers often use woods with a reputation for being 'sappy', as they produce a nice fragrance when burnt. Some popular choices include cedar, juniper, pine, spruce, and cypress. Classic options like sandalwood, oudh, and palo santo are also commonly used. Incense makers can also experiment with local woods, such as stinkwood in South Africa, or use sawdust from lumber yards.
Resins
Resins are a key ingredient in indirect-burning or non-combustible incense, which requires a separate heat source. Frankincense and myrrh are well-known examples of resinous incense materials, mentioned in the Bible and valued for their pure, pleasant fragrances. Resins can also be used as binders in incense-making, mixed with powdered or granulated incense material to form balls or pastilles.
Spices
In India, the main form of incense is the incense stick or "agarbatti", which involves coating a bamboo stick with a paste made of charcoal dust, adhesives, and a masala (spice mix) powder. The coated stick is then rolled in the spice mix powder or dipped in a perfume liquid, resulting in a fragrant, combustible incense stick.
Herbs
Herbs are commonly used in incense-making, adding their unique aromas to the final product. Incense makers can experiment with different herbs and test their fragrances by burning small amounts on a charcoal briquette. Powdered herbs can also be used to prevent incense balls from sticking during the drying process.
Musk
Musk fragrances have been valued in India for their traditional healing properties, such as alleviating insomnia, anxiety, and mood fluctuations. Musk incense sticks, like those from HEM, are handcrafted using natural tree extracts and essential oils, promoting alertness and a positive mood.
Ambergris
Ambergris is a rare and valuable substance produced in the digestive system of sperm whales. It has been used by perfume makers as a fixative to prolong the scent of their fragrances. However, due to its scarcity and legal ambiguity, ambergris has largely been replaced by synthetic alternatives.
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Incense formats: sticks, chips, blocks, powder, paste, balls, coils
The term "incense maker" or "incensier" is used to describe someone who crafts incense. Incense makers use a variety of natural ingredients, including aromatic herbs, resins, woods, and essential oils, to create incense in various formats, each with its own unique burning characteristics and cultural significance.
Sticks:
Incense sticks, also known as joss sticks in many Asian cultures, are one of the most common forms of incense. They are typically made by coating a supporting core of bamboo with a thick layer of incense material. Higher-quality variations may have fragrant sandalwood cores. Joss powder, also known as jiggit or makko, is commonly used as a binder to hold the incense material together.
Chips:
In Arab countries, scented chips called bakhoor are burned on special occasions and to perfume homes. Bakhoor is usually burned in a mabkhara, a traditional incense burner similar to the Somali dabqaad.
Blocks:
Bakhoor, in addition to being used in chip form, can also be found in block form. These blocks are burned to release a fragrant aroma.
Powder:
Loose incense powder is used for making indirect-burning incense and can be burned directly without further processing. It is often used in censers, where it is placed on top of hot coals or charcoal to release its fragrance.
Paste:
Powdered or granulated incense material is mixed with a sticky incombustible binder, such as dried fruit, honey, or soft resin, to create a paste. This paste is then formed into balls or small pastilles and allowed to mature in a controlled environment, allowing the fragrances to blend. Arabian incense, also known as Bukhoor or Bakhoor, and Japanese incense, called nerikō or awasekō, are often made using this method.
Balls:
Resin balls have been found in prehistoric Egyptian tombs, indicating the use of incense in ancient times. Incense makers may create balls by kneading incense dough and forming it into the desired shape.
Coils:
Coil incense, commonly used in Chinese cultures, is extruded and shaped into a coil without a core. It can burn for an extended period, from hours to days.
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Incense burners: censers, thuribles, mabkhara, dabqaad, koro, egōro
Incense burners, also known as censers, have been used throughout history across many different cultures and religions. In the Latin Church and its Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church, a censer is often referred to as a thurible. Thuribles are typically metal containers suspended from chains, with a bowl at the top for hot coals and incense. The swinging motion of the thurible spreads the fragrant smoke. The Botafumeiro, a 5-foot-high, 55-kilogram silver vessel in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, is a famous example.
In Japan, a censer called an egōro is used by several Buddhist sects. The egōro is usually made of brass with a long handle and no chain. Makkō powder is poured into a depression in a bed of ash, and the incense mixture is burned on top. This method is known as Sonae-kō (Religious Burning). In Japanese tea ceremonies, a different type of censer called a koro is used. These are typically globular with three feet and made from materials such as pottery, porcelain, or bronze.
In Arab countries, incense is burned in the form of scented chips or blocks called bakhoor. A traditional incense burner called a mabkhara is used, which is similar to the Somali dabqaad. Mabkhara often feature decorative bands of Arabic calligraphy with the name of the artist and patron, as well as prayers and good wishes for the owner.
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Incense usage: religious ceremonies, air freshening, medicinal, entertainment, purification
Incense has been used for thousands of years in various cultures for many different purposes, including religious ceremonies, air freshening, medicine, entertainment, and purification.
Religious Ceremonies
Incense has been used in religious ceremonies and worship for centuries by various religious groups, including:
- Christians: Incense was first used in the 4th century by the early Christian church in eucharistic ceremonials. It continues to be used by various Christian denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic Church, Orthodox Christian churches, Lutheran Churches, and some Anglican Churches.
- Jews: The ancient Israelites used incense in their liturgy, and it was a mixture of frankincense, storax, onycha, galbanum, and salt. Contemporary Judaism uses aromatic spices in the Havdalah ceremony ending the Sabbath.
- Muslims: Incense is burned in the form of scented chips or blocks called bakhoor in most Arab countries. It is used on special occasions, such as weddings or Fridays, or to perfume the house.
- Hindus: Hindus, especially the Śaivas, use incense for ritual and domestic offerings.
- Buddhists: Buddhists burn incense at festivals, initiations, and daily rites. It is also used in East Asian Buddhist ceremonies and rites, as well as in Japanese Shinto shrines.
- Taoists: Chinese Taoists use incense in religious ceremonies, ancestor veneration, and daily life.
- Mandaeans: Mandaean priests offer incense during rituals such as baptism, death mass, and priest initiation ceremonies.
Air Freshening
Incense has been used to perfume the air and obscure less desirable odours, especially in enclosed spaces like churches and temples. For example, the giant Botafumeiro thurible in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela was used to mask the scent of tired, unwashed pilgrims. Similarly, in the post-Reformation Church of England, incense was burned before grand occasions when the church was crowded.
Medicinal
The Chinese have used incense in traditional medicine for over two thousand years.
Entertainment
In Japan, during the Heian Era, the delicate scents of high-quality Japanese incense (Koh) became a source of amusement and entertainment for nobles in the Imperial Court.
Purification
Incense is often used as part of purification rituals in various religious traditions, including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Shinto. It is believed to purify the surroundings and drive away demons or negative energies.
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Incense history: traded on the Silk Road, used by ancient Egyptians, Romans, Japanese
The use of incense has a long and fascinating history, with evidence of its trade and use stretching back millennia. One of the most well-known trade routes associated with incense is the Silk Road, which facilitated the exchange of incense and other goods between the Mediterranean world and eastern and southern regions. This route included ports in the Levant, Egypt, Northeast Africa, Arabia, and India, with South Arabia and the Horn of Africa being major suppliers of incense.
Early records of incense trade in Egypt date back to around 1500 BC, with depictions of incense trees on temple reliefs in Thebes. Egyptian texts also mention the "Land of Punt" as a source of incense and other exotic goods. The Egyptians traded along the Red Sea, importing spices, gold, and wood. The incense trade route from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea was particularly important, with Gerrha in the Persian Gulf controlling the aromatics trade to Babylon in the 1st century BC.
The Romans also played a significant role in the incense trade, with their vast trading network extending to India. Roman polytheism deeply entrenched the use of incense in ritual offerings, with frankincense being the most popular variety. The discovery of frankincense in Roman burials as far west as Britain attests to its widespread use. However, with the rise of Christianity and the banning of Pagan rites in the 4th century, the use of incense in Europe declined.
In Japan, the burning of incense was introduced during the 6th century Asuka period with the arrival of Buddhism, which uses incense in its rituals and ceremonies. Agarwood, a fragrant wood used in incense burning, was imported from China via Korea and became an integral part of Japanese culture. Japanese incense, known for its delicate scents, was used by nobles for amusement and entertainment, as well as by samurai warriors who perfumed their armour and helmets with it. Today, Japan continues to be a major exporter of incense, with traditional companies like Kungyokudo and Baieido, established in the 16th and 17th centuries respectively, still operating and supplying incense worldwide.
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