Skills: The Ancient Art of Making Incense

by Anne Harwood

for the Scholars of St. Thomas Aquinas, 2008

The History of Incense In India

           Ever since primitive man learned that certain woods, resins and herbs thrown on the fire create pleasant and therapeutic effects, incense has been an integral part of worship. Virtually every culture in every part of the world has used incense as a means of worshipping God.

            In the Bible, for example, God directs the Israelites to burn incense as a sacrifice to Him, and included the recipe to be used in the Temple.

              “Take these aromatic substances: storax, and onycha and galbanum, these and pure frankincense in equal parts and blend them into incense…”[1]

              And, of course, frankincense and myrrh are famous from the New Testament as gifts from the Three Wise Men of the East to Jesus at his birth.

            “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.”[2]

              In the East, particularly in India, the burning of incense was already an ancient rite by the time King Solomon built his Temple. The oldest source we have regarding incense and herbalism appears in the Rig Veda, a sacred Hindu text composed between 1700 – 1100 BCE. The Hindus had developed a system of treating illness, which they called Ayurvedic, a word that literally means “the science of Life”. The healing arts and religion are inextricably bound together in Hinduism, which purports that Ayurvedic medicine is a divine revelation of the creator, Lord Brahma, which He sang as He awoke to recreate the universe.

Early practitioners of the Ayurvedic discipline were acute observers of their environment, and were centuries ahead of their western European counterparts in the sense that they understood that matter was composed of invisible particles. They also practiced reconstructive surgery[3] and therapeutic massage, using various aromatics combined with oil to calm the mind and release toxins from the joints.

Aromatherapy was a basic treatment of the Ayurvedic physicians. They noticed that fragrance has a profound effect on the human mind, and combined this observation with their knowledge of the antibacterial and antiviral properties of certain woods, herbs and spices. During times of widespread illness or the changing of the seasons, Ayurvedic physicians performed special ceremonies called yagnas.[4] Natural ingredients including precious woods, resins, powders, spices, roots and gums were burned on large fire pits called agni kunds (Agni being the Hindu god of fire and messenger to the other gods of the pantheon). These agni kunds would serve as giant censers for the aromatic blends prepared for the occasion and the community of men and women would sit around them, chanting mantras and inhaling the sacred and healing smoke.[5]

The aromatic molecules contained in the smoke were also known to gently stimulate the higher brain center through the olfactory nerves helping the participants relax and experience a sense of reverence and receptivity to the sublime unseen Power supporting their life.[6]

           The practice of Ayurvedic medicine was restricted to members of the Brahmin caste. Study of the Vedic texts reveal that the highest tier were those who practiced orthodox sacrificial spirituality, offering animals to God in rituals specified in the Vedas. The second tier were the healers, who had assimilated their knowledge of herbalism with the rituals and beliefs of the sacrificial priests. These healers were scorned by the higher caste, who believed the healers were “unclean” due to their association with sick persons of all classes. Around 200 B.C.E., the second tier was excluded by law from participating in the sacred rites.[7]

            Due to this significant split in the Brahmins, I believe that incense making as a profession opened up to other castes: the higher caste Brahmins retained control of the sacred rituals surrounding sacrifice and worship, which was privileged knowledge not shared with other castes, even other Brahmins of “inferior” tribes. Other castes looking to improve their own status took this opportunity to expand their money-making potential by learning how to make sacred incense. Rajpal’s family is Kshatriya, and traditionally warriors, but in discussing caste and status, one must be careful to avoid categorizing the castes by profession too narrowly. For example, Niccolao Manucci, an Italian adventurer in India during the second half of the 17^th century, observed,

     Brahmins at the top of the ritual hierarchy would eat with no one else at all, nor would they eat food cooked by anyone else. Yet curiously, the Brahmins would cook for other communities, and, though he would not clear the leaves on which others had eaten, he would even pour water to wash the hands of those who had eaten.[8]

                  In other words, Brahmins would shun the company of social inferiors, yet did not hesitate to “serve” them in other circumstances. This apparent dichotomy is testimony to the complexity and flexibility of the Hindu caste system.

Incense Ingredients During the 15^th Century

            Rajpal and his family enjoy the status of belonging to both the second caste and artisans, for following the division in the priestly castes in the second century B.C.E., “incense evolved…in association with medicine and herbal remedies, and became even more a closely guarded secret passed down primarily in the oral tradition and apprenticeship.”[9]

While Rajpal is not a healer, the Ayurvedic traditions no doubt impact his understanding of how incense recipes are prepared. These recipes represent knowledge passed down to him from his father and his father before him. Being a holistic healing system, Ayurvedic medicine (of which aromatherapy and incense are fundamental components) draws on the five elements. It is widely believed among Hindus that ill health results when there is an imbalance between the elements. Following is a breakdown of the elements and the aromatics associated with them.

·        Water (stems and branches) – sandalwood, aloeswood, cedarwood, cassia, frankincense, myrrh, borneol.

·        Ether (fruits) – star anise

·        Earth (roots) – turmeric, vetivert, ginger, costus, valerian, spikenard.

·        Fire (flower) – clove

·        Air (leaves) – patchouli[10]

While during the Mughal reign the worship of Shiva and Vishnu are prevalent[11], each Hindu is free to offer his devotion to any of the countless gods and goddesses in the pantheon. Rajpal makes incense primarily for use in puja (worship), so his understanding extends to the scents that are sacred to certain gods. According to guidelines laid out in the Agama Shastra, an enormous and ancient collection of Sanskrit scriptures detailing the places and means of worship, the ingredients for incense varied, depending upon which god was being worshipped. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find an English translation of this resource. According to secondary and tertiary sources, however, it appears that formulations for puja incense were composed of eight ingredients chosen from a list of eighteen.[12] Very roughly, this list included sandalwood, red sandalwood (sacred to Ganesha), vetivert, saffron, spikenard, costus, aloeswood, camphor, turmeric, clove, cinnamon, styrax, champa, frankincense, myrrh, cedarwood, rose oil, jasmine oil and tulsi (or basil, sacred to Vishnu and Krishna).

But not only Hindus use incense for worship. Despite the many differences that make Hinduism and Islam seem diametric opposites to each other (including monotheism, transmigration and reincarnation), Muslims also burn incense during their religious ceremonies. Rajpal, a devote Hindu, nevertheless counts Muslims among his customers, and has some knowledge of their incense requirements.

Hindus and Muslims alike are perfume enthusiasts as well. Umar al-Farouq, one of Islam’s earliest converts, said, “Whoever spends a third of his wealth on perfume is not being extravagant.” It is said that of all things, the Prophet Mohammed loved God, women and fragrance the best,” and his favourite scent is thought to be musk (“The best of perfumes is musk,” he said, according to Sahih Muslim, a Sunni collection of the Prophet’s words). Despite this, followers of Islam in Mughal-era India hold that the rose is the most pleasant of fragrances, and they use it extensively. Manucci tells us, “All persons in India being extremely choice about, and fond of, scents and flowers, they disburse a great deal for essences of many kinds, for rosewater, and for scented oils distilled from different flowers…. Everyone in India knows how dear and scarce essence of roses is…Yet neither scarcity nor high cost deters…”[13]

Jasmine is another scent that figures prominently in Indian society. No less than sixteen varieties are available in Mughal-era India. Jasmine is mentioned in The Kama Sutra, a treatise written in the 4^th century C.E., often mistaken for a pornographic work. While a section of the book does focus on the various expressions of human sexuality, its broader application is to the pursuit of pleasure, as its title implies (“kama” translating roughly to “wish” or “pleasure”, and “sutra” meaning “thread” or “discussion”). Within the pages of The Kama Sutra, we find guidelines for the three aims of life, the acquisition of knowledge and tips on personal grooming, including the ingredients for toothpaste. This recipe involves cardamon, cinnamon, honey and black pepper.[14] Eraly tells us that the women in the Imperial harem combined “crushed pearls, musk, amber, aloeswood and camphor” for their toothpaste.[15] Indeed, The Kama Sutra considers the artful handling of fragrance one of the sixty-four arts of the cultured classes.

Finally, Abu Fas’l compiled a comprehensive list of aromatics in his exhaustive account of Akbar’s reign, The Ain-I-Akbari (1596-1597). Fas’l mentions the means of collecting and cultivating such substances as ambar, camphor, musk from the civet cat, aloeswood, sandalwood, storax, frankincense, champa, saffron and sunflower, to name just a few.[16]

Many of the same ingredients are still in use and it seems likely that incense in Mughal-era India existed in a form we would recognize today. In the 21^st century, incense is most readily available in the form of cones or sticks. Cones are a recent invention, and made their debut at the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893.[17] Sticks, called agarbhatti or joss sticks, are believed to be a development of Buddhist monks in China, and probably came to India via the Silk Road shortly after 200 C.E.[18]

Incense was also of the loose variety, which is explored in depth below.

Chintamani Incense and the Ananga-Ranga

Unfortunately, none of the ancient recipes for loose incense intended specifically for puja have survived the Mughal reign. What has survived, however, is the Ananga-Ranga, a treatise on human sexuality written by the Indian poet, Kalyana Malla, in the 15^th or 16^th century. Sir Richard Burton translated this work into English in 1885.

The Ananga-Ranga is a fascinating document, not so much for the descriptions of the various types of women to be found in India and how best to court them, but because it contains a vast pharmacopeia of cosmetics, remedies and charms. Chapter Seven is devoted to the treating of “Vashikarana, the art by which man or woman is rendered submissive and obedient to the fascinator.”[19]  It is here that we find a recipe for “a fascinating incense, or fumigation”, which is valuable for the insight it offers into the making of incense during the Mughal era, a process Rajpal would have employed.

The recipe reads as follows:

Pound well together sandalwood, Kunku (red powder prepared from turmeric and alum coloured with lemon-juice and other matters), costus, Krishnaguru (black sanders), Suvasika-puspha (perfumed flowers?), white vala (the fragrant andropogon muricatum and the bark of the Deodaru pine); and, after reducing them to fine powder, mix it with honey and thoroughly dry. It is now known as Chintamani-Dhupa, the "thought-mastering incense".[20]

Chintamani is the Sanskrit word for “the mind jewel”, and this incense was burned for the specific purpose of meditation. Although its focus was on the subjugation of a romantic partner, rather than the worship of a specific deity, we can assume that the method for making and using puja incense was identical. From this recipe, we can deduce that ingredients were ground into powder with a mortar and pestle, mixed with honey and set out in the sun to dry, forming little cakes. These disks were placed in small bowls lined with sand, or in specially designed stoves, and set alight. Once the fire caught, the flame was blown out and the incense left to smoulder.

Islamic incense burner, 12 c.

            In recreating Chintamani, I was first faced with the task of identifying the ingredients. Sandalwood and costus are both readily available, and posed no difficulty. Kunku is today more commonly known as kumkum, a powder used by Indian women even today as a cosmetic, to make the tilak (or bhindi) on their forehead, and to decorate the part in their hair during festivals. Krishnaguru is known more commonly as agar or aloeswood, and is one of the fragrances mentioned by Abu-Fas’l in The Akbarnama.[21] White vala is a sweet-smelling grass, known also as vajra or euphorbia.

The greatest difficulty in gathering the ingredients for this recipe was identifying suvasika-pushpa. Even Burton seemed baffled and uncertain of this ingredient as he added, “perfumed flowers” in parentheses.  All of my efforts to ascertain a common or English name for suvasika-pushpa were unsuccessful. An online search revealed a commercial producer of Chintamani incense using traditional methods, but the ingredient list stated only that suvasika-pushpa is “special fragrant flowers”.

Therefore, in recreating this period recipe, it was necessary to leave this ingredient out.