History
of Incense
The
use and acc1`eptance of incense
is increasing and broadening. The primary uses are
the enjoyment of the pleasant smell sensation, mood
making, spiritual purposes and to combat bathroom,
tobacco, cooking or pet odors. The current investigations
of the effects of aerosol can usage is having a favorable
effect on incense usage. Incense represents an item
currently being sold and consumed throughout the world.
Incense
making is an ancient art:
The
Chinese discovered Musk, which is almost as popular
today as it once was throughout the ancient Chinese
empires. It was Chinese custom to burn incense at
funerals and during burial processions, a practice
that was later followed in , western European culture.
In
the beginning of Asiatic civilization, the Hindus
also burned incense for their gods. Such-E has - been
the special mystery and power of incense that through
its earliest users lie long buried beneath the desert
sands, the sublime odors of incense still exert their
special magic into the twentieth century. In those
two most remarkable areas of the ancient world the
fertile crescent Dead Sea, and the Nile Valley, reaching
from the Mediterranean' to the heart of Africa, one
can find the earliest use of incense. The Egyptians,
Israelites, Carthaginians, and the Arabs all developed
the art and science of aromatics. For those inhabiting
the fertile lands of the Nile, perfumes and incense
were closely related to eternal life. The lifeless
bodies of the Pharaohs once mummified were covered
with perfume and their fabulous burial vaults were
filled with precious metals, jewels and beautiful
fragrances. This was the ritual for awaiting reincarnation
and all efforts were devoted to pleasing the gods
who would soon grant -immortality. The historical
route of incense continued to follow the pathways
of civilization. As Greek thought and culture spread
throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, so too did the
use of and enchantment of the incense. The Greeks
offered incense to their gods in the hope of gaining
personal favor. and rewards and throughout Greek mythology
one finds references to those perfumed essences. In
the later Hellenic era, the same philosophers who
discovered in the heavens the music of the spheres
found in the devoted laborious study to the art of
perfumery. By the time the,, Roman culture came to
absorb and control the people of the ancient world,
the many traditions of -incense were firmly established.
Along the Apia way and the sea-lanes piloted by the
Roman galleys, merchants trafficked and, fortunes
were made in the perfume trade. To Tyro, Constantinopal,,
and Alexandria, the traders went forth to barter for
the riches of cinnamon, frankincense, and sandalwood.
Military campaigns were undertaken to open up new
roads to the perfumes and spices of the East and that
would help fill the coffers of Rome with gold.
