Incense, has its roots back in
mankind's first experiences with fire itself. It is unlikely primitive man
would have missed that certain woods had more pleasing aromas and indeed
varying emotional effects. Incense artifacts, thousands of years old, have be
found in throughout the world, and appear to be a part of virtually every
culture. The connection between incense, religions, medicine, and shaman
practices is obvious, it would be impossible to separate them, or say which
proceeded the other. Historically it is difficult to trace because it has
always been largely an esoteric and oral tradition evolving in relation to both
religion and medicine.
There are many myths regarding
incense as well. Several modern sources include the use of Salt Peter
(Potassium Nitrate) in making incense. This is undoubtedly a much later
addition that arose in the commercialization of incense, primarily in the last
40 years.
Incense has appeared in many forms:
raw woods, chopped herbs, pastes, powders, and even liquids or oils. What most
of us think of as incense today is joss-sticks or cones. Cones as we know them
were an invention of the Japanese and introduced at the World's Fair in Chicago
in the late 1800's. I cannot say, at this time, when the Joss Stick or Masala
incense first appeared. We do know that it was brought to China by Buddhist
monk's around 200 ce. as both incense materials and Buddhism traveled the
various routes of the Silk Road. The process of extruding incense sticks and
coils from finely ground incense materials seems to have begun in China, as
well as the use of these types in time measurement.
Herbal
Incense
Herbal incense is blended primarily
for effect. Scent is the secondary consideration in many cases, but in
"all" cases, the scent is designed for the burn. Many natural incense
ingredients have almost no aroma until they are heated. Notably, Aloes wood as
well as many other resins have little or no aroma until they are smoldered over
the incense fire.
Incense and Herbalism go hand-in-hand,
and the oldest sources we have regarding herbalism and incense is the Indian
Vedas. The primary references are in the Athar-vaveda and the Rigveda. This is
commonly considered first phase of Ayurveda and deals with the subject in a
more magical and religious approach to healing. Examination of early Vedic
texts indicates that the herbalists, or healers were a second tier of Hindu
priest that emerged out of the agrarian areas. They appear to assimilated their
knowledge of herbalism with the rituals and beliefs of the orthodox or
"Sacrificial" priests. However, they remained two distinct classes
and were scorned in the later days of this phase by the sacrificial priests who
considered them unclean because of their association and medical treatment of
all classes of people. Around 200 bce. They were excluded by law from
participating in sacred rites. Even before this, the medical priests had begun
associating with wandering mendicants and ascetics who were renouncing
sacrificial rites and orthodoxy, and among these were the Buddhist or bhikkhus.
Pali sources indicate that the Buddhists were the principal means by which
these emerging physicians organized, developed and disseminated their emerging
art. This begins the classical phase of Ayurveda and the great healer Atreya
emerges among others at the medical university at Taxila. Among his students
were Jivaku (Buddha's Physician).
Later, Brahmanization of certain
medical texts amends the heterodox practices in light of a more orthodox view,
and Buddhist medicine appears to split with Ayurveda. From this point, incense
evolves in both traditions in association with medicine and herbal remedies,
and becomes even more a closely guarded secret passed down primarily in the
oral tradition and apprenticeship.
Incense
Ingredients
Breaking down the five elements and
their Ayurvedic relationship to plants and common incense ingredients we find
them falling into five classes. The following chart shows the relationship:
1. Ether (Fruits) Star Anise
2. Water (Stems & Branches) Sandalwood, Aloeswood, Cedarwood, Cassia, Frankincense,
Myrrh, Borneol
3. Earth (Roots) Turmeric, Vetivert, Ginger, Costus Root, Valerian, Spikenar
4. Fire (flower) Clove
5. Air (leaves) Patchouli
By Buddhist traditions, the 5 primary
ingredients are:
1. Buddha
Family
Vairocana (Transmutation
of Ignorance) Aloeswood
2. Vajra
Family
Akshobhya (Transmutation
of Aversion) Clove
3. Padma
(lotus) Family
Amitabha (Transmutation
of Desire) Sandalwood
4. Ratna
Family
Ratnasambhava
(Transmutation of Pride) Borneol
5. Karma
Family
Amoghasiddhi
(Transmutation of Envy) Turmeric
Making
Incense
The process of making herbal incense
without the use of salt peter, or even charcoal is actually quite easy.
However, perfecting the art is another matter. Perhaps the easiest way is by
using a binder commonly called Makko. Makko not only serves as a water soluble
binder, but as a burning agent as well. Makko is a natural tree bark from an
evergreen tree and contains no synthetic chemicals, charcoal, or salt peter.
To make incense, simply mix the
desired ingredients, in powdered form, with makko, and add some warm water.
Knead the incense-dough thoroughly and form into cones or sticks and let them
dry slowly. Japanese makers have ways to control the drying time. About a week
in the summer and ten days in the winter.
Sandalwood is common to almost every
incense formula, and serves as a wonderful base aroma as well as a burning
agent of its own right. If you were making an incense of sandalwood alone, the
amount of makko required may be a little as 10%. However, resins like
Frankincense are more difficult to burn and must be used in much lower
percentages to burning agents such as sandalwood or makko. Otherwise, your
incense won't burn properly, and may me too smoky or keep going out.
What is Makko?
 |
| Tabu no ki (Makko) |
Makko really just means
"Incense Powder," but when we refer to Makko we are talking about a
specific incense powder called Tabu no ki. It is the bark of a tree that grows
in Southeast Asia, the Machillus Thunbergii tree. Makko comes in four grades,
and the the higher grades have less aroma than the lower ones. What makes this
powder so special is its water soluble adhesive properties, an almost odorless
characteristic that seems to be entirely lost when mixed with other
ingredients, and its abilities to burn smoothly and evenly.
