Natural herbal incense is as old as history itself. The early Egyptian and Indian civilizations utilized natural incense as a basic ingredient for sacrificial rituals, and its manufacture was nothing less than a sacred art. Employed to counteract disagreeable odors and drive away demons, incense was said both to manifest the presence of the gods (fragrance being a divine attribute) and to gratify them.

Historically, the chief substances used as natural herbal incense were such resins as frankincense and myrrh, along with aromatic woods and barks, seeds, roots, herbs and flowers. That used by the ancient Israelites in their liturgy, for example, was a mixture of frankincense, storax, onycha, and galbanum, with salt added as a preservative. Although at one time the Israelites erected separate altars for these offerings—such was its importance—it is no longer a part of Jewish liturgy today.

Incense has been a feature of religious ceremonies worldwide since ancient times. It is mentioned on an inscribed tablet dating from the year 1530 before the Common Era (BCE), placed on the Sphinx at Giza, Egypt. Even earlier records, the Vedas of India, eloquently mention its virtues as early as 5,000 BCE. In Vedic times, aromatic woods such as sandalwood, and essential oils extracted from various flowers and spices, were offered in the sacrificial fire for the pleasure of the deities.

Natures' scents grow exclusively, even today, on the southwestern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, in Somalia. Best known are frankincense and myrrh, but the resins of various other plants have also been collected and traded since approximately the year 3,000 BCE. The Egyptians used oil of myrrh for embalming, and later on their priesthood discovered other ritual, medical, and cosmetic uses. The world trade in such scents from nature has never declined since that time.

Hindus use scents for all temple and domestic offerings, while Buddhists burn it at festivals, initiations, and daily rites. The Chinese also use it to honor ancestors and household or tutelary deities, and in Japan it is a mainstay of Shinto ritual. The Orphic Greeks burnt it as an oblation and for protection as early as the 8th century BCE, and in Rome it was an important element in public and private sacrifices, especially in the worship of the emperor.

The early Christian church utilized scents to symbolize the ascent of prayers of the faithful, and to honor God and the saints. It is noteworthy that frankincense and myrrh were offered to Jesus Christ in his infancy by the Eastern Sages. Although its use was restricted for a time after the Reformation, scents were widely restored to ritual in Protestant liturgy by the 19th century Oxford Movement. Elsewhere in Christendom, its use has been a constant feature of ritual in the Eastern and Western branches of Catholicism, as well as in Eastern Orthodox Churches.

In the Americas, the use of scents is documented from the very first encounters between the indigenous populations and the Europeans in the 15th and early 16th centuries. Copal, an aromatic resin, is still offered today by the descendants of Aztecs and Mayas to worship their ancestral deities as well as the Catholic saints of their adopted religion. In North America, tobacco, sage, and other aromatic Herbal substances are important components of traditional indigenous Native American ritual.

Manufacture of Incense
In the 17th and 18th centuries, herbal ingredients began to be supplanted by chemicals used in the perfume industry, and this trend toward the use of synthetic substitutes in fragrance mixtures continues to the present day. The cost of manufacturing, particularly in the industrialized West and in Japan, has also meant that traditional production has been abandoned in favor of mechanized mass production. The only notable exception remains India, and especially South India, where the Masala method is still followed scrupulously.

The manufacture of such scents is both a science and an art. Varieties are composed of diverse leaves, flowers, roots, barks, woods, resins, gums and oils. Semiprecious stones may also be added to such mixtures, much as emeralds were once burned in fires by ancient Meso-American peoples, and pearls or coral are added to some Ayurvedic medicinal preparations.

The most frequently used ingredients in the West today are frankincense, myrrh, sandalwood, rose petals, cinnamon, juniper, copal, thyme, pine, benzoin, cedar, bay, rosemary, and basil. In India, sandalwood, lavender, golden champa, patchouli, rose, jasmine, vanilla, cloves, nutmeg, gur, cedarwood, cananga, lime, lemon, orange, ylang, geranium, citronella, sesame, hibiscus, cardamom, saffron, vetiver, ginger, lotus, kadamba, hena, and camphor are extensively used.

Two types of scents are commonly available: combustible and non-combustible. The combustible type usually contains potassium nitrate (saltpeter) to aid in burning, while the latter does not. Combustible scents can be burned in the form of bricks, cones, sticks and other shapes, whereas non-combustible mixtures must be sprinkled onto glowing charcoal blocks or directly onto a fire to release its fragrance.

Each ingredient in non-combustible scent must be finely ground, preferably to a fine powder. The resins and gums are usually mixed first, and then the powdered leaves, barks, flowers and roots are added. Any essential oils or liquids (such as honey) that are included in the formula are added last.

Non-combustible fragrances are most commonly smoldered over a self-igniting charcoal block, placed in a fire-proof container. Once the charcoal is glowing a half-teaspoon or so of the mixture is placed on the block. Formulas containing large amounts of resins and gums (frankincense and myrrh, for example) will burn longer than those mainly composed of woods and leaves.

Charcoal blocks are necessary for burning non-combustible scents. They are available in a wide range of sizes, from over an inch in diameter to approximately a half-inch size. Potassium nitrate is added to these charcoal blocks during their manufacture to help them ignite. When lit, fresh charcoal blocks erupt into a sparkling fire which quickly spreads across the block.

Combustible scents in the form of cones, blocks and sticks are more complex in their composition. A mixture may contain saltpeter (potassium nitrate) in order to allow it to burn without the need to place it over charcoal. Gum tragacanth glue or mucilage is the basic ingredient of most molded scents in the West. Tragacanth has enormous absorption qualities, and an ounce will absorb up to one gallon of water, becoming a thick paste. The consistency of the mixture depends on the form desired. For sticks the mixture should be relatively thin; for blocks and cones a thicker mucilage must be made. In the absence of tragacanth, gum arabic is also utilized.

Next, a base is mixed, usually containing sandalwood dust and other such materials, including charcoal. Resins and gums are mixed in, followed by powdered leaves, barks, flowers and roots. Essential oils are added last. Saltpeter may be added at different times in the process, depending on the manufacturer's preference. Once it is compounded, the procedure for making cones, blocks, or sticks is perhaps the most difficult, labor intensive, and critical, especially for fine sticks. Mechanical production of Sticks has been known to alter the quality of the fragrance, and therefore hand-rolling is the preferred method. Only South Indian Masala Insense, of which our entire product line is composed, is traditionally manufactured in this way.

Using combustible scents is simple: just light it and blow out the flame after the tip is glowing. Enjoy the fragance and let your consciousness rise!