Farmed Agarwood may seem the right thing to do these days, especially with the marketed commotion on the shortage of Agarwood trees coming from the wild which is struggling to meet worldwide demand. But is the practice of inducing artificial chemicals and other foreign objects into the tree to promote resin growth considered an ethical practice from the tree’s perspective? This is the question commonly raised when we have discussions with green fingers about farmed agarwood.
Ever since the Aquilaria species of flora and its family were annexed to the CITES convention, there has been a flurry of agarwood plantations being opened and marketed by people of all over, including people who barely know what is Oud.
The catchline for their marketing is contagious – that Oud is the next hot investment property,, pound for pound more expensive than Gold.
While it is indeed an expensive commodity, Oud, just like diamond, has varying degrees of worthiness, and experts know that farmed agarwood does not fair too high up in that worthiness list, albeit with some exceptions.
The method that farmers employ to induce the farmed agarwood tree are varying. From drilling chemical liquid inducer injections to bamboo sticks, they are intended to penetrate deeply into the heart of the tree in order to cause hurt and stress to it. Ironically today, some Oud sellers are ardently boasting of their chemical and synthetic free organic Ouds but their source of agarwood are these very same farms who use chemicals to produce the resinous heartwood.
While cultivated versions of other plants, like oranges and apples, for example, do not require the endurance of painstaking impaling methods to bear fruit, the unique agarwood prized ‘fruit’ – the resinous Oud – is the result of it being subjected to a stressful condition and environment. In the wild, the natural resin formation causes of bacterial and fungal infection, soil erosion and hilly growth areas are a stark contrast to what these modern farmers are doing.
The picture on your right of an agarwood tree of probably around 25 years old could probably cause an agonising effect on the avid and hardcore evergreen advocates. Trees are indeed a living thing and a green thumb would probably testify to the fact that these trees would undoubtedly experience hurt in the inoculation process of modern day agarwood farming.
Devoid of love and being pierced and stabbed on a regular basis, it is no wonder then that cultivated agarwood chips are still miles apart from those of the wild in terms of quality. More to come on this.
Agarwood is the resinous heartwood from Aquilaria trees.. These trees belong to the Aquilaria genus, Thymelaeaceae family. These trees are large evergreens native to South and Southeast Asia. The trees can be easily located from an altitude of few meters above sea level to 1,000 meters above sea level. The beast growth in these trees is seen at average levels of around 400-600 meters. At least fifteen species of Aquilaria trees are known to produce the much sought-after Agarwood. The most common species found in India is Aquilaria achalloga.
Formation of aromatic resin in the tree
The trees occasionally become infected with a parasite/fungus mould and the resin is produced as a natural immune response to a fungal attack. As the fungus grows, the tree produces very rich, dark resin within the infected area. This resinous wood is valued very high and treasured around the world since the odour of this wood (agarwood) is pleasing and unique with no resemblance to other natural floral perfumes.
The resin is commonly called Jinko, Aloeswood, Agarwood or Oud and is valued in any cultures for its distinctive fragrance.
For the people who did not have the chance to experience the fragrance of this unique resinous wood of God we offer our Agarwood products click here.
In Europe it is referred to as Lignum Aquila (eaglewood) or Agarwood.
Another name is Lignum aloes or Aloeswood. This is debatable, since a genus Aloe exists which is not related to this species and generally used for medicinal purposes. However, the Aloes of the Old Testament (Num. 24:6; Ps. 45:8; Pro. 7:17; and Cant. 4:14) and of the Hebrew Bible (ahalim in Hebrew) are believed to be agarwood from Aquilaria malaccensis
Mythological History
Agarwood and its essential oil have long been associated with various religions and cultures. While it finds a mention in ancient scriptures of Japanese and Chinese dynasties it also finds mention in bible where it is referred as Aloe in old testament however this matter is debatable. It is certainly considered an aid for meditation in spiritual circles, thus it is used for incense and perfumes. Deservingly, it is also called wood of God in Asia
Discover the mental, physical, and spiritual benefits for yourself today!
There are two main reasons for wearing oud: for one’s personal enjoyment, and for others.
It is an absolute delight studying the evolution of the complex smell of oud on your skin for hours, for your own enjoyment. Many specimens of oud evoke olfactory memories, and it often becomes a fun exercise trying to identify them.
For one’s personal enjoyment, it is recommended to apply the oil to one’s outer forearm,, 2 – 3 inches above the wrist. Even a tiny amount, the size of a cumin seed, will be sufficient. This is then gently dabbed below the jaw line.
Needless to say, oud oil is so potent that even this tiny amount you apply can scent the entire room you are in.
It is important that you do not rub too hard. There should be a sheen remaining on your arm, after applying to the neck. The skin is highly absorbent, and rubbing too hard will make the oil (and the scent) disappear much faster. It can also damage the scent molecules.
Moisturizing your skin will also ensure that the smell lasts longer.
For the ultimate ‘broadcasting’ effect, there are two ways to use the oil:
Applying to your clothes, bracelet, or other item: This will give you the longest lasting smell as the oil will not be absorbed by the skin. For clothes, it is best to apply a bit to the shoulders, and some to the chest and back of your shirt.
Applying to the skin: while this will not last nearly as long, in most cases the smell will be much more appealing due to the unique chemistry between the skin and oud. Apply the oil just below your outer wrist, then smear it onto your neck. Once again, remember to keep a sheen remaining so don’t rub too hard!
About 1 – 2 healthy swipes of the dip stick should be used if you want to share the beautiful smell of oud with those around you.
Don’t forget that others might not be accustomed to the smell of oud like you! So do not over apply, even if you yourself can not detect too strong a smell. Remember that one’s own nose gets quickly accustomed to the scent due to olfactory fatigue. It’s usually a good idea after applying oud, that you wait about 15 minutes before meeting someone.
Different ouds have different scent lives, and different chemistries with the skin. You may find, for example, that you like your Indian oud best applied to the skin, while you like to have your Cambodian oud scenting your clothes.
What is oud?
Also known as agarwood, aloeswood and jinkou, oud is nature’s most exquisite fragrant offering.
Deep in a Far Eastern jungle, an evergreen tree is attacked by an infection. Much like our bodies’ immune system produces white blood cells, the tree starts producing a substance to combat the infection.
Over the years, the infection grows – as does the substance the tree produces. This is agarwood.
There are few natural aromatics that have as complex a scent spectrum as agarwood (oud). Natural ambergris, musk and rose also rank as some of the most valuable natural fragrances, but none come close to oud in the sheer transcendence and sublimity its fragrance boasts.
More than just a scent, oud can be mentally and spiritually engaging. In fact, specimens from different regions also seem to have an effect on a person’s emotions.
What is the difference between oud and attars/mukhallats/perfumes/colognes?
Attars, mukhallats, perfumes, colognes and other commercially sold fragrances are a combination of different ingredients.
In contrast to the above, with regard to its composition, pure oud oil is itself the fragrance, not being blended with any other ingredients.
This was in regard to the composition. As for the difference in their scents, then none of them can be compared to oud. While many attars and other fragrances can be quite pleasant, oud is more than just a scent, and it engages the one wearing it on many different levels.
Can I combine oud with other fragrances?
Absolutely.
If you are new to oud, you might find that you like it better blended with a cologne, attar or mukhallat because oud itself has a very powerful smell. You might want to tone it down a bit.
However, once you get more and more accustomed and addicted to the fragrance of pure oud,, you might become more reluctant to mix it with anything else.
And that is, in fact, giving oud its due right!
I heard oud is very strong, and I’m afraid I will be overwhelmed
It’s true that oud has one of, if not, the most powerful smell in the world of perfumery. But it is usually the initial hit after application and smelling it right out of the bottle that can be overwhelming for the unexperienced nose. That is why, we strongly recommend starting off by applying very tiny amounts, and not smelling the oils directly.
Over time, as your nose gets used to the smell, you will find the smell of oud an absolute delight in its entirety, from application to the dry down.
Which oud will I like the most?
We recommend you get samples of the different ouds. Many people absolutely love the earthy, barnyard and slightly fecal quality of Hindi (Indian) ouds, while others are all for the sweeter, more ethereal Indonesian specimens.
Ultimately, you may find that you like ouds from all the regions since they all have something unique to offer, even if they all vastly differ in their characters and scent profiles.
Why do different ouds smell so distinctive?
The climates the trees were grown in, the age of the trees, the distillation and aging techniques all have an effect on the smell of different ouds.
How long will the scent last on my skin?
Different oud oils have different scent lives on the skin. You will find some ouds that are of very high quality whose smell will fade before that of much lower grade specimens. The same oil, however, might be incredibly long-lasting if applied to clothes, bracelets, etc.
In general, every oud oil, should be discernable to your nose for a good 2 – 3 hours. After that, your nose may get used to the scent, but those around you will still be able to smell it for hours to come.
How long will a bottle of oud last?
The short answer is: it depends on how frequently you use the oil, and how much you apply.
Used for personal enjoyment, a bottle could last you a whole year or more with daily use. Oud, however, is generally not used as an every-day scent and so a bottle will probably last you much longer.
Is oud gender specific?
Absolutely not.
In the Gulf countries of the Middle East, where oud oil is most celebrated and used, men use oud for special occasions, parties and things of that sort. In Yemen, a gift of oud is an expected part of the dowry that the bride receives from the groom.
Oud is more than just a ‘scent’, which could be classified as masculine and feminine.
Rather, it has so much more to offer, and gender requisite is not a condition to be able to enjoy the offerings of this precious gift of nature.
When should I use oud?
You may initially find that you want to use oud for special occassions.
However, as is usually the case, you may find yourself loving oud so much that you will want to use it daily. In fact, some people even use it several times a day because they can’t get enough of it!
Where do Oud Oils get their distinct aroma?
Oud Oils owe their distinct aromatic scent to naturally-occurring organic compounds called terpenes and terpenoids.
Chemical composition of Oud Oils
A terpene is an organic compound which is widely produced by a variety of plants. These terpenes can be found in the essential oils and resins of plants as well as in the scent glands of flowers, and often are characterised by their strong smell and aromatic qualities.
Chemically, a terpene is an unsaturated hydorocarbon which consists of a combination of isoprene units (C5H8) and have the general formula (C5H8)n. Simple terpenes can be modified chemically through the natural process of oxidisation (reaction with oxygen in the air) to produce more complex compounds known as terpenoids. These natural terpenes and terpenoids are the major constituents of the essential oils of many plants and flowers.
Terpenes are structurally diverse and may take on different molecular structures despite having similar chemical formulae. Subtle variations in the basic terpene molecular structure have resulted in tens of thousands of unique terpene profiles present in our natural environment, each possessing its own unique chemical and aromatic qualities. Some plants may possess a particular terpene profile which gives the plant its distinct flavour. Other plants, on the other hand, may possess an endless variety and combination of terpene profiles, resulting in these plants having a wide diversity of possible aromas and flavours.
Why are Oud Oils so diverse in aroma?
Precisely because of their chemical composition (above). Different terpene profiles can be found even within the same species of agarwood tree. The type of terpene known as sesquiterpenes is an active compound in agarwood. The possible sesquiterpene chemical structures of each extracted agarwood essential oil are endless and coupled with the various rates of oxidation, would result in an even wider diversity of Oud scent profiles.
Factors which may affect a particular Oud Oil’s chemical composition and scent profile includes the age and quality of the agarwood tree’s fungal infection, the age, species, environmental conditions and geographical location of the agarwood tree, the age of the extracted oil and the amount of its exposure to air and sunlight (this affects oxidisation), the type of distillation used and the purity of the oil (blended v. pure, diluted v. undiluted).
Terpenes and terpenoids are known to contribute to the scent of eucalyptus, cinnamon, citrus, cloves, ginger, and menthol, among others, which are just some of the scent notes typically found in Oud.
Sinking Agarwood under some circumstances (infected with parasites or fungus), the agarwood trees produce resins as a defense mechanism. Under certain conditions, after the passage of time these resins accumulate on the wood to form resinous wood that emits a special aromatic perfume. Because of the resinous accumulation above 25% volumetric, the specific weight of agarwood is larger than water and as a result will sink. The resins produced by agarwood have special aroma and is therefore very valuable. In China Agarwood price is incresing yearly 20~30%,, everyone knows that Agarwood harvesting is getting difficult, especially sinking grade. You may keep the wood for yourselves, it is much valuable than the gold by few folds.
Story of Agarwood
There is a very wise monk disciples ask a Master , “Master, what is the true value of life ? “
Master took an agarwood from the room , said to him: “You put this agarwood, to get the market to sell, but do not really sell , as long as someone bids enough , look at people in the market , how much money to buy it block incense? ”
Disciple took agarwood to the market , some people say this agarwood great, look great , they offer a thousand dollars ; someone say this incense, it can do decorations, bid three thousand dollars.
Disciple very happy to go back and tell the master : ” useless piece of agarwood , but also can be sold for three thousand dollars, which really sold it .”
Master said: ” Let not sell, then you take it to see people in the gold market how to bid, and do not really sell .”
Disciples put this incense, take it to the gold market to sell, the outset person bid ten thousand, the second person bid one hundred thousand , and finally bid three hundred thousand . Disciples excitedly ran back to report to master this incredible result .
Master said to him: ” Take the agarwood to the most expensive, most exclusive jewelry mall to evaluate .” Disciples went.
The first person asking price is three hundred thousand , but he does not sell , then five hundred thousand , eight hundred thousand , have been added to the person angry , asking to his own bid.
He said to the buyer, the master would not allow him to sell , put agarwood back to the Master said : ” this is actually agarwood bid to one million .”
Master said: ” Yeah , I now teach you how to understand the value of life , you have been in the market, look on with your life , so it has been rocking the value of life with the people. The value of life, should not that to the anyone evaluation, but that we how to evaluation yourself. The value of anyone, is unique, to understand their nature , accept yourself, sharpen yourself. give yourself room to grow , each of us can become a ” priceless .”
There have been at least a dozen oud-based fragrances released in the last two years—Killian’s ultra-expensive Pure Oud, Le Labo’s Oud 27, Al Oudh by L’Artisan Parfumeur and Juliette Has A Gun’s Midnight Oud, for example—but what exactly is oud?
Oud, also known as agarwood, is an exotic and expensive wood resin created when the Southeast Asian Aquilaria tree is attacked by a certain type of mold. The richly fragrant resin, which the tree produces in its core to fight off the infecting mold,, has been harvested from affected trees for centuries (it is apparently even mentioned in the Bible) and used for incense and perfume oil.
From The RainForest Project:
The “Wood of the Gods” has been traded and highly appreciated for thousands of years. Resinous wood is used as incense, for medicinal purposes, and pure resin in distilled form is used as perfume and perfume component. Outside native countries it is most widely known in the Middle East, China, Taiwan and Japan. A strong connection exists between use, religion and curative properties, and elaborate traditional and religious ceremonies are known from around the world. Faith healers in the Middle East use it at curative ceremonies, Japanese pilgrims donate flowers and Agarwood oil to Shinto-Buddhist temples, and Vietnamese religious groups are obliged to bring Agarwood to ceremonies at their temples in Mekong delta communities.
Because of over-harvesting, many countries protect Aquilaria trees, but some scientists, including the University of Minnesota’s Professor Robert Blanchette, have been working on sustainable agarwood farming, wherein the resin is collected from young trees instead of old ones.
The RainForest Project says that efforts to create a synthetic agarwood oil have proven even more difficult and expensive than harvesting the real thing.
Pure oud oil, that is, agarwood oil made from boiling down the tree resin, is very expensive. It’s got a powerful smell that isn’t quite like anything else. They can cost hundreds of dollars per ounce. A few online retailers sell it, either as incense or as oud oil.
Smelling various oud-based fragrances gives you a pretty clear idea what the real thing smells like, and how well it combines with other fragrances. L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Al Oudh ($155 for 100ml) is a strong, pungent oud that wouldn’t work for everyday wear. Le Labo’s Oud 27 ($200 for 100ml, but it comes in smaller bottles) is very sweet and wearable. By Killian’s Pure Oud ($395 for 50ml) is quite good, but ridiculously expensive. My favorite oud so far, by Juliette Has A Gun, is Midnight Oud ($135 for 100ml): it’s the perfect balance between the sweet and pungent aspects of other oud scents on the market. Combine Oud 27 with Al Oudh, and it might smell like this.
Several years ago, in the perfume and incense market in the old city of Sana’a in Yemen, I caught sight of a large apothecary jar full of wood chips. The jar sat on a dusty shelf, tucked away in a dark corner of the stall owned by Mohammed Hamoud al-Kalagi. When I asked him to show me its contents, he placed the jar on the front counter and pulled out a chip of wood. Mohammed called the wood ‘ud (pronounced ood), a name I did not recognize, but it looked very familiar. I could hardly contain my growing sense of excitement as I examined it closely.
Mohammed placed a tiny sliver of the wood on the end of a lit cigarette. Within moments we were inhaling a rich, sweet, woody fragrance that I had first smelled in the Borneo rain forest 15 years earlier. At that time, I was traveling with a group of nomadic hunter-gatherers known as Penan. We were looking for herbs used in traditional medicine, but one day the Penan cut down a tree and collected pockets of fragrant wood from within the trunk and branches. They called these dark patches of wood gaharu. I rubbed a small piece of gaharu between my palms to warm it,, and it smelled like cedar and sandalwood, but with subtle fragrance notes of roses and balsam. For years I had wondered what the wood was used for and where it was sent after leaving Borneo. The Penan thought gaharu might be used in Chinese medicine, because it was the upriver Chinese traders that bought it, but apart from that, they were mystified as to why anyone would want to buy those gnarly bits of wood.
Mohammed al-Kalagi, who thought that ‘ud came only from India, was the first person to help me begin to unravel the long and convoluted history of this scented wood. He told me it was burned as incense throughout the Islamic world, and an oil was extracted from it that retailed for nearly $20 a gram ($500 an ounce) as a perfume.
When I told Mohammed that the gaharu collectors in Borneo considered the wood to have only a modest barter value, he laughed and recited lines that he attributed to the eighth-century Egyptian jurist and poet Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi’i:
Gold is just dust when still in the ground.
And ‘ud, in its country of origin,
Is just another kind of firewood.
A few days after my visit, I walked through the narrow streets of old Sana’a to the home of Yemeni friends. The family lived in a tastefully restored stone tower house in the Turkish Quarter, and during the meal that night I discovered that ‘ud has domestic uses beyond simple incense: A small chip placed amid the tobacco in the bowl of the mada’ah, or water pipe, sweetens the smoke and keeps the pipe fresh. And although ‘ud is generally considered more of a man’s scent, it is also used by women who place bits of the wood in amabkharah, a small, hand-held charcoal brazier used to scent clothes; it is also used to perfume hair and skin. My host explained that at women’s get-togethers it would be considered strange not to pass around a mabkharah of smoldering ‘ud or other incense so the female guests could perfume themselves.
“When you walk by a woman on the street and you smell ‘ud, you know that she is from a good family,” the husband told me. “It is a sign of wealth, good breeding, refinement and status.”
Similarly, when Yemeni men congregate, it is customary for them to pass around amabkharah of ‘ud. Each man opens his jacket and censes his shirt and underarms, then his face and his mashedah, or head scarf, if he is wearing one. The mabkharah is always passed counter-clockwise, and each man wafts the smoke onto himself and says, “God’s blessings and peace on the Prophet Muhammad.” ‘Ud is burned ceremonially at weddings, too, and the oil is sometimes used to perfume the body of the dead before burial.
In Yemen, the price and quality of ‘ud varies considerably: At an average wedding party in Sana’a it is considered appropriate to spend about $30 to $50 by burning 50 or 100 grams (two or three ounces) of one of the less expensive grades of ‘ud, but for the well-heeled, 30 grams (a single ounce) of a superior grade can set one back $250 to $300.
Before I left the dinner party that night, my host placed a tiny drop of ‘ud oil on the front of my shirt and explained that the fragrance would survive several washings—which it did.’Ud oil is often placed on older men’s beards or younger men’s jacket lapels so that during the traditional cheek-to-cheek greetings its sweet, woody scent dominates.
Although the southern Arabian Peninsula has been long identified with aromatics, few Westerners are familiar with ‘ud, a word that means simply “wood” in Arabic. This obscurity is partly due to ‘ud rarity and cost, but it is also a matter of varying taste and differing cultural traditions. During the Hajj, for example, Muslim pilgrims from around the world come to Makkah and Madinah, where many are introduced to the scent of ‘ud, which is burned in the Great Mosque as well as in many other mosques throughout Saudi Arabia.’Ud produces a fragrance that is not soon forgotten, and for this reason small packets of ‘udchips are a common souvenir to take home from the Hajj.
In various other places in the Islamic world, ‘ud is burned to help celebrate the important events of everyday life. In Tunisia, for example, ‘ud is burned on the third, seventh and 40th days following the birth of a child, a time when the mother traditionally remains at home while female relatives and friends come to visit.
Throughout Malaysia and Indonesia, ‘ud is called by the name I first heard in Borneo,gaharu, a Malay word derived from the much older Sanskrit term agaru, meaning “heavy.” The scented wood was given that name because, indeed, a high-quality piece of gaharuwill sink in water. The Susruta Samhita, one of the “great three” texts of Ayurvedic medicine, describes how people of the Ganges plain used smoldering agaru for worship, as perfume and to fumigate surgical wounds. In those times, agaru came largely from the treeAquilaria agallocha, which was found in the foothills of Assam.
In the 16th century, the Portuguese, who were actively trading in Goa, Malacca and Macao, adapted the word agaru to pao d’aguila, or “eagle wood”—which at least had a meaning in Portuguese, though there is no connection between eagles and ‘ud. In the English-speaking world today, the most common terms for ‘ud are aloeswood or agarswood; this last word preserves a clear link to the original Sanskrit.
The best grade of ‘ud is hard, nearly black and very heavy. In general, ‘ud becomes inferior as it appears lighter in tone, flecked with diminishing amounts of resin. The only truly reliable way to test for quality, however, is to burn a small bit and evaluate the complexity and richness of the smoldering wood. ‘Ud oil can be taste-tested: Touch a bit to your tongue, and a bitter taste points to high quality.
Historians are uncertain when ‘ud first reached the Middle East. There are several references to “aloes” in the Old Testament, and estimates by historians of China Friedrich Hirth and W.W. Rockhill put the date as far back as the 10th century BC. This was when King Solomon began trade with the south Arabian Sabaean kingdom, which was already trading with merchants on the Malabar (western) coast of India. (See Aramco World, March/April 1998.) Written accounts of Arab and Chinese travelers and merchants that mention it date to more recent times, approximately the first century of our era, a time of accelerating trade among the Arabian Peninsula, the Malabar coast and China that was made possible by the exploitation of the seasonal monsoon winds across the Indian Ocean. At this time, frankincense and myrrh from Oman and the Hadhramaut region of southern Arabia were being traded in the Far East, so it seems reasonable to assume that a reciprocal trade in ‘ud would have traveled on the same maritime routes.
The Chinese role in the ‘ud trade has been significant since the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), when Imperial perfume blenders used it along with cloves, musk, costus-root oil and camphor. Like the Indians, the Chinese named the wood for its density, calling it cb’en hsiang, “the incense that sinks in water.” In those days, ‘ud was sorted into as many as 20 different grades. Responding to the increasing domestic and international demand for ‘ud, Chinese traders ventured into Annam, now part of Vietnam, where they found top-quality trees in abundance. This new source of supply allowed them to become wholesale dealers and middlemen, and to this day they retain this position worldwide.
Arab and Persian traders had established settlements on the outskirts of Canton as early as 300, and a Chinese traveler named Fa-Hien noted the riches of the Arab ‘ud traders from the Hadhramaut and Oman who lived comfortably in Ceylon. The Greek geographer Cosmas Indicopleustes, writing in the sixth century, also noted that the China-Ceylon-Middle East trade included large shipments of ‘ud.
In his book Silsilat al-Tawarikh (Chain of Chronicles), Zayd ibn Hassan of Siraf (now in Iran) tells of the experiences of two mnth-century traders, one Ibn Wahab of Basra and another named Suleyman. Although they traveled at slightly different times, both reported that the price and availability of ‘ud in both Basra and Baghdad was much affected by frequent shipwrecks and by pirate attacks on trading ships. Their roughly similar routes went from the Arabian Gulf to the Maldives, Ceylon, the Nicobar Islands and then on to Canton by way of the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea. At the time, the round-trip took at least two years, for the traders had to wait for seasonal winds, and customs formalities and the complexities of doing business in China consumed a good deal of time. Hassan relates that in Canton, Suleyman saw Arab and Persian traders playing a board game that appears to have been similar to backgammon: Occasionally the playing pieces were made of rhinoceros horn or ivory, but most commonly they were carved from fragrant’ud.
Reading up on the history of the 12th- and 13th-century Arab-Chinese sea trade, I also came upon the Chu-fan-chi, a trade manual written by Chau Ju-kua, who was a customs official in the southern Chinese province of Kwangtung in the mid-13th century. In the text he mentions that the search for ‘ud had intensified to the point that it was being collected from Hainan Island, parts of present-day Vietnam, lands about the Malay Peninsula, Cambodia and the islands of Sumatra and Java. By this time, he observed, it had become an established custom for well-to-do Muslims to wake up, bathe and perfume themselves with’ud smoke before going to the mosque for the morning prayer.
In the early 14th century, Ibn Battuta described a visit to Ceylon where during a visit to Sultan Ayri Shakarwati he was shown “a bowl as large as a man’s hand, made of rubies, containing oil of aloes.” Ibn Battuta also mentioned that in Muslim lands every ‘ud tree was private property, and that the best trees grew in Qamara, or Cambodia. (See Saudi Aramco World, July/August 2000.) In Saudi Arabia today, ‘ud kambudi—Cambodian aloeswood—is still usually the most treasured and costly variety.
Isaac H. Burkill, in his 1935 Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula, described ‘ud in scientific terms. It is an aromatic resin deposit found in certain species of Aquilaria trees, especially Aquilaria malaccensis, whose species name recalls the days when the ‘ud trade was centered in Malacca and dominated by the Portuguese. Burkill explains that the resin is produced by the tree as an immune response to a fungus (Phialophora parasitica) that invades the tree and, over many years, spreads through it. It is these diseased sections of the tree that are collected by people in the jungles of Southeast Asia.
To better understand the modern trade cycle from Southeast Asia to Middle Eastern homes and mosques, I returned to Borneo and traveled upriver to talk again with the Penan tribesmen who make their living collecting ‘ud, which they call gaharu.
The Penan, I learned, recognize seven types of gaharu. To collect it they paddle up small tributaries by dugout canoe, and then climb the slopes of remote mountains to locate the best trees. A gathering journey can take a week or more. Once a likely looking pohon kayu gaharu (a “gaharu-wood tree”) has been found, they make a series of shallow, exploratory cuts into its trunk, branches and roots; they cut it down only when they are persuaded the tree has the fungus and will yield a reasonable amount of good gaharu. If the tree contains only low grades of gaharu, they will often let it grow for another few years before retesting it. If they do decide to cut it down, they will spend days extracting the gaharu and cleaning it with smaller knives. Traditionally, the Penan used gaharuthemselves to treat stomach aches and fevers, and as an insect repellent, but now they sell or trade all they find.
In the backwaters of Borneo, the Penan sell the very best gaharu for about $400 a kilogram, or approximately $12 an ounce. They usually sell to local Chinese traders who stockpile it until they have enough to send to wholesalers and bigger middlemen in Singapore. The Penan claim that gaharu is getting more difficult to find because large-scale logging operations have destroyed many of the hill forests where the gaharu trees are found. If a Penan group has good luck, it might collect a kilo (35 oz) of average-quality gaharu in three or four days—but it is increasingly common for them to return with nothing, or with only the lowest grades.
Thirty years ago Hong Kong played an important role in the ‘ud trade, but today the international hub is Singapore. There, the wholesale business is dominated by Chinese traders who receive ‘ud from agents scattered across Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Borneo, Hainan Island and, most recently, Irian Jaya, Indonesia. C. P. Ng, owner of Buan Mong Heng, a emporium on North Bridge Road, is Singapore’s undisputed ‘udking. He tells me that his best ‘ud sells for $5000 to $10,000 per kilogram ($2275-$4545/lb). At present, the rarest and most expensive type, known as Keenam, comes from Vietnam; it must be stored in a cool place to keep its scent from deteriorating. In Irian Jaya alone, he says, more than 50,000 part-time collectors supply some 30 collection centers. Throughout the Chinese community in Singapore, he says, people use ‘ud as incense in the home, for worship and during marriage ceremonies. He also explains that it can be taken with herbs to cure a stomach ache, and that the sweet smell is a cure for insomnia. “A tea made from ‘udwill warm the body and restore youthful vigor to older men,” he says.
In Singapore, ‘ud is graded in descending quality from Super AA, which is weighed out on a jeweler’s scale, to Super A, Super, and lesser grades numbered 1 through 8. The lowest quality, called kandulam in Malay, is used to make incense sticks; it sells for roughly three cents a gram ($1 per oz). The value of ‘ud shipped out of Singapore each year has been estimated to exceed $1.2 billion.
In the Middle East and in Borneo I never saw more than small amounts of ‘ud, amounting to a few pounds at most, but Singapore was different. There I visited the Nk Kittai warehouse, where cardboard boxes packed with ‘ud reached tall ceilings and wheelbarrows and shovels were the tools of choice to move quantities that perfumed the entire surrounding neighborhood. The owner, C. F. Chong, waited on buyers from India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and even Japan. In Japan, ‘ud is used in a complex fragrance guessing game called koh-do, part of the ceremonial appreciation of incense adopted from the Chinese, who still use the expression wenxiang, “listening to the incense.”
The fragrance in the hot warehouse was overpowering, and as I wandered the narrow aisles surrounded by a fortune in scented wood, I saw ‘ud logs as thick as my thigh and nearly three meters (10’) long. Workers sat on the floor cleaning up pieces of ‘ud with modified rubber-tapping knives. When I remarked that it must be a risk to store so much’ud in one place, Chong replied that he, like other dealers, kept his very best ‘ud locked up in vaults.
Out on the warehouse floor, buyers specified the type of ‘ud they wanted by region and quality, and then a worker would dump a pile at the buyer’s feet so that he could hand-select the individual pieces. “This is an on-the-spot business,” said Chong. “Each piece has to be evaluated.”
Each buyer’s selection was weighed, and as all of the buyers that morning were old customers, only a minimal amount of haggling led to an agreement on a price. Nobody, it seemed, bought more than he could easily carry by hand, and each parcel was tied up for stowage as in-flight baggage. The visits concluded with tea and soft drinks in Chong’s air-conditioned office.
Before leaving Singapore, I went to visit Haji V. Syed Mohammed. His shop, V. S. S. Varusai Mohamed & Sons, is just across the street from the Sultan Mosque. The store sells’ud, perfume, money belts, cassette tapes, shawls, skull caps and highly decorative incense burners made in Bangladesh. While we were talking, he told me of one of the most renowned ‘ud dealers in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates: Ajmal’s Perfume Manufacturing & Oudh Processing Industry. It was a fortuitous meeting, for Dubai was my next stop.
In Dubai, there are entire streets lined with shops selling ‘ud. Among them, the family-run Ajmal company is one of the largest dealers in pure and blended ‘ud perfumes in all of the Middle East. From their 22 shops throughout the Arabian Peninsula, they sell ‘ud oils from Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, and their most extravagant creation is a blend of aged ‘ud oils called Dahnal Oudh al-Moattaq. The price: $850 for a 30-gram (1-oz) bottle. This is out of the reach of all but the most affluent, but nearly everyone can afford to buy modest amounts of ‘ud chips for daily use, rituals and ceremonies—which might include driving, for Dubai automotive shops sell clip-on electric braziers that plug into a car’s cigarette lighter.
Because of the popularity of ‘ud, its high price and the difficulty of collecting it from the wild, several companies in peninsular Malaysia and India have begun to look into the possibility of artificially introducing the ‘ud fungus into Aquilaria trees in hopes of creating commercial ‘ud plantations. Thousands of trees have been inoculated with the fungus and people are waiting to see if the ‘ud will start to grow, and if perhaps they can even harvest it without cutting down the tree.
Nearly a year after my visits to Singapore and Dubai, another trip took me back to Borneo. I ran into a group of Penan friends at the riverside shop of Towkay Yong Khi Liang, a Hakka Chinese trader on the upper Limbang River in Sarawak. The Penan had just traded a kilo of low-quality ‘ud for a few sacks of sago flour, a replacement part for a chainsaw, some cartons of tinned food, some rolling tobacco, several pairs of cheap tennis shoes and soft drinks for everyone present.
As we stood on the dock, the Penan asked me if I had ever found out what the people in the Middle East did with the gaharu. I told them what I had discovered about the history of its trade, and then I explained the long and complicated journey it makes before arriving on the other side of the world. I described the networks of middlemen, the refined grading techniques and the marketing efforts that multiplied the price 25 times or more before it reached the final customer. They listened patiently to these facts, but what they really wanted to find out was what people did with the wood after spending so much money on it.
I suspected that they wouldn’t believe me, but I had to reveal the astonishing truth: I told them people buy ‘ud so that they can take it home and burn it.
Kyara/Kynam/Kinam is a tiny subset within aloeswoods in a very very small percentage. In a historical context, it refers to a special type/grade of aloeswood with unique and excellent fragrance properties. The Chinese have a saying that one needs an accumulation of 3 lifetimes of virtues before one would have the chance of encountering real kynam, and 8 lifetimes of merit to have the chance to use and appreciate kynam. Such a saying could only suggest the rarity and precious nature of kynam.
In the Song Dynasty, there was a saying that 1 tael of kynam was worth 1 tael of gold. In Ming Dynasty, that saying evolved into 1 inch of kynam, was worth 1 inch of gold. In the modern day, due to material extinction and extreme rarity, 1 gram of historical kynam costs several times the price of gold, up to twenty times or more in the Chinese market.
In Vietnam these days, no one is able to locate a living tree with kynam anymore,, and everyone is just searching through the mud and soil hoping to find small pieces of buried kynam. These pictures were from the Vietnamese newspaper, where hundreds of people were reported to be scouring the hillsides that were once known to have had kynam found there. Most people returned empty handed, whilst a lucky few, managed to find small pieces of kynam.
As such, from non-living, wood material alone, its impossible to genetically identify the species from which kyara is produced from. Aquilaria Sinensis is known to produce the Chinese version of Kynam, whilst Aquilaria Crassna and potentially Malaccensis as well, was thought to produce the Vietnamese/Cambodian form of kynam. There is no empirical evidence at the moment.
How Kyara is formed out of agarwood trees, or from agarwood is unknown. Given its complicated chemical and dynamic scent profiles, with more compounds than normal agarwood, including a very high sesquiterpene content, there are speculations. In Japan, its been speculated that recurrent or multiple infections at different time points over centirues could have caused kyara to be formed. The Chinese speculate that it could be bees making hives in agarwood tree trunks, with the honey affecting the resination process causing different scents to result. Others believe it to be centuries of aging and weathering in a humid climate resulting in the “ripening” of resins, breakdown of hard resins into soft pliable materials. Another theory was an extremely special species of fungus infecting the tree and changing its genetic expressions relating to plant defense, causing secretion of special/unique compounds. There is absolutely no cultivated kyara known at this point of time, people growing A. Sinensis, Crassna, or Malaccensis, have not been able to induce or obtain materials that are comparable to wild agarwood, not to even talk about forming such extremely rare and superior kyara/kynam materials. Perhaps only from the microscopic structure alone, we can observe compaction that seem to imply that kynam/kyara to be core/heartwood material. I personally believe kyara to be formed by a combination of all the previous speculations stated.
There has also been limited research done in the world on Kyara/Kynam, with the first GCMS profile only known/published last year in 2012. This is due to material limitation, rarity, and the expense of such experiments. A rich and avid kyara/kynam collector sponsored the raw material for scientific analysis.
The word kyara/kynam is easily abused for quick profits, since not many people have came across real authentic kyara/kynam materials, there are some shops/retailers that claim the woods they are selling to be kynam, but when seen in person by myself, it was far from it. The easiest and the most reliable way to identify kyara/kynam grade materials, is to know the kodo scent profile of these materials. Once you know it, the knowledge of this scent stays with you forever.
What comes to mind when you see someone sell a bottle of oud for $500, while another sells one for $400? Or, if you see one bottle for $500, and another for less than $200?
Some are under the impression that the only difference between the two offers is the $100 you’ll save by going with the cheaper option.. When it comes to greater price differences – $500 vs $200 – some feel they’re getting played by a over-charging merchant, asking unduly high prices for the same product you can get for far cheaper elsewhere.
So, when compared to a $100 bottle of oud, why might one costing you $500 actually be worth that much more?
The one bottle might contain oud oil distilled many years ago, from wild agarwood no longer available, in tailored artisanal fashion, commissioned, supervised and collected in person by an experienced pioneer of the craft. The other was distilled a month ago, by a nameless person, from prematurely harvested low-grade wood, which was then shipped to a seller who’s never even seen a distillation unit, nor an actual agarwood tree for that matter.
But aside from the quality, there are two highly significant factors everyone investing in oud should consider: (i) the way products are advertised, and (ii) how much oud oil you’re actually getting.
First, every online vendor pushing ‘100% pure oud’ does so in much the same way: posting a picture of the standard ‘oud bottles’ on their website, with a price tag attached to it. Presenting the same bottle images leads you to believe that all oud dealers are offering pretty much the same product – or the same amount of it, at least. This is not the case.
Second, instead of grams, they use millilitres as an indication of how much you’re getting. So you’ll see a bottle being filled with ‘x ml’ of oil.
The approach most people use when filling bottles by millilitre is that they buy bottles supposed to be able to contain 3ml of liquid, and the thinking is that if they fill these bottles, they will contain that much.
In practice, a rough estimate is that 3ml equals 3g of oil, so pouring 3g worth of oil into a 3ml bottle should just about fill it up. However, as a rule, we pour our oils only by weight. This means that we’re able to precisely gage exactly how much oil goes into each bottle, and time and time again we’ve been faced with the dilemma of these so-called ‘3ml’ bottles not being able to contain 3g. In fact, there’s often a disparity of up to 0.5g worth of oil. This means that although the bottles are supposed to be able to hold 3ml, they very often don’t. The point here is that there’s really no way to tell whether the one you bought counts as one of these.
Next time you consider a bottle oud, carefully study the amount of oil stipulated in the deal. That’s if it’s even stipulated, for very often it’s not. Often the only information you have is that you’re getting a ‘full’ bottle (like the one shown in the picture).
Suppose you’re about to invest in a bottle of oud at, say, $600. All you know at this stage is that there’s a picture of a bottle, and it’s going to cost you $600. Next thing you’d want to know is how much you’ll be getting. ‘Well, the seller says I’ll get 3ml’. Let’s suppose you’re getting a ‘3ml’ bottle of oil. This means you’re paying $200 per millilitre; $50 for 0.25ml. Is this really what you’re getting?
Well, with most dealers it’s not. Or, at least, there’s no way of knowing. If your bottle happened to be one of the dozens not accurately able to contain 3ml (instead only 2.7ml or 2.5ml), then you’re not just ‘getting a little less’. The difference is considerable – the difference costing you $50, $70, $90, $130, or even more.
Over the centuries , agarwood of incense are used in churches , temples and places of worship . The purpose to clean the air and protect energy sources in the holy place . In Asia , in the decontamination ritual , people use incense in the form of incense smoke to create a kind of sacred , direct connection to the area around their living space .
Agarwood incense is often used in religious ceremonies .
Agarwood helps create clean atmosphere .
In the ritual sacrifices in temples , shrines , … people still use incense to create a special energy , bring the breath of spiritual beings sent prayers to the surface .
Scent from pure sandalwood capacity to heal and soothe very strong . Therapy incense in the air clean living space is always bring great effect on morale . Thus , incense is great choice to close your eyes when you can feel completely new energy surged .
Sandalwood scented mild , mellow feeling naturally brings peace for you and everyone around . Thereby , in the workplace , people lead more openly .
There are many different ways to clean the air in the space where you live, and incense is the most wonderful way.
Over-exposure to inferior ‘oud-based’ fragrances on offer all over, coupled with a lack of experience with the kind of aroma real connoisseurs go after, leaves many misinformed about what makes good oud oil.
Your first encounter with oud might very well have been an enlightening moment, or even a completely insignificant one.. Regardless of that first impression, your olfactory sense on that day was essentially numb, and your experience veiled from the allure that brings fragrance-lovers back to oud oil, time and time again.
At this stage, you think oud is oud. You have little knowledge about the intricacies those seasoned enthusiasts take into consideration – was the oil extracted from wild Agarwood, or cultivated? From young saplings or trees decades old? Steam or hydro distilled? Aged or not? From India or Indonesia? And so on.
Finding oud oil is not difficult. Finding exceptional oud oil is a different story. It fact, it’s next to impossible to get hold of anymore. The highest quality oud oil was extracted from wild trees that were left to naturally mature in unspoilt soil for decades. This is unheard of today.
Until recently the wild agarwood trade was a civil affair. Then with a big bang, wild forests have since been wiped off the map by profit-driven campaigns to obtain as much of the material as possible, as quickly as possible, the bulk of which then goes off to the Chinese market.
But finding premium grade agarwood is only half the story. A great deal of fantastically good agarwood has been wasted due to poor distillation procedures – granite in the hands of an amateur is not quite the same as in the hands of Donatello.
The value of the agarwood from which it’s extracted, and the meticulousness of the distillation process itself, are the two main factors determining the quality of your Oud.
Vietnam Agarwood 