Much before man began to write history, Agarwood and its wonderful benefits was known to him. He tried to use different plants to find out how good they were for the body not only to exist but also to get enriched. As time pass by he found that there were some herbs that could nourish the body, enliven it and bring on stupor.
This is how he started using the various ingredients; mainly the wood and the oil derived from the tree,, for his various health benefits. Man started using the oil as time passed. Oil was used not only for his body use but also for religious ceremonies and rituals because of its fragrance and aroma. They gave high value to this oil not only for rituals but also for the purpose of health.
Interacts With Cells In Human Body
The oil of Agarwood provides a number of benefits in therapeutic treatment.. In its pure organic form it possesses an inherent powerful life force. When used in aroma therapy it interacts and communicates with the cells in human body and thereby supports the natural healing process. In ancient times it was used to purify and embalm rituals. In recent times modern industries use it to manufacture therapeutic oil.
When you have a nervous breakdown or your blood pressure runs high, the extracts from this wood can come to your rescue. The concentrated and natural extract of this wood will exert a significant physiological and psychological impact to the cell membrane.
Topical Application
The therapeutic grade of the oil extracted from Agarwood is very safe for topical application. You can apply the same on the affected part of the skin to remove rash or even acne. If you apply a little oil on your nose and inhale its aroma, you can be cured of a block nose, bronchitis or even sore throat. The oil of this tree is derived from the veins of the tree. It is 100% natural.
When you have body ache or your knees start to pain that may even lead to arthritis, this oil will come to your rescue. It relieves you of pain and even reduces the chances of being affected by arthritis. No bacteria or virus will survive in the presence of this oil because it has high contents of phenols, carvacrol and trepan.
Stress Buster
When you are stressed with your daily routine and you need to have a relaxed sleep, a few drops of agarwood oil will create magic. Apply this magic oil on your forehead. Within minutes you will be relieved of your stress. Even if you are in an emotional trauma, the aroma of the oil’s specific components will balance the electrical frequencies of the brain. It brings about an optimal efficiency in its performance.
The oil has therapeutic qualities that can meet the demand of the modern world’s holistic and natural solutions. The oil is very much in demand and used in ayurvedic massages and other treatments where allopathic medicines cannot find any solution. Agarwood has everything that you may need for nature therapy.
The bible mentioned aloe in reference to the ancient incense we refer to as Oud today.
ALOE, ALOESWOOD
[Heb., ʼaha·lim′ (plural) and ʼaha·lohth′ (plural); Gr., a·lo′e].
The agarwood mentioned in the bible (Ps 45:8; Pr 7:17; Ca 4:14 ) was popularly attributed to the Hindi Agallocha species of agarwood plant that exists primarily in the northern state of Assam, India and its neighbouring regions. The tree is large and can grow to a height of 100 feet. The inner core of the trunk and some branches are impregnated with resin and an odoriferous oil from which comes the highly prized perfume. Apparently attaining its most aromatic state when in decay, the wood is sometimes buried in the ground to hasten the decaying process.. The wood is then to be used for incense burning in order to utilise its fragrant scent and plentiful odoriferous oil.
It was mentioned in the bible that Nicodemus brought “a roll of myrrh and aloes” weighing about 100 Roman pounds (33 kg), to be used in preparing for Jesus’ departure. Nicodemus’ contribution must have required a considerable outlay of money on his part. While some apply the term “aloes” in this text to the plant of the lily family that now bears the botanical name of Aloe vera, the product of this plant (a thick juice from the leaves) is employed not for its aroma but as a purgative and for other health-related purposes. The aloes brought by Nicodemus was highly likely the same aloeswood or agarwood product as that referred to in the Hebrew Scriptures and Muslim Hadiths.
Aloes, today, are the costliest of biblical scents. Up till today, many of the Kings’ garments are fragranced in agarwood, replicating the practise of the kings of the ancient.
Re-live this tradition of great peoples and pamper yourself with some traditional perfuming with Sultanul Oud premium range of quality aloes.
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 a mabkharah, 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 a mabkharah 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 ‘ud chips 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 gaharu will 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 tree Aquilaria 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 gaharu themselves 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 ‘ud king. 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 ‘ud will 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.
Cholesterol levels is an important element of the physical, a lipid (fat), that is primarily created by the liver. It may additionally be located in cells ( on the surface) and some certain groups of food such as, dairy, meat and many more.. The physique requires cholesterol in the buildup of Supplement D, certain hormones and structure mobile walls for this reason, making it vital for regular body function.
The liver generates about 1,000 milligrams of cholesterol a day, and you most likely eat concerning 150 to 250 milligrams in the meals you consume. (Mary L. Gavin, 2009).
Cholesterol levels among United States adults today are generally more than in all other industrial countries. During the 1990s there was some issue pertaining to cholesterol levels in American kids. According to the CDC (Centers for Illness Command and Deterrence), virtually 1 in every 10 children/adolescents in the UNITED STATE has elevated overall cholesterol levels; and this sought focus had actually dropped over a 20-year duration. (Nordqvist, 2009).
KINDS OF CHOLESTROL.
Cholesterol levels could not travel alone intro our blood flow hence, they are held by particles called lipoproteins. The major types of lipoproteins are:.
LDL (low thickness lipoprotein).
Frequently referred as bad cholesterol levels High thickness of LDL can cause arterial and heart diseases.
HDL (high density lipoprotein).
Contrary to LDL, HDL is described as excellent cholesterol levels. It assists in the removal of cholesterol levels from cells and holds it back to the liver where it is broken down or secreted from the physique.
TYPICAL CHOLESTEROL LEVELS LEVELS.
The amount of cholesterol levels in human blood could differ from 3.6 mmol/liter to 7.8 mmol/liter. The National Health Service (NHS), UK, states that any reading over 6 mmol/liter is higher, and will substantially increase the danger of arterial condition. The UK Division of Wellness recommends a target cholesterol levels level of under 5 mmol/liter. Unfortunately, two-thirds of all UK adults have a overall cholesterol degree of at the very least 5 ( typical men 5.5, typical ladies 5.6). (Nordqvist, 2009).
WHAT INDUCES HIGH CHOLESTROL.
Several of the major aspects of higher cholesterol are:
PARTICULAR TYPES OF MEALS.
Many meals contain cholesterol such as, meat, dairy products, fowl and so on though, these foods do not tamper with the cholesterol degrees in a profound fashion. Nevertheless, foods that are high in filled fat greatly affect the cholesterol degrees in our blood flow. These meals consist of junk food, cheese, cream etc.
EXCESSIVE WEIGHT.
Weight is among the significant reasons behind higher degrees of LDL (bad cholesterol) and reduced levels of HDL (good cholesterol levels). Individuals who have a moderate weight are less likely to establish high cholesterol levels.
SMOKING/ALCOHOL USAGE.
Individuals who are regular customers of cigs and alcohol are prone to create high levels of LDL cholesterol when compared from people who practice sobriety.
RESULTS OF HIGH CHOLESTROL LEVELS.
HEART PROBLEM.
High cholesterol levels can easily create the arteries to decrease hence, restricting the blood circulation. This irregularity of the canals that carry oxygen and blood to the heart can lead to a clot or a stroke.
BLOOD STRESS.
High cholesterol degrees may result in a condition called, coronary artery disease ( constricting and hardening of capillary). When excess fat is placed inside the blood vessels, they become less manageable creating the advancement of hypertension.
AGARWOOD tea has polyphenols which lessen the absorption of cholesterol levels within the intestinal framework of the body considering that polyphenols additionally have the capability of lessening irritation and accumulation of free radicals within the human body. Polyphenols likewise help in the excretion of cholesterol from the physique by reducing the degrees of bad LDL cholesterol levels.
Agarwood is the infected wood of the Aquilaria tree. Called ‘the wood of the Gods’, its uses range from incense for religious ceremonies, perfume for the Arabic world, medicinal wine in Korea and ornamental functions in China. As a healthy tree the Aquilaria is worth next to nothing, but wounded its defence mechanisms produce agarwood and the tree becomes a valuable commodity. Gerard Persoon goes in search of the natural and social life of a wounded tree.
Agarwood: the life of a wounded tree
Buddhist monks, Arabic perfumers, Japanese incense producers and Papuan collectors were just some of the cast of the 2nd International Agarwood Conference (March 2007, Bangkok). Participants came from more than thirty countries. The ‘world of science’ was represented by wood pathologists, anthropologists, foresters, economists and laboratory analysts each with their specific research interests. Alongside the scientists were entrepreneurs from Australia, Malaysia and the United States, potential investors in the opportunities that Aquilaria plantations offer.. Finally there were nature conservationists concerned with the survival of the tree species. In total more than 120 people, (covering the full agarwood spectrum from production to consumption), came together to discuss the future life of the infected wood of a wounded tree.
Agarwood: its history and its use
Agarwood is the heartwood produced by a number of Aquilaria species in Southeast Asia, with Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Papua New Guinea as the main producing countries and Singapore being the main trade centre. The resin-impregnated heartwood is fragrant and, as a result, highly valuable. This resin is produced as a result of pathological or wounding processes. It is also thought that resin production is a response to fungal infection. Interestingly however, not all Aquilaria trees produce resin and it is extremely difficult (or even impossible) to judge from the outside of a tree whether or not it is infected. Cutting the tree is the only way to find out whether the tree contains the resin.
Use of agarwood has been reported in many ancient cultures, even though the history of agarwood use is still to be written. The Egyptians are believed to have used agarwood incense as part of their death rituals more than 3,000 years ago. It is also suggested that incense trade was in fact the first international trade route that existed in history. In Japan, agarwood is said to have arrived with Buddhism. In Vietnam ancient texts also refer to the use of agarwood in relation to travelling Buddhist monks.
Today the range of agarwood products and their uses is seemingly endless. Solid pieces of agarwood are highly appreciated as ‘natural art’ in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Craftsmen carve raw pieces of agarwood into beautiful wooden sculptures. Agarwood is also turned into beads and bracelets. Most of the wood, however, is processed and either turned into oil which is used in perfumes and other cosmetic products, or the agarwood chips are ground into powder which is used as the raw material for incense making (and sometimes also for special cigarettes).
The oil is also used in the production of traditional Chinese and Korean medicine, in the preparation of (medicinal) wine and various other products. The oil is mainly used in the Arab world where it is in high demand. It is by far the most precious essential oil with prices reaching as much as ten times that of sandalwood oil. The largest market for top class incense is Japan with its long tradition in incense making. Both the Arab countries and Japan are interested in high quality agarwood and manufacturers in these countries prefer to process the raw material themselves. This also avoids the mixing of high grade agarwood with wood of lower quality.
The oil is extracted from the agarwood through distillation. This delicate process determines both the amount and quality of oil produced. With the exception of large solid pieces of agarwood which are traded as individual pieces, most of the wood is ground into very small pieces or powder, which are immersed in water and left to ferment over time. Then the material is transferred to distillation kettles and steamed. After heating, the condensed water and oil are captured in a container where the oil floats on top of the water. The water is removed and the oil is tapped. The price of high quality oil can be as much as US$50,000 to US$80,000 per litre. This process can be repeated once or twice depending on the quality of the water and the costs of the distillation process. The powder which remains after distillation can be used for low grade incense making. It is estimated that for the production of one litre of oil 100 to 150 kilos of agarwood is necessary.
Wild and cultivated agarwood
In the past most agarwood has been harvested from the wild. Because it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to see whether a tree contains agarwood or not most of the Aquilaria trees are chopped down indiscriminately. High quality agarwood can fetch as much as US$1000 per kilo. Throughout history there has been an ever-moving frontier of agarwood exploitation across Asia as traders, continuously search for untouched forests containing Aquilaria trees (Barden et al. 2000). The trees were fetching high prices and as a result, the news about agarwood harvesting spread like ‘gold fever’. Large sums of money and all kinds of luxury items were offered to the forest dwelling communities, the traditional producers of agarwood. Usually this ‘fever’ was temporary. Once the largest trees were cut, new harvesting expeditions became less successful and just as in the case of gold, the collecting of small quantities of agarwood became a less rewarding activity.
The high prices for agarwood and the local depletion of resources in the wild have led to a variety of efforts to stimulate the growth of agarwood. The most common is the deliberate wounding of trees with large knives or the hammering of nails into tree trunks. In general such efforts do not yield very productive results. The agarwood produced is of inferior quality and can only be used for home consumption. Moreover, high quality agarwood takes many years to develop. It is only during the last few decades that a more scientific approach has been adopted to cultivation. Experiments were set up in several countries including China, Thailand and Indonesia. However, one of the most successful efforts to date has been a project initiated in Vietnam. In addition to laboratory analysis, field experiments were developed by a non-governmental organisation based in Ho Chi Minh City. The project, called The Rainforest Project (TRP), is in the Seven Mountains area of South Vietnam close to the border with Cambodia. The experiments were undertaken with local farmers and Buddhist monks who had gained considerable experience in the cultivation of Aquilaria trees. Building on their knowledge, experimental plots were developed to stimulate the production of agarwood. The process and experiments were supervised by a wood pathologist from the University of Minnesota, Prof. Robert Blanchette and the Director of TRP, Henry Heuveling van Beek. The main principle of the process was the drilling of holes in the tree trunk and keeping the wound open by putting a small piece of plastic pipe in the hole. A chemical treatment was added to the wound to encourage the trees defence mechanism which stimulates the production of the resin. After years of experimenting with the numbers of holes, the age of the tree, the amount of chemicals and other variables, the first trees were recently harvested and the production of incense made from the cultivated agarwood has begun. The success of the experiment implies that it will not be long before the method spreads to other areas where Aquilaria trees are being grown. TRP is also the leading organisation behind the two international agarwood conferences that have been held so far.
In Thailand a similar process of agarwood cultivation was started by a private company. In the past Thailand has been a traditional producer and consumer of relatively large amounts of agarwood. Over the years trade in a wide variety of agar wood products has developed in Bangkok. Large amounts of agarwood products, not only from the country itself but also from neighbouring Cambodia and Laos, are channelled through the city to markets in East Asia and the Arab world.
The declining supply has led Thai scientists, in partnership with the private sector, to set up relatively large scale plantations. One of these plantations is run by a company called Krissana Panasin in Chantaburi, Southeast Thailand. Over the years it has established a substantial plantation of several hundred hectares, including nurseries, processing and dis tillation units. The research department of the company has been experimenting with all kinds of techniques to obtain the optimal quality. Moreover, it provides seedlings to interested farmers who can produce agarwood trees on their own farms. The technology to wound the trees in order to start agarwood production is also provided to the small holders by the company. The mature trees are eventually being sold for processing to the companyas the farmers usually lack the connections and skills to organise the transport to other buyers. Aside from the cultivation of agarwood, Krissana Panasin also produces a wide range of end products. The company established an extensive public relations department to market these products and reach wholesale traders in consumer countries directly. In this way it tries to bypass the intermediate traders, at least within Thailand but also in places like Singapore and Hong Kong, which mainly serve as import and re-export sites.
A much smaller project to cultivate agarwood is being undertaken by the Catholic Church in Marauke, Papua (Indonesia). Here too harvesting from the wild came to an end within a relatively short period after the agarwood frontier reached the area in 1996. People still try to dig up roots of Aquilaria trees that might contain some agarwood, but it is clear that the big harvest is over. The project currently being implemented aims to integrate agarwood trees into the local agroforestry system. This is based on the idea that in the future agarwood may become an additional source of income for the farmers. Methods that are being used are largely based on local trial and error efforts in wounding and treating trees, including innoculation. Processing units are still absent and the farmers are fully dependent on outside traders for market opportunities. As yet the farmers and the church organisation lack the capacity to process the agarwood to add value to the raw material. But, based on the high prices of agarwood earned in the past the hopes for the future are high.
New areas
The high value of agarwood has attracted the attention of potential investors from a number of countries. Inspired by the success of the plantations that are already established in Vietnam, Thailand and India, new investors are willing to take up this challenge. New on the scene are the business people from Australia, Hawaii and Malaysia. Having gained substantial experience in the production of sandalwood in Western Australia, some companies are now ready to turn their efforts to Aquilaria plantations which could yield even higher prices per production unit. In the meantime, and as is the case with many other expensive products, there is an influx of fake agarwood products onto the market. These products go by th e name of Black Magic Wood (BMW), and in fact are made from non-infected Aquilaria wood which has been impregnated with cheap oil. It requires a trained eye and nose to differentiate real agarwood from these fake products.
There are of course a number of questions to be asked in relation to the large scale domesticated production of agarwood: Can the high prices currently commanded by agarwood be sustained if production is substantially be increased? What will the quality of the cultivated product be? There are also concerns about the consequences of large-scale cultivation for the traditional producers of agarwood, the collectors inside the forested areas. It is generally assumed that the natural top quality agarwood will become rare but remain in demand, particularly in Japan. This ‘top end’ of the market cannot easily be replaced by cultivated agarwood. At the lower end of the supply quality, it is predicted that there will be an increase in supply from both the traditional producers as well as the new ones. A gradual reduction in price is expected as a result of this increased cultivation. Finally it is assumed that the production, and therefore the value, will gradually move from the orginal rainforest areas to plantations located in other areas. Similar developments have also taken place in the case of other non-timber forest products such as orchids, rattan and crocodile skins.
Protection
A number of measures to protect the Aquilaria trees from excessive logging, and thus ensure the survival of the species, are under discussion. However, some representatives of conservation organisations point to an apparent lexical confusion as one of the main obstacles in this area. For some years the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has listed all Aquilaria species in its Appendix II. This implies the need to monitor the trade (both import and export). However, because agarwood is known across the world by many different names (such as eaglewood, aloeswood, jinko, gaharu, and oudh), and because it is used or even disguised in so many different products (such as oil, perfumes, incense, wine, wood dust and chips), tracking agarwood products requires highly sophisticated detection procedures which are not yet in place. This is one of the reasons why the illegal trade in agarwood cannot easily be stopped. One of the challenges ahead will be the differentiation between wild and cultivated agarwood. Without doubt some of these issues will be discussed during the next agarwood conference which will take place in a few years time.
Gerard A. PersoonInstitute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University Email address: persoon@cml.leidenuniv.nl References Barden, A. et al. 2000. Heart of the matter. Agarwood use and trade and CITES implementation for Aquilaria Malaccensis. Cambridge, TRAFFIC. 2nd International Agarwood Conference, Bangkok/Koh Chang, 4-11 March 2007. Organised by The Rainforest Project, FOA, TRAFFIC and Kasetsart University (Bangkok).
Odor profile: The pathological secretion of the aquillaria tree, a rich, musty woody-nutty scent that is highly prized in the Middle East. In commercial perfumery it’s safe to say all “oud” is a recreated synthetic note.
Common name: Agarwood, oudh, agalocha Plant family: Thymelaeceae Genus: Aquilaria Species: There are about 15 species of the genus Aquilaria
Agarwood is reputed to be the most expensive wood in the world. There are many names for the resinous, fragrant heartwood produced primarily by trees in the genus Aquilaria. Most commonly, the resin is known as agarwood, aloeswood, eaglewood, gaharu, agalocha or oudh (In Arabic).
Agarwood
“The ability of surviving trees to grow and reproduce is dramatically reduced”.
Agarwood has been used to make high quality incense since centuries. The Chinese describe its smell as “a sweet, deep but balanced fragrance” and use it in religious and festive celebrations, and so do Arabian, Indian and Japanese people. Agarwood is also part of many traditional pharmacopoeias, dating back to medieval times and Chinese doctors still prescribe it for colds and disgestion problem. Oil extracted from agarwood is used in Arabian countries as a perfume.
Agarwood is a resinous heartwood that occurs in trees belonging to the species of Aquilaria, Aetoxylon (A.symeatalum) and Gonystylus genus of Thymelaeceae family. However, species of the genus Aquilaria are mostly known for the production of agarwood – it’s a fast growing, evergreen tree.
Agarwood Leaf
Agarwood or oudh forms as a reaction to fungal or bacterial attack. Trees, ocassionally become infected with a parasite mould secrete a fragrant, protective oil into wounded areas (roots, branches or sections of the trunk), which gradually become harder and dark brown to black. The heartwood (central part of a tree, which is darker in color than the sapwood) is relatively light and pale color before infection. Normally harvesters would cut only the infected parts in the hope that the tree would produce more of this resinous wood.
Aquilaria crassna
Aquilaria species that produce agarwood are found throughout Asia, while occur naturally in South and Southeast Asia. The Indian sub-continent was the main source of agarwood for many centuries but as trees became scarce in the middle of the twentieth century, extraction intensified in Indochina. Later on it was extended to Indonesia and Malaysia. Today Agarwood plantations exist in a number of countries, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Laos, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and Vietnam.
Aquilaria
It can grow on a wide range of soils, including poor sandy soil. Seedlings of most species establish best in shady, moist conditions, but large adult trees sometimes become emergent in the forest and can withstand full sun. Some species can be found growing on steep, rocky, exposed slopes, and in regions that experience a hot, dry season. The trees grow to 6-20 m tall.
The leaves are alternate, 5-11 cm long and 2-4 cm broad, with a short acuminate apex and an entire margin. The flowers are yellowish-green, produced in an umbel, the fruit is a woody capsule 2.5-3 cm long. At least fifteen species of Aquilaria trees are known to produce Agarwood.
Agarwood Chips
Following are the species that produce agarwood:
Aquilaria khasiana, found in India
Aquilaria apiculina, found in Philippines
Aquilaria baillonil, found in Thailand and Cambodia
Aquilaria baneonsis, found in Vietnam
Aquilaria beccarain, found in Indonesia
Aquilaria brachyantha, found in Malaysia
Aquilaria crassna, found in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam
Aquilaria cumingiana, found in Indonesia and Malaysia
Aquilaria filaria, found in China
Aquilaria grandiflora, found in China
Aquilaria hilata, found in Indonesia and Malaysia
Aquilaria malaccensis, found in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and India
Aquilaria microcapa, found in Indonesia and Malaysia
Aquilaria rostrata, found in Malaysia
Aquilaria sinensis, found in China
Aquilaria subintegra, found in Thailand
Aquillaria Malacenensis is considered to be the queen of Indonesian oudh. This tree can grow about 40 M or 131.23 ft in height with its diameter 80 cm. It is the best producer of agarwood resin and oil in Indonesia.
Agarwood is exported in various forms (wood chips, powder, oil and as finished products such as perfumes, incense and medicines), and the main importers are countries in the Middle and Far East – in particular the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia (where agarwood is known as oudh), as well as Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.
EXTRACTION METHOD
There are three methods through which agarwood oil is distilled namely, hydro-distillation, steam distillation and super critical CO2 extraction. However, the most common methods of distillation are hydro-distillation and steam distillation. Another thing that has its mark on the distillation of the oil is the age of the tree. Older trees have a higher resin content and just like a wine, old resin gets better with age. Speaking of the grading of agarwood oil, the best quality oil comes out from first distillation and after this the wood undergoes for second distillation and hence, it is graded accordingly the number of times it is cooked.
Oil coming from steam distillation is said to lack the three-dimensional smoky quality which comes from hydro-distilled oil. In both methods, after the oil has been distilled, it is filtered, sunned, and aged for a while. The more the oil aged, the better it will smell.
Agarwood Extracting
When is it needed to develop synthetic substitutes?
Development of synthetic substitutes usually arises when sustainable supplies of the natural product are not available and are expensive at the same time. Since, Agarwood cannot be synthesized, chemical substitutes are already available for perfume these are cheap and constitute the least profitable end of the market. In addition, these products do not come even close in mimicking the natural product. The major chemical components responsible for the characteristic scent of Agarwood products, sesquiterpenes, can in principle be synthesized. However, these are very complicated structures that will be extremely expensive to synthesize, which makes it commercially completely unattractive.
So the major difference in fragrances of oudh oil and synthetic oudh can be distinguished easily. Oudh smells heavenly, woody and balsamic and surrounds a warm aura of bitter sweet and woody nuance. Whereas, synthetic oudh smells plain woody, leathry and lacks that warm balsmic aura.
WHY IS AGARWOOD EXPENSIVE?
Quality Agarwood Perfume
Low yield from plant material, typical and labor intensive process of extraction. These are all very few reasons of high costing of Agarwood Oil. Low grade of resinous wood is used for oil production normally require minimum 20kg to produce 12ml of oil.
According to Nabeel Adam Ali, the director of Swiss Arabian Perfumes, the highest-quality oudh, once upon a time, came from trees older than 100 years. Having said that, it doesn’t mean that the new trees don’t get a good fragrance but what is missing is the quality, the heritage and the tradition. Still, sales of oudh-based perfumes continue to grow each year, but to meet the demand, many perfumers have started to using a blend of natural and synthetic oud. (New York Times)
Agarwood (Oud) Oils
Mr. Ajmal estimates that roughly 20 years ago, a kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, of high-quality “e-grade” oud — the entry-level grade among the best oud quality grades — would cost about 1,800 dirhams, or $500.
Now, that same amount would cost 12,000 dirhams, he said, a staggering increase in price. For those who are willing to spend as much as 200,000 dirhams per kilogram, the highest-quality oudh is still available. But Mr. Ajmal said that at that price, the profit margins are slim. (New York Times)
It has been estimated to be 18.000 euros for one kilo from the current market price.It is basically used in Natural Perfumery for long lasting and for increased weight in Natural Perfumes.
Agarwood Oils
Another reason of agarwood being expensive is a threat to becoming endangered. The most important resin-producing species of Aquilaria are A. agollocha, A. malaccensis and A. crassna. A. malaccensis is protected worldwide under the CITES (The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) convention as well as by the World Conservation Union, IUCN. A. crassna was listed as an endangered species few years back by the Vietnamese Government but is now listed as a protected species in Vietnam.
USES OF AGARWOOD
An important use of agarwood is the production of incense. Agarwood is an aphrodisiac, both in oil form, and as incense. These are generally topical uses but the oil is also sold in Vietnamese pharmacies for internal use with the same goal. Chinese medicine uses powdered Aquilaria as a treatment for cirrhosis of the liver and for other medicines. It has also been used as a treatment for lung and stomach tumors.
Oud, Oudh, Aloeswood, Agarwood, Gaharu (different names for the same meaning) is the common name for the tar-like resinous heartwood that forms in the ancient Aquilaria and some Gyrinops species of trees that are native to the dense forests of South East Asia. The heartwood of the tree produces this dark aromatic resin as part of its natural defence mechanism when infected with fungus (Phialophora Parasitica).. This resin can be produced either through natural causes of the wild or through the artificial means of inoculating it with resin-inducing substances.
A Cultivate of Agarwood
The greater the infection of the tree will result in the heartwood of the Aquilaria trees bearing a hallmark high-grade oud wood – a dense, pitch-dark and resinous wood which would otherwise be light and pale-coloured if uninfected. It is worth to note that not all Aquilaria trees can be found producing this resinous heartwood and it is said that for every ten trees in the wild, only one will have its heartwood considerably infected. As for artificial inoculation of cultivated Aquilaria trees, it has been established that there is no certainty or guarantee that the tree will produce resin despite the human intervention. It is this resinous heartwood that can be known as jinko, oud, oudh, ki-nam, kyara, gaharu, aloeswood, eaglewood, chen xiang or agarwood according to the different cultures, that is prized and loved by all due to its rarity and the distinct and unique aroma it produces. To put it simply, the aroma of agarwood will just permeate the nostrils and leave you intrigued by its exquisite and complex scent, making you yearn for more.
Agarwood, or commonly known as Oud in the Middle Eastern world, has gained considerable interest and popularity in the West in recent times, with famous designer brands launching their own Oud fragrance, such as Giorgio Armani’s Oud Royal and Tom Ford’s Oud Wood. Arabian Oud, the mass producing house of Arabian fragrances recently swept majority of awards at FiFi 2012, a ceremony akin to the Oscars of the fragrance world.
History of this Time-Honoured Fragrance
Its interest is of no wonder, considering that Agarwood or Oud (not to be mistaken for Bakhoor) has been around for centuries since the ancient times of the Sanskrit, Torah, Gospel and the Muslim scriptures.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace & blessings be upon him) held the tradition of fumigation with agarwood which continues in the Muslim world up to this day. The Holy Prophet made known that agarwood is a distinct item of Paradise in his saying, “The first group of people who will enter Paradise, will be glittering like the full moon and those who will follow them, will glitter like the most brilliant star in the sky. They will not urinate, relieve nature, spit, or have any nasal secretions. Their combs will be of gold, and their sweat will smell like musk. The aloes-wood will be used in their centers..”. The Messenger of God also revealed the numerous healing properties of agarwood, which in the particular saying, referred to Hindi Oud and its effectiveness in treating pleurisy.
The Song of Songs describes King Solomon (peace be upon him) as “coming up from the desert like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense” and there are numerous references throughout this book of the Old Testament to “every kind of incense tree” which popular belief denotes to Oud. The bible mentioned several citations of Oud, including a text in which Jesus (peace be upon him) is said to have been perfumed with aloes (Oud).
The extremely wealthy ancient Chinese used to make their coffins out of this aloeswood while in Buddhism, the most precious Buddhist string of beads numbering to 108 is made of agarwood. One story tells of a monk’s sacrificing spirit in which he grinds one of his agarwood beads into powder whenever he met the sick in order to cure them with it, which resulted with even the seriously stricken person getting well.
Stories tells us of the extreme habits of luxury of King Louis XIV of France, who had the practice of washing his clothes in Oud. Agarwood also has been associated with the Chinese tradition of Fengshui, a discipline of governing the flow of energy in a particular place, and the Oud wood has been associated with producing good luck and positive energy wherever it is placed.
Numerous Benefits of Agarwood
Agarwood Chips
Agarwood oil essence or the pure Oud Oil is often associated with its ability to bring about calmness in the nervous system, its ability to cultivate focus and alertness when used and, as some say, the positive effect it gives to one’s libido system when applied regularly. Oud Essential Oil is indeed an aromatherapy, is not gender-specific and can be enjoyed by both sexes, though some females may prefer a blended version of the Oud Oil due to the strong potent smell of the pure Oud essence. In the Middle East, men and women burn Oud wood chips to fragrance their houses and also their clothes so that the lasting scent will permeate the whole garment.
The benefits that are involved with Oud are vast, ranging from psychoactive and spiritual, to therapeutic and medicinal. Keep in mind that the information we share below is only for your general information and is not to be relied for diagnostic and treatment purposes.
Agarwood calms the body, removes destructive and negative energies, provides enhanced awareness, reduces fear, invokes a feeling of vigour and harmony, and enhances mental functionality
Oud eases neurotic and obsessive behavior and helps create harmony and balance in your home
Agarwood is highly psychoactive
Oud is highly effective for meditation, enlightenment, bringing deep tranquility and relaxation
Agarwood is suggested by proficient masters for giving inspiration and the imperative affection for meditation
Oud is said to bring connection with the transcendent, stimulating the psyche, human body and consciousness. It is said that prayers rise with the scented smoke of agarwood incense and carry the prayer to the Creator. The angels are attracted to the scent and Oud smoke. That is why Muslims love to burn Oud wood and fumigate their houses on Thursday nights, the holiest of the weeknights to them.
Buddhists deploy agarwood for transmutation of ignorance. Tibetan monks utilize it to convey energy to wind down the mind and spirit. The Sufis and Japanese shamans use agarwood oil in their esoteric rites.
Oud helps to improve mental clarity, opens the third eye and all of the upper chakras while calming the whole entire spiritual system.
Medically, agarwood is a tonic, aphrodisiac, diuretic, relieves epilepsy, antimicrobial, carminative, anti-asthmatic.
Oud is used in nervous disorders, digestive, bronchial complaints, smallpox, rheumatism, illness during and after childbirth, spasms in the digestive and respiratory systems, fevers, abdominal pain, asthma, cancer, colic, diarrhea, nausea, regurgitation, weakness in the elderly, shortness of breath, chills, general pains and cirrhosis of the liver. It also acts as a director or focuser for other medicines. It has been used as a treatment for lung and stomach tumors.
Agarwood by any other name would smell as sweet…
Below you will find the different names of Oud used in many different cultures, evidence of the high degree of its appreciation worldwide:
Agar – Urdu (Pakistan)
Agar or Aguru – Bengali
A-ga-ru (ཨ་ག་རུ་) – Tibetan
Aguru – Telugu and Kannada
Akil (அகில்) – Tamil
Cham Heong – Cantonese
Chénxiāng (沉香) – Chinese
Gaharu – Indonesian and Malay
Ghara or Eaglewood – Papua New Guinea
Jinkō (沈香) – Japanese (In Japan, kyara (伽羅) is the highest grade of jinkō)
Lignum aquila (eagle-wood), Agilawood, Lignum aloes or Aloeswood – Europe
Agarwood is a resinous substance formed inside agarwood trees that arises as a result of infection with a type of mold. Prior to infection, the timber of the tree does not bear any scent. When the tree is wounded and infected by a type of mold, the tree produces resin to aid in suppressing the fungal growth. This resin is dark, dense and aromatic. The resin embedded wood is commonly known as aloes, aloeswood or agarwood. It is known by various names in different cultures: it is known as “chenxiang”, “chenshuixiang” and “shuichenxiang” in Chinese; “aguru” in Sanskrit; “oud” in Arabic; and “gaharu” in Indonesian.
It takes tens to hundreds of years for agarwood to be formed. In addition, in natural environment, only a small percentage of agarwood trees produces agarwood. Hence, agarwood is rare and precious.
Tree species capable of producing agarwood
Agarwood enjoys the title of “the King of Incenses”. Regarded as the most precious kind of wood in the world, it is indeed an extremely rare natural resource. The rich and elegant aroma of agarwood mainly derives from aloewood oil (or agarwood resin). From the perspective of current botany, four families of trees are known to produce agarwood, namely Thymelaeaceae, Burseraceae, Lauraceae and Euphorbiaceae. In response to specific conditions, such as in face of attacks of natural forces or by human beings, which result in wounds and fungal infection, the trunks of these tropical trees will produce resin for self-treatment, suppression of the spread of wounds and other effects of self-protection. The long process, across tens to hundreds of years, by which the resin and wood fibres integrate and transform into resinous agarwood carrying a unique fragrance is known as “incense formation” or “agarwood formation”.
In the view of current botany, four families of trees are known capable of producing agarwood.
Thymelaeaceae: Majority of tress that produce agarwood belong to the genus Aquilaria, which mainly grow in regions in South China, Vietnam , Cambodia , Lao, Vietname, Malysia , Thailand , Burma , India and Indonesia.
Burseraceae: Trees in the Burseraceae family that can form agarwood mainly grow in central South America.
Lauraceae: Trees in the Lauraceae family that can form agarwood mainly grow in central South America.
Euphorbiaceae: Trees in the Euphorbiaceae family that can form agarwood are mainly distributed in the tropics.
Uses of Agarwood
Religious Uses: Agarwood is highly valued and used as offerings by Buddhists, Taoists, Catholics, Christians and Islams.
Medicinal Uses: Medical and therapeutic usage of agarwood is well recognised. It is used as medicine in the old traditions in China, Islam, India, Tibet and South East Asia .
Artistic Uses: The pleasant aroma and rarity of agarwood makes it a precious sculpting material. Large and intact agarwood pieces for creating sculptures are hard to find. Related artworks are relatively small in numbers. Furniture made from large pieces of intact agarwood is hardly seen on the market.
Conservation of Agarwood
Towards the end of the last century, agarwood was listed as a potentially threatened speciesof plant by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Incense and aloes, also known as agarwood, has received the same respect since the beginning of civilization. It’s permanent! “Permanency” is an abstract concept beyond time and space. Since ancient times, humans have been in search of the significance of permanency through different faiths and philosophies. Permanent objects and wisdom must endure the test of time and history; they stand for the entire mankind’s common desire in pursuit of happiness and faith, bringing about physical and mental pleasure realized via the sublimation of virtues. Fulfilling all such criteria, the incense culture is a noble and elegant culture.
Since the onset of the history of incense culture, humans have mastered the modulation, extraction and medicinal use of incense. For instance, the Arabs and Indians were experts in extracting fragrant oil and balm; the ancient Egyptians invented perfume production; the Chinese applied a variety of incense and spices as medicine in treatments and regimens. The hereditary wisdom of incense culture has carried through the ages, from generation to generation, and this continuity has benefited mankind. Incense culture has evolved together with the history of human civilization. Ethnic ancestors from different faiths and cultural backgrounds have been using the most precious incenses for worshiping Heaven and Earth, paying respect to ancestors, communicating with and venerating the deities, all for exploring the continuation of life and the mystery of permanency.
Accompanying the maturation of incense culture is the rapid and successful development of the craft of incense utensils and tools. Religious ceremonial implements and incense vessels with ethnic characteristics, ingenious utensils for incense appreciation as well as containers for refined perfumes and essential oils have been crafted all over the world – these are important carriers of the permanent heritage of incense culture. Crafts, ornaments and furniture magically carved from rare fragrant materials such as agarwood have passed on this antique cultural heritage in a quaintly elegant manner.
The wisdom and cultures of mankind need to be sustained, and we should be responsible for carrying forward and preserving these important cultural treasures from generation to generation, allowing the incense culture and the profound essence it represents to flourish in the permanency of human history.
Factors for agarwood formation
Consolidating the experience from the past and present as well as information found in Chinese herbal classics, five factors for agarwood formation have been identified, namely “raw formation”, “ripe formation”, “removal”, “insect attack” and “fungal infection”:
“Raw formation”: When wounds are developed or branches are broken due to destruction by natural forces such as windstorms and thunder, animal scratches or logging by men, trees will produce resin to heal its wounds, during which agarwood will be produced. The longer the process, the better the quality of the scented wood.
“Ripe formation”: Trees may wither and die of continual production of resin which leads to blockage of its canals. Over a long period of time, the wood fibres will blend with the resin and solidify into superior hard and dark agarwood which sinks in water. Meanwhile, the life of the agarwood tree is brought to an end.
“Removal”: When the wounded parts of trees come off as a result of infection in large and small pieces, they may contain remnants of resin, which will blend with the wood textures, forming agarwood.
“Insect attack”: Trees that are bitten and attacked by parasitic insects will produce resin for self-protection and healing, and agarwood will be formed as a result.
“Fungal infection”: At the initial stage of fungal infection, the amount of resin formed is very small. However, prolonged infection will engender high quality agarwood.
Agarwood appreciation
The accumulated rich experience and wisdom in assessing agarwood have been recorded in books for future reference over the long history of development of incense application in China. Chinese incense classics contains rich and detailed information about the places of origin, appearances and grading of agarwood. Nanfan Xianglu (Records of Nanfan Incense) from the Song Dynasty details various aspects for assessing agarwood ranging from its places of origin, quality, factors for formation, colours and textures to sinking condition. Concerning places of origin and quality, it points out that “Agarwood from Chenla (Khmer, today’s Cambodia) is the best, Champa (Vietnam) comes second”. As for the factors for agarwood formation, it suggests: “Raw formation is the best, followed by ripe formation”. Its comments on the colours and textures of agarwood are that “The hard and black are the best, followed by the yellowish”.
In addition, “fragrance, quality, shape and colour” also provide the basis for appreciating agarwood. “Fragrance” obviously refers to the aroma, whose quality is of foremost importance given that agarwood is a scented product. A good fragrance is pure yet rich and permeating; it is far-reaching and enduring with delicate changes when burned. Regarding “quality”, it depends on the condition of the aromatic resin stored in a piece of agarwood which gives the wood fragrance; therefore agarwood with rich and quality resin content receives a higher ranking. “Shape” and “colour” are standards for assessment taking into consideration the shape, colouring, grain as well as the distribution of resin in a piece of agarwood. The ancients examined agarwood through debates and competitions, evincing that comparisons based on real objects and accumulation of experience are the only ways of determining its quality.
Agarwood from various places and related grading systems
The formation of agarwood is attributed to a complex web of environmental factors including the species of the tree, climate, soil, effects of fungal stimulation, position of formation, duration of formation as well as shape and size. Due to variations in objective criteria, the assessment and grading of agarwood is a broad and profound topic of study. Until today, a comprehensive and internationally acknowledged set of standards for assessing and grading agarwood has yet to emerge. Therefore, assessment still relies on the experience and knowledge of experienced members of the industry, and variations in grading systems may occur even within the same region, for example, between the levels of wholesaling and retailing. The standards for grading agarwood differ among countries:
Malaysia: Mainly divided into twelve grades, including the six grades “Double Super”, “Super”, “A”, “B”, “C” and “D”, in which “A” and “B” are subdivided into two sub-grades, “C” is subdivided into four sub-grades and “D” is subdivided into two sub-grades.
Douple Super Agarwood
Super Agarwood
Indonesia: Mainly divided into nine grades, with the first four being “Super A”, “Super B ”, “Super C ” and “ Sabak ”. The rest are graded according to the amount of resin content and the size of the wood piece.
Super A Agarwood
India: Mainly graded as “Triple Super”, “Double Super”, “Super”, grades A, B, C, D and etc. (information provided by a member of the industry in India)
Vietnam: Due to the wide distribution of agarwood produce, five grades have been established according to the places of production from the North to the South. Kinam is classified by four grades..
The King of Agarwood – Kinam
There was a popular ancient saying: “The nidanas from performing good deeds in three life-spans are rewarded with smelling the fragrance of Kinam in the present life”. Renowned as “the King of Agarwood”, Kinam is the best of all agarwood species and is known by numerous appellations – “Qinan”, “Kynam” and “Kannam”, while the Japanese refer to it as “Kyara”. The ancients used the saying, “Good agarwood is particularly hard to obtain” to describe Kinam owing to the rare probability of its formation, which makes it all the more precious. Until today, a scientific account of the real factors for Kinam formation is not yet available. However, deducing from ancient Chinese incense literature, it is likely to be related to parasitic and nesting activities of insects and bees, which subject the scented wood to prolonged absorption of honey and milky substances that gradually blend with the resin produced from the tree, resulting in a lengthy process of transformation. In addition, some modern scholars hold the views that it is caused by fungal stimulation that transforms the nature of the scented wood or by genetic changes in the fragrant trees.
Black Kinam
Types of Kinam
China has great accomplishments in incense literature. Xiang Sheng (A History of Incense) by Ming collector Zhou Jiazhou categorizes Kinam according to the conditions of its formation, such as “green formation”, “sugary formation”, “honey formation”, “raw formation”, “golden silk formation” and “tiger’s skin formation”. Haiwai Yishuo (An Overseas Leisurely Account) grades Kinam by its characteristic colours, with such categories as “warbler green”, “orchid formation”, “golden silk formation”, “sugary formation” and “iron formation”. In modern times, Kinam is graded and categorised as “white Kinam”, “green Kinam”, “red Kinam”, “yellow Kinam”, “purple Kinam” and “black Kinam”. Besides, the mountainous regions in northern Binh Thuan Province in Vietnam are famous for Kinam production, with its local produce classified into the four categories of “white, green, yellow and black”.
1. The “Wood of the Gods” has at least a 3,000 year history in the Middle East, Japan and China. Only Kings and the very wealthy were able to benefit from its powers.
There are references to agarwood in the literature of India. The Indian poet Kalidasa once wrote: “Beautiful ladies, preparing themselves for the feast of pleasures, cleanse themselves with the yellow powder of sandal, clear and pure, freshen their breast with pleasant aromas, and suspended their dark hair in the smoke of burning Aloeswood.”
King Louis XIV of France had his shirts washed in rose water in which Aloeswood had been previously boiled.
There are a total of five places in the Bible where Aloeswood appears. Nicodemus brought it (pounded Aloeswood) to embalm the body of Christ (John 19:39).
It was used by the Egyptians at the time of the pyramids for embalming privileged dead bodies. In Buddhism, the most precious string of beads is made with 108 beads made from agarwood. In ancient China the wealthy chooses Aloeswood to make their coffins.
The tragedy of the agarwood industry is that the whole of the tree has to be felled to obtain the valuable inner layers. Not all trees contain the agarwood in the wild and there are occasions where 10 trees will be cut down to find agarwood in only one. Unsustainable Aquilaria harvesting in natural forests has resulted in near extinction in many areas of South East Asia.
2. Agarwood has long been appreciated for its multipurpose uses, range from incense for religious and traditional ceremonies, perfume, medicine and ornamental functions in many countries. The occurrence of this-so-called the wood of the gods has been strongly surrounded by myths and history. Agarwood use is mentioned in the Old Testament as ‘aloe’ or ‘ahaloth’ in Isalm 45:8. Agarwood is the only tree in the Eastern myth that has been descended to Man from Eden garden (Duke, 2008). In Egypt and Japan, Agarwood was used to embalm dead bodies. In India and Cambodia, it is used for traditional and religious ceremony.
3. In ancient China, the wealthy chooses ALOESWOOD to make their coffins. According to San Guo Yan Yi (a historic novel describing Three kingdoms period after Han Dynasty), after Gwan Yu, the best general at that time, was decapitated by his rival and was sent to Tsao Chao, Tsao Chao, for his admiration of Guan Yu, ordered to make the remaining body of Guan Yu by agarwoods. (Chapter 77)
In another chapter, in order to convey the greatest honor and apology to Zheng Fei’s death, Sun Quan put Zheng Fei’s head (also being decapitated ) in a agarwood box made and sent it to Liu Bei. (Chapter 83)
In Buddhism, the most precious Buddhist string of beads is made by agarwoods and the standard bead string contains 108 beads. One story tells a monk’s sacrificing spirit. He carried his bead string and traveled around the country. Whenever he saw the ill, he would take out a bead and give it to the ill. After grinding and taking the agarwood bead, most seriously ill recovered. The monk’s wish was to give away all his beads before he died.
There are several reasons why ALOESWOOD has never been really well-known in Korea. First, the supply was very limited due to the fact that it was imported through Japan and China, who purchased ALOESWOOD from southeast Asia. And secondly, it was exclusively owned and utilized by kings. Even the highest level officers and members of the elite did not have access to ALOESWOOD unless there was special permission granted by the kings.
Historical anecdotes:
Samguk Sagi (History of Three Kingdoms)
Silla King Hyun-Duk (919 AD)The king, Silla King Hyun-Duk (919 AD) declared ALOESWOOD to be a very precious imported product, thereby banning all people, including high level autocrats, from using ALOESWOOD
Koryo Sa (History of Koryo Dynasty)
Medicine and Diplomatic Present: Koryo King Mun-Jong used ALOESWOOD for medicinal purposes. He was suffering from rheumatism, due to his old age, and he had tried all other possible treatments from the best doctors in Koryo. However, his illness steadily worsened due to ineffective medication. As a last resort, he asked the emperor of Song in China for One-hundred different kinds of medicinal materials. Song emperor responded by sending his personal doctor, the different kinds of medicinal matierals, along with eighty-eight diplomatic delegates. On the list of medicines, ALOESWOOD was listed as the first item on the list for its potency. (Book 9)
Diplomatic Gift: ALOESWOOD was used as a diplomatic gift when Song and Jin had been in a war for over a hundred years. Song has constantly sent gifts to Koryo in order to persuade Koryo join in the war effort as an ally. Once, when Song emperor ordered Hsu, Delong to send diplomatic gifts to Koryo, he secretly ordered Hsu to send ALOESWOOD packed in both a silver and a gold box.(Book 18).
ALOESWOOD Sculpture: King I-Wu ordered artists to use ALOESWOOD to carve a statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (the Goddess of Mercy).(Book 17)
Choson Silrok (History of Choson Dynasty)
Extremely Precious Medicine: (1431 AD) King Sejong discussed with his officers about the importance of securing the supply of medicinal materials. He said, ¡§Dryobalanops aromatica Gaertn and Cinnabar are very precious medicinal materials but those two items are still available in China, but ALOESWOOD is so precious that it¡¦s hard to find even in China. In the past, Japanese merchants often came to our courtries to sell ALOESWOOD They stopped selling ALOESWOOD to us because we paid them so little. ALOESWOOD does not originate in Japan so Japanese merchants have to pruchase it from a very distant place. Therefore, we should buy ALOESWOOD regardless of the price. (Sejong 14, Book 3, pp.421)¡¨
King’s favorite item: (1493 AD) Many officers thought that Japanese merchants gained too much excess profits from trading with Korea. Therefore, officers asked the king to ban all the trade with Japanese merchants. King Seung-Jong replied: Except ALOESWOOD and Dryobalanops aromatica Gaerin, ban all trade with Japanese merchants. For these two items, you have to buy them regardless of the price. (Seung-Jong 25, Book 12, pp. 546)
King’s worship item: (1804 AD) In Insan palace, one was to offer sacrifices to the spirits five different items. Only when the King himself offered the worship, ALOESWOOD was used. Otherwise, other fragrant materials were sued in stead. (Soon-Jo 5, Book 47, pp. 505)
Crown prince’s (Heir to the throne) Bead: (1541 AD) Joong-jong¡¦ crown prince lost a set of bead made by ALOESWOOD The lost of the bead did not worry him for he knew that the stolen bead will eventually be sold back to palace and return to his hand due to its priceless value. Later, the lost ALOESWOOD beads indeed returned to the crown prince. (Joong-Jong 36, Book 18, pp.442)
The scarcity of A.A.R: (1524 AD) Prime minister Kim, Jen was serious ill and had lost consciousness several times in a week. A prescription called “ALOESWOOD downing Qi” was required to cure Prime Minister’s illness. However, he was not able to find the precious ALOESWOOD in the market. After hearing this news, king Joong-Jong ordered to sent ALOESWOOD, along with his doctors, to the prime minister. (Joong-Jong 18, Book 16, pp.193)
King’s admiration of ALOESWOOD Buddha. Statue: (1458 AD)Se-Jo sent Buddhist Sutra to Japanese emperor. In the letter he wrote to the Japanese emperor, Se-jo requested a beautifully crafted ALOESWOOD Buddha statue. (Sejo 3, Book 7, pp. 200)
Dance and Building: (1615 AD)Dance that describes the beauty of A.A.R had been developed. Also, king¡¦s palace is named after ALOESWOOD (Kwang-hea 7, Book 32, pp. 402/466)
ALOESWOOD color: In both Korea and China, ALOESWOOD color (dark green) had been widely used on the attire of Kings and Queens. It had also been used for painting the palace. (Many place in Silok)
Decoration: Generally used as the best gifts kings gives to his officials. Items include belts, musical instruments, clothes, and boxes.
Vietnam Agarwood 