The unexpected dangers of Moroccan incense.

Today The View from Fez decided that our office needed a big clean up. Working in a renovation site is never easy and we have become great collectors of dust, grime, dirt and assorted detritus.

After an hour of sweeping, washing, mopping and cleaning up we thought it might be nice to try our antique incense burner.


Now, I should explain that our "office" is in the ground floor salon of the riad and looks out through huge three and a half metre cedar doors onto the ten square metre courtyard where the renovation is taking place. Three workmen are rebuilding the hamam (bath house) while two women are removing the paint from ancient carved wooden doors.

Having lit the small piece of charcoal I gently dropped a pinch of brightly coloured mixed incense on it. The incense started smoking and the sweetest smoke wafted around the salon. Fine so far.

However... outside in the courtyard all hell had broken out. The two women using a very smelly chemical to remove the paint almost went on strike! One of them reacted so badly to the sweet smell of the incense, that she fled down the stairs and outside.

It took almost twenty minutes to discover the problem. It appears that the particular incense I had used was the same as that employed by Gnaoua musicians when they dance themselves into a trance state. The women, so I was told, thought the smell would drive them "crazy"!

The Gnaoua are generally the descendants of former slaves originating from Black Africa and have formed brotherhoods throughout Morocco. These master musicians practice a syncretic rite of possession, where combines African and Arabo-Berber contributions. This night ceremony comprises a profane part intended for the entertainment during which there is no trance and a sacred part during which saints and supernatural entities are called upon - the incense is a major part of this ritual.


I suggested that it might be safer if I stuck to rose petals but was ( after a heated discussion) eventually informed that the best incense to use was Oude - but that it cost hundreds of thousands of dirhams a kilo.

Oude is Agarwood and the commercially available Oude oil is usually distilled from inferior wood that ranges from $20 to a few hundred dollars per kilo. The quality of agarwood that is burned as incense, and which costs several thousand per kilo, as a rule, never gets used in the distillation of agarwood oil. The few chips I bought were superb but expensive.

Agarwood or Aloeswood is the resinous wood from the Aquilaria tree, an evergreen tree native to northern India, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. It's scientific name is Aquilara Malaccensis Lam or Aquilaria agallocha.

It is a very popular ingredient in Japanese incense and is often used in Traditional Chinese, Unanai, Ayurvedic, and Tibetan medicine.

The Aquilaria tree grows up to 40 meters high and 60 centimeters in diameter. It bears sweetly-scented, snow-white flowers. The trees frequently become infected with a parasite fungus or mold, Phialophora parasitica, and begin to produce an aromatic resin, in response to this attack. It is this precious resinous wood that is treasured around the world. Today the resin is commonly called Jinko, Aloeswood, Agarwood, and Oude.

The resin of a tree from a natural fungal attack and immune response produces the sweet substance commonly known as agar #1. An inferior resin is created by the deliberate wounding of an aquilaria tree; leaving it more susceptible to a fungal attack by using a forced method. This is commonly called agar #2.

The fungus and decomposition process continue to generate a very rich and dark resin forming within the heartwood. The resin created as a natural immune response makes the most sacred oil on the planet. The wood is extremely rare and often very difficult to obtain, as well as being quite expensive. The best quality is Kyara, which comes in four types: Green, Iron, Purple, and Black.

There are many stories about aloeswood being buried under the ground for hundreds of years. This legend comes from an old Chinese book on incense, but today most aloeswood comes from infected trees that, although in the process of decaying and dying, are indeed still standing. However, sometimes the roots become infected with the fungus and these can be found underground.

But, back to The View from Fez office. Next on the list was something called fijel. Undeterred, I sent out for a little and started the entire procedure again. Fijel was not as sweet, but the little twigs were certainly cheap and you could afford a small bonfire of them for only a few dirhams,

There are many types of incense used in Morocco such as dried rose petals and a white crystal that should certainly get you arrested at any airport customs barrier... but, if you want to keep the peace and your workers - stick to oude or fijel.


Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news