Moroccan Incense Burners.

The incense burner from the Rif region of Morocco

Antique incense burners are a common sight in the souqs of the Fez Medina, but this week we discovered another style of burner from the Rif region of Morocco. This unusual burner (pictured above) differs from the more usual design (pictured below) in that it has a handle and is connected to a tray for collecting the ash by three brass legs (with feet). We are unsure of the age of the burner but its solid construction and wooden handle make it not only a collector's item but a very usable one.

A more typical burner

Incense is used for a variety of purposes in Morocco and almost always it is in the form of natural materials added to glowing charcoal. According to some local experts the type of incense used is of great importance and although there are preprepared mixtures available in shops all over the Medina, we were informed that a single ingredient was the preferred method.

Incense used at a Sufi ceremony

One of the best incense for general use is Oude (sometimes spelled Ud) - but be warned that the genuine top quality can cost hundreds of thousands of dirhams a kilo. There is also dispute as to the nature of Oude in Morocco, with some experts claiming that what is on offer is not the real thing.

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 we 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 Latin name is Aquilara Malaccensis Lam or Aquilaria agallocha.

It is a very popular ingredient in Japanese incense and is often used in Traditional Chinese, Unani, 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.

A more common incense is known locally as fijel. It comes in the form of bunches of twigs that must be broken up before adding to the charcoal. Fijel is not as sweet as Oude, but the little twigs are certainly cheap and you could afford a small bonfire of them for only a few dirhams.

Luban Jawi

Our favourite incense is Luban Jawi - this comes in two forms - brown and black. The black is the more expensive and looks like lumps of black rock. We are told that the term Jawi comes from the word Java as the rock is imported from Indonesia as "Javanese Frankincense". It is in fact Styrax Benzoin from the Styrax tree that has its bark peirced to produce an exudation that is dried into the form of the black rocks (pictured above) It is necessary to break the rock up with a hammer and collect the fragments to add to the burner. The smell is wonderful. The same incense is made into a tincture by local women and then mixed with rose-flower water to create Lait Virginal - virgin's milk - which is rubbed on the face to "make it glow"!

Moroccan "sandalwood" - It may in fact be something else.

True frankincense

There are many other types of incense used in Morocco such as dried rose petals and a white crystal that would certainly get you arrested at any airport customs barrier. The sandalwood may well be another wood, but the odour was very pleasant. The frankincense was also superb and compared to other incense, remarkably inexpensive.

So next time you come across a shop selling Moroccan incense, pause to wonder at the labour and ingenuity that has been employed over the centuries in order to bring us such sweet smelling fragrances.

Photographs: Sandy McCutcheon

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news