Incense

Frankincense to offer have I
Incense owns a Deity nigh
Prayer and praising, all men raising
Worship Him, God most high

(from) We Three Kings, J. H. Hopkins Jr.

Basic Information

Incense is any one of a number of substances burned for the fragrant vapours that they give off. Almost all incenses are plant derived - although a few like ambegris and musk are derived from animals instead. The use of incense seems to have begun in eastern Asia in the late stone age and spread from there, although arguably the most significant movement of incense was the Arabian Frankincense trade, which appears in antiquity and is still going strong. Any given incense may be a single substance, or a more or less complicated blend of several.

The burning of incense is a significant part of many religious and magical rituals¹, but can also be used for medicinal purposes (such as in aromatherapy) or simply to cover up foul smells². Incense may serve to purify a ritual space, or to assist in creating a trance state - it may even serve merely to drive away annoying insects that might otherwise disturb proceedings, especially if materials like citronella are blended into the mix. Secular use of incense may simply serve to disguise the various smells that occur from gathering lots of people together in a confined space, especially in places with pre-modern personal hygiene and sanitation. Less wholesomely, incense may also be used to cover up the smell of illicit drug use or, even worse, used to disguise the smell of airborne drugs or poisons - drugged incense was a particular favourite of 1930s pulp novelists.

Incense may also provide a cultural cue - in Arab culture, the burning of incense at the end of a meal or party is traditionally a cue for the guests to leave and go home³.

Incense, depending on its type, is either burned directly or vapourised on a hot surface - in either case a censer of an appropriate design may be used, but a brazier can also be used for direct burning, or the incense can be made up into candles or burnable cones or sticks.

Where incense is burned, it may be used indiscriminately or specific incenses may be used for specific purposes - the Egyptian priests (for example) burned frankincense before their gods at morning, myrrh at noon and kyphi at dusk. In Hebrew culture, however, myrrh was associated with embalming and frankincense was preferred for most temple uses. Modern Westerners appear to burn incense solely on the basis of which scent they prefer.

As well as being burned, incense often ended up being used in medicines and other such compounds (and, we would assume, potions in a fantasy setting) … some incense materials do actually appear to have medicinal qualities, but the "expensive equals effective" meme is just as likely to have been at work historically. Some also serve additional duties as spices or are used in embalming. Sage, mugwort and asafoetida have also been burned historically for purpose of purification⁴.

Typically incense was a low volume, high value trade good, transported over vast distances and therefore an appropriate form of treasure.

Sources

Bibliography

1. full source reference

Game and Story Use

• As above, as treasure, magical components or medical supplies.
  • Magical incenses might well duplicate the effects of potions - effectively being a scented pastille - or may have other useful effects, such as warding (e.g. citronella for insects), revealing invisible creatures or other things such as a "cloud of truth" or other mind altering effect.
• The usual adventure hooks of scouting trade routes, tracking down rare materials or finding new sources.
• Also, the use of incense to disguise airborne poisons.
• Incense might turn out to be an effective weapon against gaseous creatures.
  • Alternatively, gaseous creatures might enjoy the presence of certain incenses and/or feed on the smoke, thus making incense useful when dealing with them.
• Spirits of various kinds (up to and including deities) were often though to receive the smell of sacrifices, whether burned offerings or incense … again, this might turn out to be part of theurgy, especially in a do ut des fashion⁵. The more equal the footing, the more likely this is - a shaman is even more likely to get up to this sort of thing than a priest.
• Non-humans may have some very different ideas of what constitutes a good incense.
• In the Cthulhu Mythos the Tcho-Tchos are known to brew magical, toxic and addictive incenses from the black lotus.

Footnotes

1. Sometimes representing the element of air.

2. Of course, if your religion happens to place a major emphasis on animal sacrifice covering up foul smells may be a key part of your religious rituals…

3. Certainly far more subtle than the Western tradition of getting out the vacuum cleaner.

4. Thus, incense may not always be about covering up foul smells, but there will be a stench involved somewhere…

5. Lat "I give (so) that you give" - literally an exchange of gifts, and in the context of a religious sacrifice an exchange of gifts with the deity.