Frankincense and Myrrh

By: Carolyn Donnelly

Many associate frankincense and myrrh with the biblical story of the three
wise men bringing gifts in honor of the birth of the baby Jesus. However,
frankincense and myrrh were sacred scents to many cultures around the
world long before the advent of Christianity. Originating in Arabia and Africa,
the valuable properties of these scents have been recognized and utilized for
both religious and non religious purposes for at least 5000 years. Modern
science is only just beginning to investigate the health and medicinal benefits
of frankincense and myrrh that have been documented in ancient medical
texts from Egypt, Europe and India.

What is Frankincense and Myrrh?

Frankincense and myrrh are both aromatic resins that are collected to make
perfume and incense. A resin is simply dried tree sap. Frankincense resin
comes from trees of the genus Boswellia and Myrrh from the genus
Commiphora. Both of these trees are found in eastern Africa, mostly Somalia
and in Southern Arabia. Myrrh is a reddish colored resin with an oily
consistency and a bitter taste. Frankincense has a yellow color and has a
sweet taste.

The word 'incense describes the aroma released with the smoke of any
odoriferous substance when burnt. Frankincense is a French word meaning
'pure incense'.

How are these incenses made?

Resin is collected by cutting or peeling back the tree's bark. This causes the
sap of the tree to ooze out from the cut. The sap emerges slowly and is
allowed to dry on the tree where it hardens into yellow colored tears. It
takes around three months for the resin to acquire the right consistency.
When ready, the tears are scraped off the trunk of the tree. The resin is
collected from the younger trees as they exude the most valuable resin. The

trees probably produce the resins as a response to trauma, with the resin
acting as a temporary dressing for damaged bark. A single tree may yield
several kilograms of resin each year.

India and the Far East have always been the biggest exporters of the resins,
and Europeans once referred to frankincense as 'Indian incense'.

History

Both frankincense and myrrh have been prized by most of the great ancient
civilizations around the world. The resin of both of these incenses has been
collected for over 5000 years. Frankincense and myrrh were both once
ranked along with gold, ivory, spices and textiles as valuable commodities for
trade, reflecting the scarcity of these resins.

Both frankincense and myrrh were important resins for use in ceremony,
religious and non-religious, as well as for use in medicine, beauty, and to
warm and scent the home. The first documented use of these resins is from
Egypt where both frankincense and myrrh were used for purification, which
was achieved by standing over the burning incense. However, both resins
were also used by the Chinese, Hindu, Bantu and Bactrian cultures where the
incenses had religious significance.

Egyptian women used frankincense to enhance their beauty. They painted

their eyelids with the black kohl made from charred frankincense. This resin
was also melted and used as a hair removal product. Combined with other
ingredients in a paste, frankincense was used as a perfume. In cold weather,
the Egyptians burnt frankincense in a brazier (large metal container) to warm
their rooms.

Early Egyptian legend describes frankincense as the 'tears of Horus', the god
of the Sun and Moon. It is thought that the Egyptians came by both land and
sea to collect these resins before 2000 BC and trade reached as far as Rome
and China. Descriptions of this trade are detailed in later scripts of Greek,
Roman and Indian authors. With domestication of the camel in 1100 BC, trade
in frankincense and myrrh greatly increased as the camels could take the

odiferous resins across the Arabian landscape.

Great quantities of these incenses were burnt at ceremonies. During the

Roman rule these resins were demanded in tax from the people of Arabia for
use in Roman ceremonies. In Jewish ceremony, frankincense is one of four
'sweet scents,' and formed part of the meet offering. It was also presented
with the shew-bread every Sabbath day. Religious use of incense was also
common in ancient Persia, Babylon and Assyria. The incense was brought by
the Arabs every year as a tribute to Darius, the King of Persia in the 5th
Century. The Parsis, who fled Persia to escape persecution at the hands of
Arab conquerors in the 8th Century, brought the resin with them to India.
Modern Parsis of Western India still preserve the ritual of burning the incense.
Christian churches adopted various uses for the incenses from preceding
cultures.

Medicinal Uses

Frankincense and myrrh were commonly used throughout history as

medicine. The Papyrus Ebers, the oldest preserved medical document that
comes from Egypt around 1550, describes how the resins were used for
mummification and for treating wounds and skin sores.

Historically, frankincense was taken orally as a stimulant. Early century

healers used it as a cure for hemlock poisoning, tumors, ulcers, vomiting,
dysentery and fevers. In China it is used for leprosy. Celsus, the author,
presumed Roman, who lived around the turn of the current era compiled the
most extensive medical encyclopedia of this time. His records recommend
frankincense for treating wounds, bleeding, bruising and as a possible
antidote to poisoning by hemlock.

During the 17th century, distillates of the resin, called the 'oils of olibanum',
were popular among the surgeons, apothecaries and alchemists.
Frankincense was used at this time to treat stomach ulcers and as an
ointment for bruising. In India, people applied it to wounds and used it to
treat rheumatism. Chinese healers incorporated it into remedies for bruises
and infected sores, including those caused by leprosy. It was used in Kenya
for dressing wounds and as a treatment for worms. English alchemists

recommended frankincense to live a longer life.

Myrrh has been a versatile treatment for a variety of medical uses throughout
history. The Indian myrrh, known as guggulu, is described in the ancient
Ayurvedic texts as a medicine to ease the symptoms of coughs and chest
infections and as an aid in weight loss. It was also used to treat rotten teeth
by the early Sumerians and infections of the mouth teeth and eyes by the
Greeks. The Greeks also suggested that myrrh could stop bad breath and
protect against the plague. Myrrh was believed to have preservative qualities
and was used to extend the shelf life of wine.

Turkish healers recommend myrrh as an aphrodisiac, and both frankincense

and myrrh were recommended as protection against sorcery. Arabic doctors
mixed myrrh with vinegar as a cure for baldness.

Use of myrrh for health and medical purposes in Europe goes back to the
Celtic 'leechdoms', or healers, who recommended myrrh for healing wounds
and coughs. In medieval times in England myrrh was used for nausea and
diarrhea and to treat thrush. Myrrh was included as an ingredient in the Elixir
of Vitriiol on all navy ships until 1795 to treat scurvy and was also used to
treat hemorrhage. Myrrh and borax were also mixed together to produce a
toothpaste during Victorian times.

Modern Uses

Incense is still used in churches around the world as part of religious

ceremony. Christian churches in England use frankincense and myrrh mixed
with additional ingredients to produce the desired scent. Pure frankincense
and myrrh is presented by the Queen to commemorate the manifestation of
Christ. The Parsees of northern India still use the resins in religious
ceremonies: myrrh symbolizing self-denial, frankincense representing
spirituality, and gold the wealth of humankind.

Many of the ancient traditions involving these incenses still exist.

Frankincense and myrrh are still used by some modern Pagans in ritual and
ceremony for purification and intensification of energies during meditation

and ritual as well as for healing. The traditional medieval tradition of blessing
a new bell by burning both myrrh and frankincense inside it still occurs today.
Frankincense is still used in toiletries as a perfuming and hardening agent
and myrrh is still used widely in throat lozenges and cough mixtures as well
as in perfume.

Modern science has found that both frankincense and myrrh do indeed have
many of the medicinal qualities that ancient traditions espoused. Biochemists
have found myrrh contains a number of compounds that help to reduce
inflammation and enhance the immune response. Eating resin or oil from
guggulu has been found to lower levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the
blood supporting the ancient belief that myrrh can assist in weight loss and
perhaps extend the length of your life.

Frankincense and myrrh have both been found to have antiseptic, antifungal
and anti-inflammatory properties and so they make valuable dressings.
Inhalation of steam laden with the oils of these resins has been found to
result in dilation of the bronchii of the lungs. This may support the ancient
recommendation that these resins can relieve the symptoms of bronchitis
and other chest infections.

As with many of the ancient natural and herbal remedies, the application of
which was once widespread, frankincense and myrrh is fairly absent on the
prescription list of most modern doctors. This could be changing as the
medicinal qualities of these two resins, like so many other natural remedies,
are being explored by todays medical researchers. This wisdom, that has
been handed down from our forefathers (and foremothers) and has continued
in the realms of natural therapy and new age practices could soon become
revived for mainstream medicine.

Carolyn owns Placid Moon, an online shop selling new age products and gifts.
Placid Moon features a range of natural incense resins, including both
Frankincense and Myrrh, at very reasonable prices. You will also find a range
of incense sticks and cones in a variety of scents as well as stunning incense
burners from hanging brass burner to large asian temple bowls. Visit our shop
at www.placidmoon.com