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Manage No, Sortation, Country, Writer ,Date, Copyright Manage No EE00002085 Country Bhutan ICH Domain Traditional craft skills Address Some of the Incense Manufacturing Houses in different parts of Bhutan are; Lhundrup Poezokhang in Bumthang, central Bhutan; Kuengachholing Incense Factory in Gelephu, southern Bhutan; Lhawang Poezokhang and Baylangdra Incense Factory in Wangduephodrang and Nado Poezokhang and Tsheringma Incense Production in Thimphu, western Bhutan.Year of Designation 2022
| Description | An artistic product often like a stick or a bunch of sticks basically made from powders of mixed aromatic plants and medicinal substances. It emits sweet fragrance smoke when burnt and normally offered in and at the sacred places to please deities and to get cleansed and rid-off defilements. The production of incense is considered one of the religious crafts, and it is another way of making Sang (smoke) offering. According to the Bhutanese artisans’, the craftsmanship dates back to the time immemorable when the first Lord Buddha Nam-par zig-pa (Skt. Bispa shayi) attained enlightenment and offered the Sweet Fragrance smoke by burning the Incenses by the enlightened beings; celestial beings and Bodhiasattavas made from varieties of heavenly medicinal herbs. The tradition gradually spread in the spheres of Bonpos (per Buddhist religion of Tibet) and Hinduism and maintained its skill until Buddha Sakya Muni’s period which is about 2500 years back then. The art was also adopted by the Chinese Buddhist missioners and further spread to Mongolia, Korea and Japan as well. In Tibet, the making Smoke offerings and burning incense was officially implemented the 7th Century during the reign of King Songtsen Gampo (R. 618 AD- 650 AD) when Princess Wenchang (M. 641 AD-650 AD) and her entourage members suffered illness while heading towards Lhasa (then, the capital of Tibet) as bride to the King. The Princess tried to medicated using physician attendants but could not bring to the normal yet, by offering the smoke offering made attendants fully recovered. The instruction to make Smoke Offering was from the Minister Thonmi Sambota () who had a visualization from the sacred Sakya Muni images to collect the medicinal herbs from the mountains and making smokes will ease any diseases associated to Nagas. Later, incense making and burning tradition was gradually invented using the same raw materials and medicinal ingredients of Smoke offering. In Bhutan, the art of Incense making was brought by the Country Unifier Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1654) and was initially practiced in the Dzongs (fortress) by the monk artisans. Thereafter, the tradition remained intact amongst the Bhutanese being the Buddhist and making offering of incense had been a daily special offering substances in the individual shrines, temples and monasteries. Currently, there are a countable incense manufacturing centers across the country. These industries produce mainly two different incenses: Ja-ju poe (herbal incense) with a yellowish texture and Zu-poe or Choe-jue poe (incense mixed with flesh and blood ingredients) with a brown color. Ja-ju incense is usually burned explicitly for the enlightened beings and when performing Drol-chog (ritual of Goddess Tara), while the other is offered to the guardian deities and guardian spirits during affirmation rituals. |
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| Social and cultural significance | The burning of incense in the sacred shrines of Buddhist monasteries, temples, individual house-shrines and also in the sacred places that house the representations of the supreme spiritual beings is considered a kind of offering of sweet fragrances to the enlightened beings is a must needed offering substance. Offering of incenses has the power to purify the impurities associated with us in any form that prevent us from realizing the innate Buddha nature and also cleanse ourselves and the area for receiving the blessings. For this reason, incense burning is crucial in the performance of any type of ritual in the world of Buddhism. In general, burning herbs and making smoke offerings outdoors and burning incense in shrines have the same meaning and benefit; to purify defilements, pacify spirits, accumulate merit for oneself, and connect people to the spiritual world. There is also special qualifications for the incense which are: 1. Made with required ingredients and substances. 2. Maintain sanitation physically and with wholesome intention. 3. Well dried and pounded into fine powder. 4. Maintain right quantity of ingredients and substances. 5. Well dried that the incense catches fire easily and emits sweet aroma. |
| Transmission method | There are some written texts associated to the Incense making and its benefits written by religious masters such as; Kunkhyen Pama Karpo (1527-1592), Jamgon Ju Mepham Gyatsho (1846-1912) and also mentioned in traditional medicines. Bhutanese incense makers which I am acquainted to were all learnt both the theory and practical skills from their masters as well as seniors. Further, they also listened to some renowned Spiritual Masters, undertook additional research and became proficient in making more than 30 varieties of Bhutanese made incense stick. However, they all now impart the knowledge by demonstrating practically and guiding the interest successors. Following are the detailed procedures of incense production. Prerequisites raw materials: 1. Powder of Shug-pa (juniper) 2. Tsen-den (white weeping cypress) 3. Duru-ka (red cypress) 4. Ba-lu (Rhododendron ciliatum) 5. Su-lu (Rhododendron setosum) 6. Aru (Terminalia chebula) 7. Ba-ru (Terminalia bellirica) 8. Ma-nu (Inula racemosa Hook. f), 9. Ru-ta (Saussurea lappa), 10. Pang-poe (Valeriana officinalis) 11. Poe-kar (Shorea robusta) 12. Tsho (colours) Additional Zangdrug; (six valuable substances): 1. Chu-gang (bamboo pitch) 2. Gur-gum (saffron) 3. Li-shi (clove) 4. Ka-ko-la (cardamom) 5. Za-ti (nutmeg) 6. Sug-mel (cubeb) 7. Ga-bur (camphor). Special ingredients while making Ja-ju poe are; Kar-gsum; (three white substances): 1. Wo-ma (milk) 2. Zho (curd) 3. Mar (butter) Ngar-gsum; (three sweet substances): 1. Shel ka-ra or Je-ma ka-ra (brown sugar) 2. Bu-ram (molasses) 3. Drang-tsi (honey) Special ingredients for Zu-poe or Choe-ju poe are: 1. Sha-nga (special animal meat, blood) 2. La-tsi (musk) 3. Gi-wang (elephant bile) 4. Chang (alcohol) Proceedings: The raw materials transported to the manufacturing station are chopped in pieces, dried properly in the sun separately. Processed into fine powder with the help of an electric grinding machine. It is said that during the olden days, incense makers would either use a traditional wooden mortar and pestle and thoroughly pounded or use a giant water-run mill to make incense power. In the meantime, a helper prepares fire in the hearth for the extraction of water from the mixture of Six Valuable Substances and all special ingredient by putting in the pot and let it boil. During mixing in the kneading machine, 80% of the raw material powder is carefully kneaded using right amount of extracted medicinal water. Traditionally, mixing and kneading is manually done by hands but kneading machines has been replaced for easy and quick production. Well kneaded is unloaded and transported to incense manufacturing compartment where workers make the dough into a palm-sized rolls. The rolls are then inserted into Tsir-shing (traditional wooden compressor) with a metal outlet hole, creating a noodle-like discharge on a flat square wooden board while an employee places his or her body weight on the compressor liver. These noodle-like incense on the wooden boards are distributed among the seated workers as they neatly and carefully rolled between two wooden boards by their skilled hands producing an even and beautiful shape incense sticks. As recounted by the experts, they just roll the incense by their hands and their outcomes during those days were just like a creepers and vines. However, when the bottom wooden board is full, the worker cut evenly in a required length using a flat wooden piece and straightaway, taken the incenses along with the board either outside or in the drying compartment to let it dry. While the incense sticks are quite dried, these are tied into bundles with 30 sticks each using red- and yellow-colored threads. Before packaging, the incense are dried once again in the sun that it doesn’t forms mold or fungus later. |
| Community | Most of the practitioners and who set the aforementioned Incense Manufacturing Houses were all very senior Bhutanese citizens. Ap Lhundrup 80 is the proprietor of Lhundrup Poezokhang in Bumthang. Lopen Tharpola 80 is the owner of Kuengachholing Incense Factory in Gelephu. Lhawang Poezokhang’s founder Lopen Lhawang 78. Kathok Situ Rinpoche established the Baylangdra Incense Factory and Lopen Nado 79 is the one who owns the lone Incense Manufacturing House in Thimphu. Besides, Kathok Situ Rinpoche rest all the proprietors acquired their knowledge and skill in 1980s when they all worked as an employee of Incense Manufacturing House, a state-owned company which was closed some years. Currently, most of the Incense Manufacturing Houses are now ran by their siblings and relatives. Data collected by: Mr. Yeshi Lhendup, NLAB |
Keyword
Information source
National Library and Archives of Bhutan
https://www.library.gov.bt/archive/Materials related to
Photos
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PI00006790
Poe-zo (Incense making)
An artistic product often like a stick or a bunch of sticks basically made from powders of mixed aromatic plants and medicinal substances. It emits sweet fragrance smoke when burnt and normally offered in and at the sacred places to please deities and to get cleansed and rid-off defilements. The production of incense is considered one of the religious crafts, and it is another way of making Sang (smoke) offering. According to the Bhutanese artisans’, the craftsmanship dates back to the time immemorable when the first Lord Buddha Nam-par zig-pa (Skt. Bispa shayi) attained enlightenment and offered the Sweet Fragrance smoke by burning the Incenses by the enlightened beings; celestial beings and Bodhiasattavas made from varieties of heavenly medicinal herbs. The tradition gradually spread in the spheres of Bonpos (per Buddhist religion of Tibet) and Hinduism and maintained its skill until Buddha Sakya Muni’s period which is about 2500 years back then. The art was also adopted by the Chinese Buddhist missioners and further spread to Mongolia, Korea and Japan as well. In Tibet, the making Smoke offerings and burning incense was officially implemented the 7th Century during the reign of King Songtsen Gampo (R. 618 AD- 650 AD) when Princess Wenchang (M. 641 AD-650 AD) and her entourage members suffered illness while heading towards Lhasa (then, the capital of Tibet) as bride to the King. The Princess tried to medicated using physician attendants but could not bring to the normal yet, by offering the smoke offering made attendants fully recovered. The instruction to make Smoke Offering was from the Minister Thonmi Sambota () who had a visualization from the sacred Sakya Muni images to collect the medicinal herbs from the mountains and making smokes will ease any diseases associated to Nagas. Later, incense making and burning tradition was gradually invented using the same raw materials and medicinal ingredients of Smoke offering. In Bhutan, the art of Incense making was brought by the Country Unifier Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1654) and was initially practiced in the Dzongs (fortress) by the monk artisans. Thereafter, the tradition remained intact amongst the Bhutanese being the Buddhist and making offering of incense had been a daily special offering substances in the individual shrines, temples and monasteries. Currently, there are a countable incense manufacturing centers across the country. These industries produce mainly two different incenses: Ja-ju poe (herbal incense) with a yellowish texture and Zu-poe or Choe-jue poe (incense mixed with flesh and blood ingredients) with a brown color. Ja-ju incense is usually burned explicitly for the enlightened beings and when performing Drol-chog (ritual of Goddess Tara), while the other is offered to the guardian deities and guardian spirits during affirmation rituals.
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PI00006850
Poe-zo (Incense making)
An artistic product often like a stick or a bunch of sticks basically made from powders of mixed aromatic plants and medicinal substances. It emits sweet fragrance smoke when burnt and normally offered in and at the sacred places to please deities and to get cleansed and rid-off defilements. The production of incense is considered one of the religious crafts, and it is another way of making Sang (smoke) offering. According to the Bhutanese artisans’, the craftsmanship dates back to the time immemorable when the first Lord Buddha Nam-par zig-pa (Skt. Bispa shayi) attained enlightenment and offered the Sweet Fragrance smoke by burning the Incenses by the enlightened beings; celestial beings and Bodhiasattavas made from varieties of heavenly medicinal herbs. The tradition gradually spread in the spheres of Bonpos (per Buddhist religion of Tibet) and Hinduism and maintained its skill until Buddha Sakya Muni’s period which is about 2500 years back then. The art was also adopted by the Chinese Buddhist missioners and further spread to Mongolia, Korea and Japan as well. In Tibet, the making Smoke offerings and burning incense was officially implemented the 7th Century during the reign of King Songtsen Gampo (R. 618 AD- 650 AD) when Princess Wenchang (M. 641 AD-650 AD) and her entourage members suffered illness while heading towards Lhasa (then, the capital of Tibet) as bride to the King. The Princess tried to medicated using physician attendants but could not bring to the normal yet, by offering the smoke offering made attendants fully recovered. The instruction to make Smoke Offering was from the Minister Thonmi Sambota () who had a visualization from the sacred Sakya Muni images to collect the medicinal herbs from the mountains and making smokes will ease any diseases associated to Nagas. Later, incense making and burning tradition was gradually invented using the same raw materials and medicinal ingredients of Smoke offering. In Bhutan, the art of Incense making was brought by the Country Unifier Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1654) and was initially practiced in the Dzongs (fortress) by the monk artisans. Thereafter, the tradition remained intact amongst the Bhutanese being the Buddhist and making offering of incense had been a daily special offering substances in the individual shrines, temples and monasteries. Currently, there are a countable incense manufacturing centers across the country. These industries produce mainly two different incenses: Ja-ju poe (herbal incense) with a yellowish texture and Zu-poe or Choe-jue poe (incense mixed with flesh and blood ingredients) with a brown color. Ja-ju incense is usually burned explicitly for the enlightened beings and when performing Drol-chog (ritual of Goddess Tara), while the other is offered to the guardian deities and guardian spirits during affirmation rituals.
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PI00006849
Poe-zo (Incense making)
An artistic product often like a stick or a bunch of sticks basically made from powders of mixed aromatic plants and medicinal substances. It emits sweet fragrance smoke when burnt and normally offered in and at the sacred places to please deities and to get cleansed and rid-off defilements. The production of incense is considered one of the religious crafts, and it is another way of making Sang (smoke) offering. According to the Bhutanese artisans’, the craftsmanship dates back to the time immemorable when the first Lord Buddha Nam-par zig-pa (Skt. Bispa shayi) attained enlightenment and offered the Sweet Fragrance smoke by burning the Incenses by the enlightened beings; celestial beings and Bodhiasattavas made from varieties of heavenly medicinal herbs. The tradition gradually spread in the spheres of Bonpos (per Buddhist religion of Tibet) and Hinduism and maintained its skill until Buddha Sakya Muni’s period which is about 2500 years back then. The art was also adopted by the Chinese Buddhist missioners and further spread to Mongolia, Korea and Japan as well. In Tibet, the making Smoke offerings and burning incense was officially implemented the 7th Century during the reign of King Songtsen Gampo (R. 618 AD- 650 AD) when Princess Wenchang (M. 641 AD-650 AD) and her entourage members suffered illness while heading towards Lhasa (then, the capital of Tibet) as bride to the King. The Princess tried to medicated using physician attendants but could not bring to the normal yet, by offering the smoke offering made attendants fully recovered. The instruction to make Smoke Offering was from the Minister Thonmi Sambota () who had a visualization from the sacred Sakya Muni images to collect the medicinal herbs from the mountains and making smokes will ease any diseases associated to Nagas. Later, incense making and burning tradition was gradually invented using the same raw materials and medicinal ingredients of Smoke offering. In Bhutan, the art of Incense making was brought by the Country Unifier Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1654) and was initially practiced in the Dzongs (fortress) by the monk artisans. Thereafter, the tradition remained intact amongst the Bhutanese being the Buddhist and making offering of incense had been a daily special offering substances in the individual shrines, temples and monasteries. Currently, there are a countable incense manufacturing centers across the country. These industries produce mainly two different incenses: Ja-ju poe (herbal incense) with a yellowish texture and Zu-poe or Choe-jue poe (incense mixed with flesh and blood ingredients) with a brown color. Ja-ju incense is usually burned explicitly for the enlightened beings and when performing Drol-chog (ritual of Goddess Tara), while the other is offered to the guardian deities and guardian spirits during affirmation rituals.
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