Incense
Fragrant smoke offered to gods and used to mark a space, from Egyptian kyphi to the thurible and the joss stick.
Also: frankincense, thurible, joss stick, kyphi, ko
Burning resins, woods and herbs to make fragrant smoke is part of religion on every inhabited continent. The Egyptians burned kyphi, a recipe of many ingredients, and frankincense and myrrh from Arabia were traded for their smoke across the ancient world. In Orthodox and Catholic churches a priest swings a censer, or thurible, and in Hindu temples sticks and camphor are offered at puja. Chinese worshippers hold joss sticks, and Japanese Buddhists practise kodo, the way of incense, an art of savouring scents. Believers say the smoke carries prayers upward or clears a space. Smoke is also a health risk indoors, and the harvest of some woods, such as agarwood and sandalwood, has led to overcutting and restrictions.