No other piece of oud paraphernalia holds a higher rank in the eyes of a committed oud-adept than the hallowed mubkhara, or Oud burner.  Their designs range from rustically simple to the most embellished, and as we shall see, have not changed much over thousands of years. Let us look more in detail at several different styles now.

Saudi Arabian

First off, and possibly most instantly recognizable, is the Saudi-style burner. This traditional style has a square metal base with inward sloping sides which support a square cup with outward sloping sides.  4 legs support the square cup on top. The top cup will be plated with metal, to be able to bear the hot coals. Variations on this model range from the simple, unadorned wooden or aluminum mass-produced models, to those made of precious metals, encrusted with jewels and/or emblems of royalty, which are works of art within themselves. Also of note here, are more modern versions of these burners, which are plug-in electrical requiring no coals, and even a small portable burner for the car, which plugs simply into a cigarette lighter! Apart from these new variations, these burners have remained virtually unchanged for 2,000 years.

Tarimi

Secondly, we have the traditional Tarimi-style burner. Its shape varies slightly from the Saudi burner in the fact that most Tarimi models come equipped with a handle. This handle is functional for frequent use in congregations, in which the burner is passed from person to person. In the common Yemeni style, these burners are much more rustic, and usually made of hand-carved wood, which gives each model a more unique appearance. They are quite lower in height and stubbier than the Saudi-style. Some come painted in muted colors, and other are simple wood tones. These examples of mubkhara are quite rare outside of Yemen or circles of Yemeni immigrant communities.

Moroccan

Last but not least, we have the refined beauty of the Moroccan-style Mubkhara. Perhaps the most visually striking and ornate, the Magribi-style mubkhara carries all the history and tradition of  Andalusian elegance. Most commonly made of pressed stainless steel, the Moroccan style burner usually has a wide hexagonal base on 5-6 small feet. Towering upwards, 4 more feet have been placed on the base holding the main burner, which has an ornate, domed (sometimes pointed), attached lid. They are commonly engraved and have intricate metalwork lattice surrounding the burner level and lid. When used, the lid is closed, and the smoke wafts upwards through the latticework creating a visual feast. Even the smallest versions are quite large, with the largest being too big to even be lifted!

No matter what the design may be, the revered mubkhara is always handy, patiently awaiting the next aloeswood burning session, and never leaves the side of the adept. For years on end they toil while demanding nothing in return, only to improve and deepen with age.

The Oudimentary Society for Aloeswood Enthusiasts (OSAE) is an international fellowship of men and women united by their love for the use of aloeswood on physical, psychological, and spiritual levels.

The society was founded in 2004 to provide a community for like-minded aloeswood aficianados where they could learn, teach, assist, and serve this rapidly-growing alliance of aloeswood burners. 

OSAE is dedicated to the research and preservation of the ancient tradition of aloeswood use in a modern-day setting. 

We hope this group will provide a platform where interested people can get and share information, ideas, stories about this blessed wood, which is known by many names, including agarwood, oud, oudh, aloes, gaharu, eagleswood, or as the “Bubble Love-Love.”

In these days of high-paced workweeks, drive-thus, and what seems like constant bombardment of technology, we find it important to carry on a respected, almost primal tradition in the midst of it all. Wood. Fire. Smoke. Scent. 

From the gathering of friends, to the lighting of the coals, to the journeying to higher levels of understanding, to the remembrance of the Divine; all are a part of this sacred heritage in which we embrace wholeheartedly, and hope you will as well.

If like us, you feel the quest for the better burn is perpetual, we request for you to join OSAE.

Oud burners of the world unite! Burn it, be it.

(For more information, see http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=43094005847)

For many, the thought of an oud-burning session with friends would be incomplete without the beverage that goes back as long as aloeswood use itself—coffee. Let us look now at the use of coffee in the tradition of mystics, and it’s connection with aloeswood use.

Coffee use can be traced at least to as early as the 9th century, when it appeared in the highlands of Ethiopia. According to legend, Ethiopian shepherds were the first to observe the influence of the caffeine in coffee beans when the goats appeared to “dance” and to have an increased level of energy after consuming wild coffee berries. 

The legend names the shepherd “Kaldi.” From Ethiopia, coffee spread to Egypt and Yemen. It was in Arabia that coffee beans were first roasted and brewed similarly as they are today. By the 15th century, it had reached the rest of the Middle East, Persia, Turkey, and Northern Africa.

Legend has it that a great Sufi Mystic from Yemen was traveling in Ethiopia when he was introduced to the edible beans and the fact that they promoted wakefulness. He brought the beans back to Yemen with him, in hopes the new brew could assist his fellow mystics staying awake during late-night sessions of Remembrance of God. His hopes were fulfilled.

The use of coffee spread all over the Arabian peninsula, reaching the Holy cities of Medina and Makkah where we have this quote from an early Arab historian, Jaziri-

“…It was drunk in the Sacred Mosque itself, so that there was scarcely a dhikr or mawlid where coffee was not present….”

Another 16th century historian, Ibn ‘Abd al-Ghaffar, talks about the use of coffee in Cairo;

“They drank coffee every Monday and Friday eve, putting it in a large vessel made of red clay. Their leader ladled it out with a small dipper and gave it to them to drink, passing it to the right, while they recited one of their usual formulas, mostly “La illaha il’Allah (There is no reality apart from God)…”

To accompany an oud-burning session, the adepts at Oudimentary prefer the traditional Arabian-style coffee, which is favored on the Arab peninsula. When brewed, the coffee is the color of hay, a greenish-yellow brew. In actually it is closer to what many would think of as a tea rather than a coffee, since the traditional dark-roasted appearance and flavor is completely gone. Its tones are quite organic tasting, and its effect is quite grounding. Yellow coffee has hints of grass, a slight bitter taste, and for many, after one sip they are hooked.

Saudi-style coffee will contain ground cardamom, possibly a pinch of saffron, and will be served with dates to counter the slight bitterness of the brew, for no sugar is added to the coffee. In the traditional Yemeni style, sugar and ground ginger are added, possibly with a pinch of clove or cinnamon, depending on personal taste and preference.  Both are served in copious amounts in small cups. Also, an Arab-style coffee pot (dallah) is most often used. It has a rounded bottom with a curved, pointed pourer.

Desert tribes traditionally would begin a coffee session with the unroasted beans. A fire pit in the sand would be made, and the beans would be roasted to a mustard yellow tone. Hand ground, the beans then would be brewed with the appropriate mixture of spices, and depending on which region you were in. Coals would be used directly from the fire to burn the hallowed aloeswood in this circle of companions. In this tradition, coffee and aloeswood would almost always accompany each other. Long sessions of drinking and burning would continue in to the night. Friends would tell stories, bond, and always remember the Divine.

At this juncture, it is of interest to note another time-honored tradition that also goes hand in hand with oud burning–and which Oudimentary strongly endorses–Moroccan tea service. Tea preparation in the Moroccan style is as important and ritualized to Moroccans as yellow coffee preparation is to Gulf-Arabs. Unlike other tea styles in the Arab and larger Islamic world, Moroccan tea is exclusively made with loose Chinese green gunpowder tea. Because of this, Morocco is the largest importer of Chinese green tea in the world. Also of note, Magribi tea is always consumed with generous amounts of freshly cut mint (never dried!), and most prefer their brew with liberal spoonfuls of sugar as well. While the actual preparation may vary slightly, the result is always clearly Moroccan! Historically Moroccans are also avid Oud-users, and Oud and Moroccan mint tea often stand shoulder to shoulder in many different gatherings.

The modern day aloeswood-alchemists at Oudimentary and the OSAE have carried the combination of these traditions into the 21st century. We maintain this ritual of coffee or tea preparation during our oud-burning sessions. Although taking place in a modern environment, our intentions remain focused on the heart of the experience–companionship, tradition, and wisdom. They go hand in hand for us, and hope they will for you as well. We invite you to join us.

One of the modern-day appeals of aloeswood use is it’s ability to allow the user connect with a tradition of deep spirituality in a contemporary setting. For millennia, aloeswood has been used to aid higher states of realization in many spiritual traditions, from Islam to Christianity to Taoism.

The modern aloeswood-adept means to preserve this age-old practice in full awareness that technology can not replace it.  Now more than ever in our societies, this aid is needed for grounding and introspection, and from this, our modern civilization can be healed from it’s current state of ignorance.

Two particular spiritual sources in which aloeswood use has been mentioned and referenced stem from Abrahamic traditions-Christianity and Islam. Let us take a moment to look at these in more detail.

Aloeswood and Hadith

Hadith are the words and actions relating to the Messenger and Prophet of God, Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. We will look at two separate hadith here in which aloeswood has been mentioned.

1. Book 27 of Sahih Muslim, #5601

Nafi’ reported that when Ibn Umar wanted fumigation he got it from aloeswood without mixing anything with it, or he put camphor along with aloeswood and then said: This is how Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) fumigated. 

2. Book 55 of Sahih Bukhari, #544

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle said, “The first group of people who will enter Paradise, will be glittering like the full moon and those who will follow them, will glitter like the most brilliant star in the sky. They will not urinate, relieve nature, spit, or have any nasal secretions. Their combs will be of gold, and their sweat will smell like musk. The aloes-wood will be used in their centers. Their wives will be houris. All of them will look alike and will resemble their father Adam (in statute), sixty cubits tall.” 

3. Book 26 of Sahih Muslim, #5487 

Umm Qais, daughter of Mihsan, the sister of ‘Ukasha b. Mihsan said: I visited Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) along with my son who had not, by that time, been weaned and he pissed over his (clothes). He ordered water to be brought and sprinkled (it) over them. She (further) said: I visited him (Allah’s Apostle) along with my son and I had squeezed the swelling in the uvula, whereupon he said: Why do you afflict your children by compressing like this? Use this Indian aloeswood, for it contains seven types of remedies, one among them being a remedy for pleurisy. It is applied through the nose for a swelling of the uvula and poured into the side of the mouth for pleurisy.

Aloeswood and the Bible

There are 5 separate places in the bible where aloeswood is mentioned. In older oral traditions, aloeswood is sometimes referred to simply as aloes (not to be confused with aloe vera). 

1. “Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens beside the river, Like aloes planted by the LORD, Like cedars beside the waters. (Numbers 24:6)

2. Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. (John 19:39)

3. “I have sprinkled my bed With myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.” (Proverbs 7:17)

4. All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad. (Psalms 45:8)

5. Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices. (Solomon 4:14) 

Conclusion

From these 7 examples, we can see with certainty that modern-day aloeswood-alchemists are following an unmistakable prophetic tradition, and that they are tapping into boundless spiritual energy by doing so. By employing these traditions, they carry on a living, breathing, ancient tradition.