INDONESIAN GAHARU
What is Gaharu?
GAHARU or AGARWOOD is the resinous wood that is formed in the inner part of the Aquilaria (malacensis, crassna, subintegra) trees when
they become infected. The resin imparts a unique fragrance to the wood and it is used as incense for religious ceremonies, aromatherapy,
cosmetics, perfume, sculptures and meditation. The trees are mainly found in the tropical regions in the world, stretching from Assam in India, through South East Asia to Papua New Guinea.
Gaharu / AGARWOOD is identified in different countries with different names
such as:
* In Hindi (India) called "agar", which is originally Sanskrit based.
* It is known as Chén-xīang (沉香) in Chinese, "trầm hương" in Vietnamese,
and Jin-koh (沈香) in Japanese; all meaning "sinking incense" and alluding
to its high density.
* Both agarwood and its resin distillate/extracts are known as Oud (عود)
in Arabic (literally wood) and used to describe agarwood in nations and
areas of Islamic faith. Western perfumers may also use agarwood essential
oil under the name "oud" or "oude".
* In Tibetan it is known as a-ga-ru. There are several varieties used in Tibetan Medicine: unique eaglewood: ar-ba-zhig ; yellow eaglewood: a-ga-ru ser-po,
white eaglewood: ar-skya, and black eaglewood: ar-nag.
* In Assamese it is called as "ogoru".
* The Indonesian and Malay name is "gaharu".
* In New Guinea it is called "ghara".
* In Thai language it is known as "Mai Kritsana" (ไม้กฤษณา).
* In Laos it is known as "Mai Ketsana".
Known as “the tree of the Gods” among ancient civilizations, Agarwood has been used by mankind in cultures from the Middle East
to East Asia for various religious and ornamental purposes for millennia. References to this tree can be found in the classical literature and religious scriptures of Hinduism and Christianity (and it was believed this was tree that the body of Christ was embalmed in). The bodies of pharaohs in ancient Egypt
were also embalmed in this tree in preservation for the afterlife. In Buddhism, strings of prayer beads consisting of 108 beads
carved from Agarwood is considered the most precious and highly sought-after. Wherever it was used, it was often reserved for the rich and privileged class of society due to its scarcity and value.
In modern time, the demand and popularity of this tree has only grown as new applications of Agarwood-derived oil and resin products have been
found in the perfumery and cosmetics industries, usually as a ‘primer’ substance in their products. This high demand,
coupled with the scarcity of these trees in the wild, has led to a wild ‘gold rush’ frenzy in ill-conceived plans to harvest the trees,
often leading to widespread deforestations with disastrous results. This is primarily due to the fact that most Aquilaria trees that
grow in the wild do not contain resinous wood unless they become infected.
* In Europe it was referred to as Lignum aquila (eagle-wood)
or Agilawood, because of the similarity in sound of agila
to gaharu.
* Another name is Lignum aloes or Aloeswood. This is potentially
confusing, since a genus Aloe exists (unrelated), which has
medicinal uses. However, the Aloes of the Old Testament
(Num. 24:6; Ps. 45:8; Prov. 7:17; and Cant. 4:14) and of the
Hebrew Bible (ahalim in Hebrew) are believed to be agarwood
from Aquilaria malaccensis.
As a result, hundreds of trees may be felled without
yielding any significant amount of agarwood. Now, it is believed
that the trees can no longer be found in the wild in many of its
natural habitats, save for a few isolated pockets in South East Asia
and the Papua New Guinea regions. However, in recent years,
modern techniques and research have been able to induce the
production of resinous wood by inoculating the trees with proprietary
innoculants. This method of innoculation has turned the farming of
agarwood into a very lucrative industry. In addition, efforts has been
organized for the replanting of Agarwood trees in the wild with the
dual purpose of replenishing its dwindling numbers as well as
providing an alternative cash crop for the local farmer population.
