Folkways
by Maya Brown Zniewski
N
MAKING SMUDGES AND INCENSE
ow is the time to collect that
wonderful, instantly-recog-
nizable scented plant sage.
One of my personal favorite
things to do with sage and aromatics
is to make smudges and incense to
share with friends. The focus of this
article will be how to make hand
rolled incense and bundled smudges.
You can pick wild sage on your
own land, but since almost all land in
the United States is owned privately
by the government or corporations,
get permission from the land owner
before going on private property.
However, collecting plants roadside,
as long as they are not endangered,
is not illegal in itself, but you could
be charged with vandalism. To col-
lect safely and wisely, get permission.
Wandering around in the dark with
nippers and a bag, basket or box
makes people suspicious. Take a
good look around to make sure that
the area you are harvesting from is
not a solid waste dump or an other-
wise unhealthy location. Ask your-
self, are the plants growing in abun-
dance, are they healthy looking, does
this feel right? Assuming the answers
are yes, go forward with your Texas
Guide to Native Plants or some such
book and identify the plants you
want to harvest.
The one I use for incense and
smudging is White Sage (Salvia
Apiana), a native of Texas, also
referred to as bee sage or sacred
sage. Sacred sage is a non-culinary
sage used, I imagine, since fire
began, to scent and clear old or neg-
ative energy from a space. With your
loppers trim about five inches of twig
and leaves from the bush. Lop off
the leaves and twigs that appear to
be teenage, you don’t want the new
born leaves, nor do you want to old-
est leaves or branches. You want the
healthy teenage ones. If you wish to
make smudging or incense bundles
with only sage, collect enough sage
twigs to make a bundle about two
inches in diameter for each smudge.
18
Cenizo
When you get home, take a two
inch diameter bundle of sage twigs
and leaves, leaving the leaves
attached, and wrap cotton twine
tightly a couple of times around the
cut end. Moving the twine toward
the leafy end, wrap tightly but only
for about four turns. Knot the twine
to hold the bundle. You want to
smell sage, not twine when you burn
this. When you burn anything
snuff it out in water or sand
when you are done. Watch the
incense and do not leave it
unattended. Seriously.
There are several other kinds of
plants and trees you can use for
incense making. The combinations
are endless: piñon and sage is one of
my favorites. Harvesting piñon is
similar to harvesting sage, but sappi-
er. The sap from the piñon tree, as
with most treesap, will glue itself to
you. A list of trees and other plants
you might consider using for incense
bundles includes: sage, piñon,
juniper, pine, conifers of every kind,
mesquite and Texas madrone.
Experiment and find which trees
and shrubs you like best for incense
bundles.
There is a second kind of incense
I like to make from plants, resins and
leaves. It is rolled or cone incense.
These require a source of ignition to
keep them lit. Charcoal disks are
usually employed. For rolled or cone
incense you can use tree resins (the
sap from piñon, juniper, all the
conifers, and any other sap or resin
you want.) Both frankincense and
myrrh are the sap of trees. Using a
binder that ignites, you can make lit-
tle balls of plant parts and resins. I
use guar gum. These can include
dust of sandalwood, red cedar,
juniper, pines, juniper berries, Texas
willow, rosemary (remember the
previous Cenizo article on rosemary),
cinnamon, orange, lemon, lime or
grapefruit peels and any other plants
you have procured for making
incense bundles. You’ll want a coffee
Fourth Quarter 2015
grinder
that
you are either
willing to clean
out REALLY
well after this (I
find it takes
grinding several
cups of raw rice
along with a
toothbrush and
some time) or a
coffee grinder that you have decided
to dedicate to only incense making.
Otherwise your coffee beans will
take on a plant taste.
There are two unusual things
you’ll need for this project. One is
guar gum (guar gum is the ground
external part of the guar bean.)
Check at your local grocer, or you
can purchase it online from a compa-
ny that sells herbs. The other is char-
coal disks to burn your incense balls.
I highly, highly recommend getting
the bamboo or mesquite charcoal.
Do not use the petrochemical ones.
The aroma will be off if you use the
petrochemical charcoal.
These directions are by parts. If
you love doing this you can increase
the parts from ½ teaspoon to a
Tablespoon and make as much as
you like, increasing the measuring
tools you use to represent parts.
Usually you want a much larger
amount of wood or base, then resins,
because resins do not burn easily—
they melt more than burn.
Citrus Incense
4 parts well-ground sandalwood,
cedar wood, or pine
1 part guar gum
2-3 parts dried lemon, orange
peel, other citrus peel
Enough water to make into a
paste
Rosemary Incense
4 parts well-ground
mesquite wood
1 part guar gum
2-3 parts rosemary
Enough water to make into
a paste
Sage Incense
4 parts well-ground piñon wood
1 part guar gum
2-3 parts sage
Enough water to make into a
paste
Grind your plant parts and wood
in your grinder until finely ground.
Some things may not ever really
become a powder, juniper berries for
instance. I’ve only ever gotten them
smaller, never powdered. That is
okay. Add your guar gum and a tiny
bit, a few drops really, of water, mix
until it’s a play dough-like constancy,
for Southerners this means a cut bis-
cuit texture. Then roll into balls
smaller than a penny. Allow to air
dry for about two weeks. I like to
package a dozen or so in small gold
jewelry boxes to help represent the
gift they are.
To use the incense, place a dried
incense ball on a charcoal disk and
light the disk. Inhale the wonderful
scent you have created! Again:
When you burn anything snuff
it out in water or sand when
you are done. Watch the
incense and do not leave it
unattended. Seriously.
You get the idea. Go outside and
smell all those plants! Use you imag-
ination! Try frankincense and myrrh
with piñon and orange or sage and
grapefruit. Some scents you will
love, some you will love less.
Make sure to visit mayamade.net
for shopping and fun.