Gaharu, the Most Expensive Divine Wood in the World, $100 thousand

For thousands of years, agarwood, also known as agarwood, was known as the wood of the gods. iStockphoto / RahulDsilva)

For thousands of years, agarwood or what is known as agarwood has been known as the wood of the gods.

Gaharu is described as a scented product of wealth and luxury in one of the oldest written texts in the world, the Sanskrit Veda, which dates back to 1,400 BC. The aroma produced from agarwood has been highly valued by many cultures and religions throughout history.

In the Nirvana Sutra, agarwood is referred to as the "heavenly wood" used for the cremation of the Buddha. In the New Testament, Jesus' body was anointed with a mixture of myrrh and aloes after his crucifixion. And in the Hadith Sahih Bukhari, descriptions of heaven by Allah's messengers include the burning of aloes as incense.

The price of one kilogram of gaharu can reach US $ 100 thousand. This price even makes it one of the most expensive raw materials in the world. However, to produce good agarwood, this tree must be infected with a fungus.

And what makes it so valuable?

The agarwood tree (Aquilaria malaccensis) is a tree native to the rainforests of Southeast Asia. Prior to infection, the healthy cores within the Aquilaria tree were pale white, odorless, and worthless. However, in the wild, damage to trees by outside forces, such as grazing animals, sporadically results in the development of a certain type of fungal infection in the tree called Phialophora parasitica.

Ants make holes into tree trunks, causing wounds and bringing microorganisms, bacteria, and fungal spores into the tree trunk. The ants secrete a liquid that destroys the tree, then the tree uses its own sap to cover the wound, which over time turns into aloes.

Gyrinops rosbergii tillers that grow naturally on Gunawan's land in Modayag. Boltim Regency, North Sulawesi Photo: CNN Indonesia / Ronny A. Buol

Aquilaria's defense against this attack is to produce aromatic, stress-induced resins called aloes, which are dark and moist in color. Over the years, agarwood has been slowly embedded in the wood core to make agarwood.

Quoting Business Insider, After gaharu is harvested, it needs to be separated from the healthy Aquilaria wood around it. In a process that often takes hours, the resin impregnated chip, also known as oud, is hand carved. Oud chips are commonly used as incense, especially in the Middle East, where they are burned as a sign of hospitality and put into clothes and clothing as perfume.

When it burns, smoke will appear first, then the smell will start to come out. The distinctive aroma of agarwood, no other aroma compares to it. Then slowly it started to smell nice. In a closed room it can last up to three to five hours.

Oud is also refined into essential oils. And in its purest form, aged oud oil can cost as much as $ 80,000 per liter, earning a nickname among "liquid gold" traders. As its growing popularity in the West, oud has become a common ingredient in several high-value fragrances, adding a warm musky scent.

 

Source:

cnnindonesia.com

 

Tags:

Share:

Gaharu

agarwood

wood in order

wood

Related Posts:

Tweet