Oud Wood

What Is Oud?

It is a kind of valuable wood with good smell which is created inside the big oud trees because of the activity of some parasites.

Formation of Oud:

In some dense forests in the world, especially in the Indian peninsula and the south east of Asia, very big trees named Aquilaria trees have existed for thousands of years. These trees have the same exterior shape features as other trees, but their inside structure is  different some how, since oud trees secrete inside their bark a substance which attracts a kind of parasites that feed on secretions produced by the oud trees  in their internal bark, and then these parasites put its secretions out, thus making the oud wood. Aquilaria is a genus of fifteen species of trees in the Thymelaeaceae, native to southeast Asia. They occur particularly in the rain forests of Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Northern India, the Philippines, Borneo and New Guinea. The trees grow to 6-20 m tall. The leaves are alternate, 5-11 cm long and 2-4 cm broad, with a short acuminate apex and an entire margin. The flowers are yellowish-green, produced in an umbel; the fruit is a woody capsule 2.5-3 cm long.

Age of Oud:

Studies carried out by scientists have shown that the age of oud goes back to Adam’s era (peace be upon him).The studies have shown also that the oud tree started growing hundreds of years after Adam’s descending to the Earth (peace be upon him). The studies also proved that legend which says that when Adam (peace be upon him) was expelled out from heaven and covered himself with one of its leaves and descended to the Earth, that leaf dried because of the climatic factors on the Earth where its parts were scattered due to winds to the Indian sub continent and south east of Asia, and it began growing on the Earth through hundreds of years. Thus, it is absolutely impossible to grow once again the oud or to find its grains. It is a wonder that was finished forever.

Oud Homeland:

India is the original homeland of oud where it appeared for the first time, but it has started disappearing from it now. Oud can also be found in Cambodia, Viet-Nam, Laos, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. It is found in dense forests where it is dark even during the day. These forests are very large and Man has known them since the beginning of life.

Benefits of Oud:

The good smell which changes the odor of the atmosphere just after its spreading gives the spot more refreshment, more spirituality, and more natural fascinating scent. And, unlike other frankincense and perfumes, oud lasts for a long time.

Reasons of Oud High Price:

It is known to everyone that forests are a milieu which contains various kinds and types of animals which live in harmony within this milieu. It is its homeland, especially predators which are the most dangerous ones in the world. These hard forests include most of the oud trees. 

In these conditions, groups of neighbouring villagers prepare themselves and their tools to go on a trip to these forests. The aim of such trips is to search for oud trees and to extract oud wood from them for sale. In each trip, about 100 persons go out in this hard adventure. It should be noted that the survivals of each trip who return with oud wood is less than 25 persons in hard conditions.

Oud Quality:

There are many kinds of oud wood, and each kind has its own characteristics. Also, each kind has its own methods to know its quality, but there are many ways that characterize the good oud whatsoever its various kinds are.
The good oud tastes very bitter, and the more bitter it is, the more good quality it is. The color of oud (in general) is unified in its interior and exterior parts. If the colour is not the same, this means that the oud is painted, and cannot be called oud. The internal knots (stems) of the good oud are unified with its external knots, and the more the unification is visible, the better the quality of oud is.

There are various methods to know the good quality of oud which differs from one kind to another as mentioned before. The Cambodian oud has its own methods to know its quality, and so has the Indian.

Oud Oil

Benefits of Oud Oil:

Oud oil is not less beneficial than oud wood, since one is the origin of the other. Oud oil can be easily transported and does need heat energy to be used like frankincense. Its strong fragrance stays on clothes for a long period of time and fills the atmosphere with a nice smell that dispels all the other odors around it. The oud oil is also used in the treatment of some diseases after mixing it with raw ambergris and musk of deer.

Reasons for the High Price of Oud Oil:

The high price of oud oil is due to the high price of oud wood. Indeed, oud wood itself is very expensive because of the reasons already mentioned. Moreover, 0.25 to 0.75 Tullas; that is, 3 to 9 grams of oud oil can be extracted from one kilogram of oud wood, depending on the quality of oud wood.

Oud Oil Quality:

The oud oil of high quality is characterized by its long duration on the skin in normal conditions. The scent of oud oil can stay on skin for a period ranging from 3 to 8 hours, depending on the quality of oud. It should be noted that the best and the highest quality of oud oil can not stay for more than 8 hours on skin in normal conditions, but can stay longer on clothes.

The scent of high quality oud oil does not appear at once, since its beginning is unpleasant, but after a short time of its use, its nice and strong scent starts smelling. 

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