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AGAR

Pieces of Agar wood from forest trees

EMPEROR OF PERFUMES – “AGAR”

The story of the Indian fragrant wood AGAR, dates back to the epic times of
Ramayana with allusions to the Vedic era. As per the Susruta Samhita agar can
be used as perfume, as fumigant in surgeries and for worship. In those times,
agaru came largely from the tree Acquilaria agallocha. Through out Malaysia
and Indonesia agar was called by the name GAHARU, a Malay word derived from
the much older Sanskrit term AGARU meaning “heavy”. The scented wood was
given that name in Sanskrit because, indeed, a high quality piece of Agaru will
sink in water. In Islamic world it is called as ‘ud (pronounced as ood), simply
‘wood’ in Arabic.

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AGAR

There is mention of the use of Agar in Abhijnanmam Shakuntalam of Kalidasa

and Arthashastra of Chanakya.

Agar is inextricably linked to Assam’s rich cultural heritage. In antiquity, Assam’s

monarchs employed the used bark of the Sasi Agar tree for chronicling their
royal circulars and diktats.

The first historical biographies in Sanskrit –the Harsha Charita written by Bana in
652 AD also chronicles the fact that among the many gifts sent by Assamese
king Bhaskara Varman to Harsha, volumes of fine writing in leaves made from
aloe bark and black aloe oil occupied a very prominent place. The Nowgong
grant of Balavarman gives a graphic description of Pragjyotisha Nagara where
areca nuts are wrapped in leaves of creeper of betel-plants and Krishnaguru
(Telugu for Agarwood) or black agar wood trees were surrounded with
cardamom creepers. It is also recorded that after conquering the last king Gaur
Gobind in 1348AD, in Sylhet, Saint Fakir Ali Shah Jalal and his followers found
agar wood and agar attar along with many other valuables in the royal store.
This clearly indicates that distillation of agar oil was done as far back as 13th
century or even much earlier. Abul Fazal Allami in his Ain-I-Akbari (memoirs of
Emperor Akbar) written in 1590 AD gives a vivid description of agar wood and

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AGAR

agar oil along with their manufacturing process and uses. It is also said that the
Mughals invaded Assam mainly for agaru. Such was it lure!!

From Kamrup Agaru was exported to the Middle East, most probably by Chinese
traders through the Silk Route which extended from China to Middle-east
through Kamrup and then India. In those days agaru was the main cosmetic
item.

The first recorded trading interest was from the Chinese, who were busy traders
of the fragrant wood during the 1st century in South East Asia. The chief sources
are Aquilaria malaccensis and Aetoxylon sympetalum.

The Chinese roll in the agar (‘ud) has been significant since the Han Dynasty
(206 BC – 220AD), when Imperial perfume blenders used it along with cloves,
musk, costus root oil and camphor. Like the Indians, the Chinese named the
wood for its density, calling it cb’en Hsiang, “the incense that sinks in water”. In
those days, ‘ud was sorted as many as 20 different grades. Responding to the
increasing domestic and international demand for ‘ud Chinese traders, ventured
into Annan now part of Vietnam where they found top quality trees in
abundance.

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AGAR

This new source of supply allowed them to become wholesale dealers and middle
men and to this day they retain this position world wide.

As mentioned in the 12th - 13th Chinese Sea Trade Manuals the search for ‘ud
had intensified, tracing it to Hainan Island, parts of present day Vietnam, lands
about the Malay peninsula, Cambodia and the islands of Sumatra & Java.

As per this manuals, the greater interest of the Muslim community as custom to
wake up, bathe and perfume themselves with the ‘ud smoke before going to the
mosque for the morning prayer.

Cross section of a tree showing dark regions of agar formed inside

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AGAR

In the modern era, 1935 reference, the ‘ud or Agar was described in scientific
terms by the “Dictionary of Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula” as the
agar is an aromatic resin deposit found in certain species of Aquilaria trees.
especially Aquilaria malaccensis, accordingly the resin is produced by the tree as
an immune response to a fungus (Phialophora parasitica) that invades the tree
and over many years spreads through it. It is these diseased sections of the tree
that are collected by people in the jungles of south east Asia-by Isac H.Burkill,
the author of the dictionary.

The collecting tribes men usually look for a agar wood tree by spending a week
or more and after making sure of the identity, they make a series of shallow
exploratory cuts into its trunk, branches and roots; they cut it down only when
they are persuaded the tree has the fungus and will yield a reasonable amount
of good agar. If the tree contains only low grade of agar they will often let it
grow for another few years before retesting it. If they decided to cut it down
they will spend days extracting agar and cleaning it with smaller knives.

Now a days the agar is getting more difficult to find because large scale logging
operations have destroyed many of the hill forests in entire south east Asia
where the agar trees are found. If the collecting tribes men have good luck they
may collect a kilo of an average quality in three to four days- but it is
increasingly common for them to return with nothing or with very lowest grades.

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AGAR

The need for research into this dwindling valuable resource is compelling. Except
in Nagaland, there is no Agar left in India. Traditional sources are drying up.
Reserves in Kalibanthan and Salabasi in Indonesia are also diminishing day by
day. Fortunately for traders, new sources have been discovered in Maraoca near
Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, Laos and parts of Java.

The best grade of agar is hard, nearly black and very heavy. In general agar
becomes inferior as it appears lighter in tone, flecked with diminishing amounts
of resin. The only truly reliable way to test for quality however, is to burn a
small bit and evaluate the complexity and richness of the smoldering wood. Agar
oil can be taste tested. Touch a bit to the tongue and a bitter taste points to high
quality.

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AGAR

Some thirty years ago Hong Kong played an important roll in the agar trade but
today the international hub for agar is Singapore. There Chinese traders,
receiving agar from agents scattered across Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar,
Thailand, Borneo, Hainan Island and most recently Irian Jaya of Indonesia,
dominate the business. At present the rarest and expensive type, know as
Keenam comes from Vietnam.

In Singapore and in International trade agar is called as ‘ud and it is graded in

descending quality from Super AA (which is weighed on a jewellers scale) to
Super A, Super and lesser grades numbered 1 through 8. The lowest quality,
called Kandulam (in Malay) is used to make incense sticks, selling roughly 3 US
cents a gram (1998). The value of ‘ud shipped out of Singapore each year has
been estimated to exceed US$ 1.2 billion (1998).

In Dubai, there are entire streets lined up shops selling ‘Ud. Among them the
most noted family company ‘Ajmal Co.’ as one of the largest dealers in pure and
blended ‘Ud perfumes in all of the middle east. From their 22 shops through out
Arabian Peninsula, they sell ‘Ud oil from Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Their most extravagant creation being a blend of aged ‘Ud oils called ‘Dahanal
Oudh al-Moattaq’, the price US$850 (1998) per 30gms bottle.

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AGAR

Given the popularity of the ‘Ud, its high price and the difficulty of the collecting it
from the wild, quite a few Institutions and Perfumery Units spread across South
east Asia have started to look into the possibility – artificially introducing the ‘Ud
fungus into Aquilaria’ trees in hopes of creating commercial ‘Ud plantations.

Tailpiece!

Botanists call it Aquillaria, manufacturers call it Agaru, traders call it Profit, the
poor call it Survival, and the common man simply calls it Agar.

Bibliography
1. Ramayana
2. Susruta Samhita
3. Abhijnana Shakuntalam
4. Arthashastra
5. Harsha Charita
6. Ain-I-Akbari
7. Dictionary of Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula
8. The wealth of India
9. Vasthu Guna Dipika
10. Hidden History of Agar by Eric Hansen

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November, 2004