Myrrh EO refined
Origin: Somalia

• Details and product description

  Introduction:

  Myrrh is a thorny, deciduous shrub from the semi-arid regions of eastern Africa. It is found in Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, Arabia and Somalia. The shrub is up to 8 meters tall with sturdy knotty branches and oval, glabrous, trifoliate, aromatic leaves and small white and orange flowers. The branches terminate in sharp thorns. The leaves appear only during the rainy season, and the tree remains bare during the rest of the year. The shrub has gum or resin secreting ducts just under the bark. This gum is what is called myrrh. It is a thick liquid that naturally exudes from the crevices of the tree because the bark is thin. The shrub’s white and orangish red flowers bloom at the end of summer. At the same time, the trunk and the branches are covered with blisters, from which the yellow resin flows. True myrrh is known under the name “karam.”

  History:

  The name of the myrrh comes from its characteristic of exuding gum and is said to come from the Greek murro which means "I flow." Myrrh had a great importance in ancient cultures and it is one of the oldest raw materials used in perfumery, cosmetics but also in embalming processes. The Egyptians also used it more than 4000 years ago for their perfumes and cosmetics (Zahnd and Sapinkopf). During banquets in honor of the dead, the servants put perfumed cones on the heads of the guests. These perfumed ointments, composed essentially of myrrh, melted and enveloped them with a sweet odor. It was also one of the ingredients (Kyphi) used for preparations to embalm the dead, and bandages of mummies were impregnated with it. Chinese texts about medicinal plants described myrrh in 600 BC and it has a long history in Ayurvedic medicine. The word myrrh, môr, in Semitic languages means bitter. Among the Greeks, myrrh also played an important role. Already, in the 6th century BC, Theophrastus, in the chapter about fragrances from his History of Plants, repeatedly mentioned myrrh as a perfume for wine. It was indeed a common practice in antiquity to mix spices with wine, to perfume it and most often to enhance a flavor that was too bland or to soften a sour taste. "Myrrh," says Theophrastus, in his treatise on fragrances, “is hot, biting with astringent powers, and it has bitterness." The shrub did not exist in Palestine. It was imported from Arabia where perfumes held an important place in the life of oriental peoples. Myrrh essence was often combined with other fragrances in the Bible such as aloe and frankincense (Matthew 2,11): "Entering the house, the three wise men saw the child with Mary, his mother, and, bowing down, they paid homage to him. Opening their coffers, they offered him gold, frankincense and myrrh." The Song of Songs, a poem that celebrates the love of a princess of Judea for a son of the Pharaoh, refers six times to myrrh. Myrrh is also associated with religious offerings and services, during which it is burned with frankincense. For Christians, myrrh was one of the gifts (along with gold and frankincense) that the three wise men offered to the Infant Jesus. It is also one of the ingredients in holy oil for anointing the sick and dying. In a passage from the Old Testament, it is said that the body of Jesus was impregnated with aromatics, among which were aloe and myrrh. Greek mythology: In Greek mythology, the goddess Myrrha, daughter of Cinyras King of Cyprus, is secretly in love with her father. With the help of her nurse, she succeeded in getting into her father's bed. Cinyras discovers with terror that the face of his mistress is that of his own daughter and wants to kill her. Myrrha, pregnant by her father, is abandoned in the woods where she wanders for nine moons, imploring the gods to banish her from the world of the living and the dead. The gods hear her prayer and transform her into a tree. The myrrh gum is the tears she shed during her transformation. Myrrha gives birth to Adonis through a crack in her bark.

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