Ittar - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

See also Attar of roses
Rose oil
Rose oil, meaning either rose otto or rose absolute, is the essential oil extracted from the petals of various types of rose...

Attar also known as ittar is a natural perfume oil derived from botanical sources. Most commonly these oils are taken from the botanical material through hydro or steam distillation. Oils can also be expressed by chemical means but generally natural perfumes which qualify as Ittar/Attars are distilled naturally. The oils obtained from the herbs flowers and wood are generally distilled into a wood base such as sandalwood and then aged. The aging period can last from one to ten years depending on the botanicals used and the results desired.

These all-natural perfumes are highly concentrated and therefore are usually offered for sale in small quantities and have traditionally been offered in decorated crystal cut type bottles or small jeweled decanters. Ittars are popular throughout the Middle East, the Far East and India as well as Pakistan. Ittars have been used in the entire Eastern world for thousands of years. These 100% pure and natural perfumes are free of alcohol and chemicals and so the problems faced in the West by perfume lovers are irrelevant to most Eastern perfume lovers. Natural perfumes are affordable because they are so concentrated that a small bottle will last the user several weeks, if not months. Due to the purity and the nature of oils, there is very little chance of spoilage unless a food based carrier oil is used to cut the concentrated pure oil.

Some of the first lovers of Ittars were the Mughal nobles of India. Jasmine ittar was the favorite perfume of the Nizam

Nizam

Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad popularly known as Nizams of Hyderabad was a former monarchy of the Hyderabad State, now in the states of Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka , and Maharashtra in India...

s of the Hyderabad state

Hyderabad State

-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...

. Traditionally in the Eastern world it was a customary practice of nobility to offer ittar to their guests at the time of their departure. The ittars are traditionally given in ornate tiny crystal cut

Crystal

A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...

bottles called as itardans. This tradition of giving a scent to one's guests continues to this day in many parts of the Eastern world. Among Sufi worshipers the use of Ittars during meditation circles and dances is quite common.

Most ittars are alcohol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

-free and are used by many Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

men and women. Ittar has long been considered one of the most treasured of material possessions and Prophet Muhammad has been compared to Ittar as one of the most beloved of gifts given to mankind.

Ittars are also used among Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

, Buddhist and Sikh meditation practices.

History

The word 'attar', 'ittar' or 'othr' is basically an Arabic word which means 'scent'; this in turn is believed to have been derived from the Persian word Atr, meaning 'fragrance'.

The story of Indian perfumes is as old as the civilization itself. Archaeological evidence shows the earliest inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent held plants in great reverence. With the passage of time, scented oils were extracted by pressing, pulverizing or distilling aromatic vegetable and animal produce. Early indications of this activity are available from the perfume jars and terracotta containers of the Indus Valley civilization, where archeological work has revealed round copper stills, used for the distillation process that are at least five-thousand years old (reference req.). These stills are called degs. Following the seasons of the flowers, traditional ittar-makers, with their degs, traveled all over India to make their fresh ittars on-the-spot. Even now, a few traditional ittar-makers still travel with their degs to be close to the harvest. Their equipment has changed little, if at all.

A large number of references to cosmetics and perfumes in Sanskrit literature were found like in the Brhatsamhita is a 6th century Sanskrit encyclopedia by Varahamihira (505 AD – 587 AD). Cosmetics and perfumes making were mainly practiced for the purpose of worship, sale and sensual enjoyment. Gandhayukti gave recipes for making scents. It gives a list of eight aromatic ingredients used for making scents. They were: Rodhara, Usira, Bignonia, Aguru, Musta, Vana, Priyangu, and Pathya. The Gandhayukti also gave recipes for mouth perfumes, bath powders, incense and talcum powder. The manufacture of rose water began perhaps in the nineteenth century AD. The earliest distillation of ittar was mentioned in the Ayurvedic text Charaka Samhita. The Harshacharita, written in 7th century AD in northern India, mentions use of fragrant agarwood oil.

In ancient India, ittar was prepared by placing precious flowers and sacred plants into a water or vegetable oil. Slowly the plants and flowers would infuse the water/oil with their delicate fragrance. The plant and flower material would then be removed and a symphony of their aromatic beauty would be held in the ittar. These ittars were then worn as a sacred perfume or to anoint.

Ittar figures into some of the romantic stories of a bygone era. Its patrons included great poets like the legendary Mirza Ghalib

Mirza Ghalib

Dabir-ul-Mulk, Najm-ud-Daula Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan , pen-name Ghalib and Asad , was a classical Urdu and Persian poet from India during British colonial rule...

. When Ghalib met his beloved in the winter, he rubbed his hands and face with ittar hina.

In Ain-e-Akbari, Abul Fazal, has mentioned that Akbar used ittar daily and burnt incense sticks in gold and silver censers. A princess's bath was incomplete without incense and ittar. A very popular ittar with the Mughal princes was ood, prepared in Assam

Assam

Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...

.

Situated on the banks of the sacred River Ganges, 80 km from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, is the now almost forgotten ancient city of Kannauj

Kannauj

Kannauj , also spelt Kanauj, is a city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is traditionally derived from the term Kanyakubja . Kannauj is an ancient city, in earlier times the capital...

, once the capital of the famed Emperor Harshavardhana

Harsha

Harsha or Harsha Vardhana or Harshvardhan was an Indian emperor who ruled northern India from 606 to 647 AD. He was the son of Prabhakara Vardhana and younger brother of Rajya Vardhana, a king of Thanesar, Haryana...

. Today it prides itself as the 'Attar City' or the perfume city of India. Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh India is a major producing city of ittar. Here, there is a legend on how the first ittars were made in the area. The forest dwelling Faqirs and Sadhus (ascetics) used certain perfumed jungle herbs and roots in their bonfires during the winters. The shepherds who grazed their sheep in that region found the perfume lingering in the burnt wood long after the ascetics left the place. Word spread about this and some enterprising people searched and found the fragrant herbs and roots. Then the experiments on ittar began and the first ittars to be made were Rose and Hina.

No	Name	Scientific Name	Part Distilled
1,	Rose ittar	Rosa damascena	Flower
2,	Motia/Jasmin ittar	Jasmine sambac	Flower
3,	Mitti ittar	Baked earth	Earth from river
4,	Kewda ittar	Pandanus odoritissimus	Flower
5,	Saffron ittar	Crocus sativa	Stigma
6,	Agarwood/Oud ittar	Aquilaria agallocha	Various parts
7,	Gul Hina ittar	Lawsonia alba	Flower
8,	Genda/Merigold ittar	Tagetes minuta	Flower
9,	Champa ittar	Michelia champaca	Flower
10,	Bakul ittar	Mimusops elengi	Flower
11,	Blue Lotus ittar	Nymphaea caerulea	Flower
12,	Pink Lotus ittar	Nelumbo nucifera	Flower
13,	White Lotus ittar	Nelumbo nucifera	Flower
14,	Tuberose/Rajniganda ittar	Polianthes tuberosa	Flower
15,	White Water Lily ittar	Nymphaea ampla	Flower
16,	Zafari ittar	Tagetes sp	Flower
17,	Shamana ittar	compound of fragrant spices, herbs, woods	Various parts
18,	Amber ittar	Pinus Succinifera	----
19,	Chameli ittar	Jasminum Grandiflorum	Flower
20,	Gulmohar ittar	Painciana Regia	Flower
21,	Juhi ittar	Jasmine Auriculatum	Flower
22,	Islamic Bakhur ittar	Melaleuca Alternifolia	----
23,	Frangipani ittar	Plumeria Ruera	----
24,	Khus ittar	Vetiveria Zizanoides	Roots
25,	Mogra ittar	Abelmoschus Moschus	Flower
26,	Loban ittar	Styrax Benzoin	Various parts
27,	Nakh Choya ittar	Citrus Bigardia	Flower
28,	Davana ittar	Artemesia Pallens	Leaves

Types of Ittars

Ittars may be broadly categorized into following types of flavour or ingredients used.

Floral Ittars – Ittars manufactured from single species of flower are coming under this category. These are :-

Gulab ex Rosa damascena or Rosa Edword

Kewra ex Pandanus odoratissimus

Motia ex Jasminum sambac

Gulhina ex lawsonia inermis

Chameli ex Jasminum grandiflorum

Kadam ex Anthoephalus cadamba

Herbal Ittars - Ittars manufactured from combination of floral, herbal

Herbal

AThe use of a or an depends on whether or not herbal is pronounced with a silent h. herbal is "a collection of descriptions of plants put together for medicinal purposes." Expressed more elaborately — it is a book containing the names and descriptions of plants, usually with information on their...

& spice

Spice

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...

s come under this category. Hina

Hina

Hina is the name of several different goddesses and women in Polynesian mythology. In some traditions, the trickster and culture hero Maui has a wife named Hina, as do the gods Tane and Tangaroa. Hina is often associated with the moon....

and its various forms viz., Shamama, Shamam –tul – Amber

Amber

Amber is fossilized tree resin , which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Amber is used as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folk medicine, and as jewelry. There are five classes of amber, defined on the basis of their chemical constituents...

, Musk

Musk

Musk is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial substances with similar odors. Musk was a name originally given to a substance with a...

Amber and Musk Hina.

Ittars which are neither floral nor herbal also come under this category.
Ittar Mitti falls under this category and is produced by distillation of baked earth over base material.

Ittars can also be classified based on their effect on human body such as

Warm Ittars – Ittars such as Musk, Amber, Kesar (Saffron), Oud, are used in winters, they increase the body temperature.

Cool Ittars – like Rose, Jasmine, Khus, Kewda, Mogra, are used in summers and are cooling for the body.

Uses

The Indian ittars in the past was used by the elite, particularly kings and queens. Also it is used in Hindu temples.
Today it is used in numerous ways:

1. Pan Masala and Gutka is the largest consumer of Indian ittars. The reason for using it is its extraordinary tenacity along with characteristic to withstand with tobacco note. The ittars used are Rose, Kewra, Mehndi, Hina, Shamama, Mitti, Marigold etc.

2. Tobacco is smaller segment for ittar consumption as compared to above industry. The ittars used are mainly kewra & Rose. Along with Pan masala & Gutkha it contributes to more the 75% of ittar consumption.

3. Betel nut is smaller segment for ittar consumption as compared to above two industry. The ittars used are mainly Kewra & Rose.

4. It is used by many people as a personal perfume, particularly by Muslims due to absence of alcohol.

5. Ittars have the application in pharmaceutical industry.

6. Ittars of Rose & Kewra are used in traditional Indian sweets, for imparting flavour.

Safety & Application of Ittar

Alcohol (common solvent for most perfumes) causes the perfume to evaporate much faster sometimes unto as much as 10 - 15 times faster. This causes the first impression of the perfume to be overwhelming to human senses, but it soon evaporates and loses power. Given its natural derivation, ittar lasts a long time. Body heat only intensifies its smell.

A major difference between synthetic perfumes and ittar is that the oil-based ittar is worn directly on your body. The inside of the wrist, behind the ears, the inside of elbow joints, back of the neck and a few other parts of your anatomy are directly dabbed with ittar.

A small drop is enough to be used as a fragrance on the body. A few drops can be added to water and used with aromatic vapour lamps. A few drops of some ittars are used with cold drinks, such as milk, to give fragrance.

Storage & Shelf life

Ittar has a permanent shelf life and some ittars become stronger and smell better when they are older.

Future of Ittars

Due to increasing cost of Indian Sandalwood and high cost of production of ittars has had an ill effect on existence of this industry. Competition comes in the form of chemical based perfume products, which are cheaper compared to natural ittars.

For more info

Fragrance and Flavor Development Center Kannuj UP India
http://www.ffdcindia.org/default.htm
Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Lucknow India
http://www.cimap.res.in/
Essential Oil Association of India
http://eoai.in/
Flavors & Fragrance Association of India
http://www.fafai.org/
Natural Attar Industries Association of India;
All India Agarbathi Manufacturers Association
http://mail@mysoreagarbathi.com/
International Congress of Essential Oils, Fragrances & Flavours (ICEOFF);
Aromatic Merchants & Manufacturer' s Association (AMMA);
International Federation of the Essential Oil and Aroma Traders(IFEAT)
http://www.ifeat.org/
Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM)
http://www.rifm.org/
Sense of Smell Institute
http://www.senseofsmell.org/
International Fragrance Association (IFRA, Belgium)
http://www.ifraorg.org/
International Organization of the Flavor Industry (IOFI)
http://www.ifraorg.org/
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
http://www.iso.org/
The American Society of Perfumers
http://www.perfumers.org/
The British Society of Perfumers
http://www.bsp.org.uk/
The Fragrance Foundation
http://www.fragrance.org/
World Perfumery Congress
http://www.worldperfumerycongress.com/
Japan Flavor & Fragrance Material Association
http://www.jffma-jp.org/
Grasse Institute of Perfumery
http://www.prodarom.fr/UK/gip-accueil.htm
Women in Flavor & Fragrance Commerce
http://www.wffc.org/
Cosmetic Toiletry & Fragrance Association
http://www.personalcarecouncil.org/
American Oil Chemists' Society
http://www.aocs.org/

External links

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