What Really Happens When
We Burn Sage
The practice of smudging dates back
to prehistoric times, and is still very much in use today worldwide for
cleansing everything from dwellings to human spirits. However recent research has shed light on the
popularity of this activity, revealing that burning certain plant matter
actually clears harmful bacteria.
All Western use of burning herbs and
plants for spiritual purposes aside, the activity rests firmly in the
sensibilities of ancient cultures in that, historically, smudging was believed
to put forth the spirits of various ‘allies’ to provide ease and balance to an
individual or group.
In this way, the practice was used
to clear spiritual and emotional negativity that has built up in a body or a
space.
Of course, there are skeptics who
belittle the practice as unscientific and akin to magic. The practice has a
negative association to a form of cultural imperialism, where traditions of
dwindling indigenous populations are co-opted by the descendants of those who
more-or-less conquered them.
The scientific paper
entitled “Medicinal Smokes” and published in the Journal of
Ethnopharmacology focuses a scientific lens on the practice, which is
becoming more and more widely practiced, despite skepticism.
It serves to play against the role
that this activity has played in a culturally diverse range of religions and
tribal beliefs.
The research study looked into
herbal and non-herbal remedies that were administered by the burning of various
matter.
The research included information
from 50 countries over 5 continents and found that, predominantly, smoke
administered medicinally is mostly used to aid lung, brain and skin function.
In addition, it was revealed that passive fumes doubled as a sort of air
purifier.
The purpose of the study was to see
whether or not these medicinal smoke deliveries could be explored by western
medicine, because “The advantages of smoke-based remedies are rapid
delivery to the brain, more efficient absorption by the body and lower costs of
production.”
A follow up paper published in the
same periodical, “Medicinal smoke reduces airborne
bacteria,” found that the research concluded that, in addition to health
benefits, smudging was a powerful antiseptic.
“We have observed that 1 hour
treatment of medicinal smoke emanated by burning wood and a mixture of
odoriferous and medicinal herbs (havan sámagri=material used in oblation to
fire all over India), on aerial bacterial population caused over 94% reduction
of bacterial counts by 60 min and the ability of the smoke to purify or
disinfect the air and to make the environment cleaner was maintained up to 24
hour in the closed room.
Absence of pathogenic bacteria
Corynebacterium urealyticum, Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens, Enterobacter
aerogenes (Klebsiella mobilis), Kocuria rosea, Pseudomonas syringae pv.
persicae, Staphylococcus lentus, and Xanthomonas campestris pv. tardicrescens
in the open room even after 30 days is indicative of the bactericidal potential
of the medicinal smoke treatment.
We have demonstrated that using
medicinal smoke it is possible to completely eliminate diverse plant and human
pathogenic bacteria of the air within confined space.”
In short, burning medicinal herbs
cleared airborne bacterial populations by 94%, and the space was still found to
be disinfected a day later. What’s more, a month after smudging, much of the
pathogens originally found were still undetectable.
This has profound implications, as
modern air quality in the developed and undeveloped world is atrocious,
containing up to 1800 bacterial types, many of them
pathogenic. With an increasing deadly array of antibacterial-resistant strains,
we’ll need all the help we can get.
Conventional methods of
sterilization often employ chemical cocktails that are typically much less effective than purported. Smudging
seems to be an effective alternative, while also being natural and safe to use.
In conclusion, the ancient practice
of burning powerful herbal material may be much much more than just a primitive
belief that we can simply disregard due to it being unscientific.
Of course, this should not take away
from the properties of smudging in the area of energy system and soul cleansing
and in the power of aromatherapy.
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