Kyphi Incense
Kyphi is the Greek translation of the Egyptian K’pt (Kapet), a mixture of aromatic herbs, spices, resins, gums, fragrant woods, roots, honey, and wine. It was primarily used as incense, a “perfume welcome” to gods. It is not known at what date Kyphi was first used in Egypt; however, the earliest references for burning resins in incense burners go as far back as the fifth dynasty (2494–2345 BC).
Many believed that the smoke rising from burning incense broke boundaries between the worlds of the living and gods and united them together. The thick, fragrant smoke of Kyphi purified and cleansed the air, temples and living spaces and made them ready for the arrival of the divine beings.
Perfumes were known to shift moods, evoke memories, and lift spirits, and those emanating from Kyphi smoke were no exception. These health-giving properties were seen as gifts from gods and sensory evidence of their existence. When gods made an appearance on earth, they revealed their presence by exhaling beautiful perfumes. There is no surprise then that the worship of gods was accompanied by burning Kyphi and other aromatic materials.
Some also believed that gods were present in the beautifully scented smoke of incense and that the smoke acted as a bridge over which they could safely descend on earth.
The element of burning was also crucial in the ritual of worship. The process of burning — of destruction — was seen as a deliberate release of fragrance from aromatic materials. The majority of people believed that every object in the universe had a soul. Burning resins, fragrant woods and herbs released their beautiful perfumes into the air, and the heat carried them up to the sky. Personal belongings and other objects buried with the deceased found in early Egyptian graves show signs of being deliberately broken to set their spirits free to reunite them with their owners.
Kyphi ingredients and manufacture
Ebers papyrus, a medical scroll dating back to 1550 BC, lists ten aromatic ingredients to be pulverised, combined and burned as incense. Mixed with honey and made into small balls, they were used as “breath mints”. The ingredients included dried myrrh, elderberries, frankincense, cyperus, aloes resin, calamus, mastic, styrax, sebet resin, inekuun grain (the last two…
