Скачать или смотреть Camphor: Sacred Origins and Ancient Trade | Part 1

Camphor: Sacred Origins and Ancient Trade | Part 1

Camphor is widely known today as a natural decongestant found in vapor rubs and cold remedies. But long before its modern medicinal use, camphor played a vital role in ancient ritual life, survival practices, and global trade networks.

In this first part of a three-part series, we explore the sacred origins of camphor, tracing its use back to early Vedic India (c. 1750 BC). Camphor was used to ignite ritual fires offered to Agni, the fire god, and its aromatic smoke served practical purposes—masking odours, repelling insects, and aiding preservation in ritual and funerary contexts.

This video also examines how similar practices emerged across ancient civilizations, including among Egyptians, Babylonians, Sumerians, Jews, and Zoroastrians, and how camphor became a valued commodity traded across Asia and beyond for incense, embalming, and medicine.

Part 1 focuses on:

Camphor in Vedic ritual and sacred fire

The practical role of aromatic smoke in ancient societies

Cross-cultural ritual and funerary use

Camphor as an early global trade commodity

▶️ Next in this series:
Camphor – The Tree, Extraction, and Ecological Cost (Part 2)

This video is based on research from my book Asian Herbs and Their Wondrous Health-Giving Properties, which explores the historical, cultural, and scientific dimensions of medicinal plants across Asia.
#Camphor, #ancientmedicine, #herbalhistory