Page 41 - feb21

perfumery in Africa cont..

Senegal - the mystique of Thiouraye
Thiouraye is a very strong element of western
Africa, especially Senegal. All the streets and
houses of the country give off this warm and
soothing smell. Thiouraye is a blend of wood
shavings, rhizomes of cyperus species, dried
flowers, fragrant herbs and grainy incense
that is traditionally macerated for at least a
year with sandalwood, musk, oud or amber.
Thiouraye is burned on embers to embalm
houses and clothes, and used as a perfume by
women. Legend says that its enveloping scent
bewitches men, this could be due to the very
expensive and sacred ingredient Oud or
Agarwood (which comes from the Aquilaria
malaccensis tree infected by a fungus). The
annual market of Oud gleans around $6 billion,
and its value is often estimated as one-and-a-
half times the value of gold. Believed even to
be found in Paradise.
Madagascar and the Seychelles:

the Spice Islands of Africa
Redolent spices grown on these islands
include clove, coffee, cinnamon, voatsiperifery
(indigenous wild pepper), pepper, vanilla,
cardamom, turmeric, nutmeg, ginger
and tamarind. Cocoa and ylang ylang are
also grown on the islands, and produce
aromatic extracts used in perfumery.
Endemic coconut palms: Beccariophoenix
alfredii in Madagascar and Lodoicea maldivica
‘Coco de Mer’ in Seychelles along with
Cocos nucifera produce copra, coconut oil
which has many applications in perfumery
and ayurvedic medicine. Haramy is an
indigenous incense made from the resin
of Canarium madagascariensis, and is used in
various rituals, it produces a sweet balsam-like
aroma. Text by S.C 41