 Polyanthus Tuberose By Ana Elena Sastrias, IPF Australia Chair and Natural Perfumery Teacher An Olfactory Landscape Through History In 2018 I decided to visit my family and friends back in Mexico and took the opportunity to get in contact with relevant people working with Mexican Botanical Raw Materials and producing Ethnobotanical Essential Oils from Mexican sourced plants, flowers, seeds, gums and resins at the Botanic Garden and Research Institute “Herbario CICY - Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán”, where I met up with Dr Luz María Calvo in Mérida, Yucatán. Among the most aromatic raw materials used in modern perfumery, it is the Mexican “Nardo” known as “Polyanthus Tuberose”. This flower “Nardo” or “Polyanthus Tuberose” was used by the Mayans as a Soap as this plant contains high levels of sapogenines and rizomas, ingredients that can make soap. In Nahuatl, this plant was called “amole” that means “soap” or “omixochitl” that means “boney flower”. In Mexico, there are 20 species of “Polyanthus”. These “Polyanthus” have been grown and domesticated since the Pre-Hispanic Era among the Mayan Civilization. Its fine seductive floral fragrance is found all over the world in fine perfumes. The essential oil extracted from these flowers have the following properties: anti-fungal, anti- bacterial, used in wound healing treatments, it is also used as an insecticide and herbicide. During that visit I also spent time reading relevant books about Aztec and Mayan Civilizations and their Olfactory Experiences in Rituals at the Hemeroteca Nacional, UNAM in Mexico City. The Historical Research Institute in Mexico (IIH) states that in order to understand the History of Mexico, it is necessary to know the Aromas appropriate to each Period in History. Dr Elodie Dupey García and Guadalupe Pinzón Ríos are working together in the reconstruction of smells from Ancient Times up to 20th Century in Mexico in order to recover the Olfactory Memory from each Period in time. They consider Olfaction, not just as a physiological activity, but also as a way to interact in Society and Culture triggered by different stimuli bringing a diversity of values in Society through time. The smells have a meaning in Society. For instance, a fresh clean smell compared to a smell of a warm “tortilla” or a fresh bread. The behaviour in humans and other species is definitively influenced by what we smell and this can trigger behaviours in our relationships and also can be part of our rituals. This reconstruction of ancient olfactory landscape is being done through research on Ancient Texts, Nahuatl, Mayan and other Indigenous languages and Archeological Objects, aside of Ethnobotanical Research. Dr Elodie Dupey García recognises that it is quite challenging to recover the original smells of the Mesoamerican civilizations due to the length of time and the exposure to the wind. Archeological, iconography and linguistic and historical sources have been useful as a base to learn more about the aromas that were characteristic of the Pre-hispanic Era.  In religious rituals, Aztec priests were scarifying themselves by offering their blood to be then incinerated to the gods. The remains of this type of smells can be described in pictograms from Codex as images of ancient practices and beliefs. The same as in the narrative stories from the Spaniards witnessing such sacrifices in the Fall of the Pre-Hispanic Civilizations. After this collection of information, the questions that were important to ask for this research were: - Which are the ideas behind the Aromas in the Pre-Hispanic Civilizations? - Which kind of categorisation they assigned to Olfactive Sensations and which aromas were more relevant or bringing much attention to Pre-Hispanic society? - With which kind of concepts they associated each aroma? La Société Américaniste in Paris, France states that since the 18th and 19th Century, the intellectual elite put more importance to a Visual aspect of the world, more than the Tactile, Gustative, Olfactive aspects of our lives as a society. Since then, we have gradually been missing the use of our Sense of Smell and we now will need to re-train this important Sense. Since “reading” has been a marker in society to learn science, develop technology and be part of a cultural landscape and participate in the workforce. The priorities to exercise senses aside of our Vision and Hearing, were left behind, regarded almost as a non- important. It is since 2020 when Covid-19 pandemic started and we experienced as Humanity some of the effects of Covid-19 of losing the Sense of Smell, that Science is starting to catchup with studies and research in the consequences of losing the Sense of Smell in Human Beings and how to recover the Sense of Smell by doing Olfaction Training.  Aromas and fragrances were sacred in Ancient Times in Mexico, pointing this smell to the “Sahumerio o Sahumador de Copal” (Copal’s Smoke recipients). The resin of Copal was burnt in diverse ritualistic contexts. The resulting fumes from burning the resin of Copal were fundamental to the rituals and ceremonies.  Copal This Aromatic Offerings to the gods comprised herbs, gums and resins that were burnt and their combustion created aromatic smoke central to various rituals. The recipient used to burn the raw materials is called “Sahumador or Sahumerio”. They were of different kind, some were basic, some others more luxurious. Those artefacts were found in archeological sites. Murals and Codex describe the various raw materials used to make aromatic smokes and the use of “sahumadores or sahumerios”. Also, they could give us some information of which characteristics the olfactory landscapes had in the Religious Festivities. The aromas could be concentrated in the Ritual Activity derived by the raw materials used in the ceremonies taken places either in restrictive access places or open space ceremonies or around the reach of people participating in the ceremony.  The Offering of Fire was a ritual that burnt Copal resin in wood in front of the images of their deities.
This Offering was executed by each family when the Sun rises, also in temples four times during the day, and five times during the night, this was done to celebrate the God of the Sun and the God of the Night respectively. The aromas were given a Social, Medicinal and Ritualistic role associated with Cosmological beliefs in the Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican Era. The mesoamericans conceived the World of the Dead as a putrefactive smell. Putting in perspective the importance of the Sense of Smell in Ancient Civilisation and Indigenous communities living in Jungles, it does make sense when being surrounded by a very thick lush and green jungle, our Vision will not be enough to detect any danger or find your way to reach out other community or designated destination. The smells of each community could be an identifiable factor to guide us in our journey. The smells of each town bring an identity that can be part of our olfactory memory map. Dr Elodie Dupey García has been working on the Olfactory Sensitivity Project applied into the History of Smells in Mexico since 2014. Her book “De olfato. Aproximaciones a los Olores en la Historia de México” (Olfaction. Olfactory approximations to Aromas through out the History of Mexico) has been published since 2020. References: Gaceta UNAM - Agosto 2021 - Frías, Leonardo Olores y Sensibilidad Olfativa en Mesoamérica - Dupey García, Elodie CICY Newsletter Article - Aromas de México para el mundo, el caso del Nardo: Polianthes Tuberosa - Calvo, Luz María
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 By Ana Elena Sastrias, Certified Olfaction Trainer and Certified Natural Perfumer Our Vision is the door to our Visual Reality. Our Sense of Smell completes that Visual Reality with the perception of Scents and Flavours, generating Memories and Emotions and Connections with other beings, including human beings. Human beings, as with some other animals including bacteria, have different perceptions of the Sense of Smell. Some animals have more complex sensory systems than others. As we evolved and became stewards of land and animals, we also developed Art, Culture and Science. We, as a species, wanted to separate from the other animals and other species, destroying that relationship we had in the beginning between animals and flora that had brought us together through the primary senses and instincts. We have also developed various lifestyles that have de-programmed our physiological priorities as a species, by alienating our Sense of Smell as almost unimportant, giving much more priority to other senses, such as Vision. Fragrances, being very ephemeral, are very quickly overwhelmed, replaced by sound and visual inputs. The sense of smell, ancestrally the First Sense, has become the last sense we use. During the last three decades, Humans have been seeking the state of wellbeing, re-educating ourselves to desire sustainability and health, developing the appreciation of natural products, while rejecting the use of synthetics. Still, a lot more needs to be done in this matter. Being aware of how our Olfactory system works can provide some insight and awareness of what to smell and how natural scent molecules can directly impact our health.  In our present environment, after the Covid-19 pandemic, it seems that we have mostly lost our Olfactory sense and must re-learn to smell. Mask protection and lockouts affected our sense of perception of reality, blocking our free instinctive power to breath and lowering the capacity of the Olfactory Sense. Now that we are beginning to become free of masks, we need to re-train our sense of smell and our breathing techniques. From birth we connect with our mothers through the sense of smell. Our mothers when having us as babies, not only shared genes, but also shared phenotype features such as smells. Babies have a very fresh and well-developed sense of smell which guides them to receive messages that make them feel safe. The olfactory sense of babies is so sensitive that allows them to react to odours through motor reactions, respiratory and cardiac rhythmic changes. Babies less than two weeks old orient themselves automatically towards maternal odours. They learn to recognise their mother by her smell, which they will prefer to any other smell and will bond to it. It could be said that “newborns” see with their noses. People losing their olfactory sense, very often develop symptoms of depression and feel very isolated aside from having a great negative impact in their quality of life and a loss of their sense of safety. That is why it is so important to re-train our sense of smell through Olfaction Training, suitable for future perfumers, trained perfumers and people suffering from affected sense of smell like anosmia, hyposmia or dysosmia conditions.  There is also a Health aspect associated with the correct way of using our sense of smell and our relationship with Nature. It is now paramount to protect our Natural Resources, our flora, woodlands, rivers, lakes, and oceans, as they provide us with scent molecules that can contribute positively to our health and even repair our DNA. We, as Humans, share DNA with other species. We can even repair our hormones and DNA by smelling scents from Nature, like flowers or plants, by using proper Breathing and Olfaction Techniques and using the Natural Raw Materials adequate for Natural Perfumery and Aromatherapy.  Opoponax The Beneficial Power of Nature Like many raw materials Opoponax, which means in Greek “heal everything,” is a resin which Dioscorides used to heal Nero in the times of The Roman Empire. This plant, native of Abyssinia, is also produced in China and sent to India which uses it for Religious purposes. The essential oil of Opoponax is obtained by distillation and it is an excellent fixative used in perfumery. Marjoram, since antiquity, has been used by Egyptians and Arabs to relieve migraine, and its scent has soothing and comforting qualities. It is generally used for calming anxiety, nervousness, migraine and insomnia and it is recommended for the people suffering from depression. Other raw materials, like Juniper, have antiseptic, depurative and diuretic properties. Geranium has anti-inflammatory properties. Eucalyptus can be used to treat fevers or as a decongestant of the respiratory tract. Cinnamon, since antiquity, is originally from Sri Lanka and can also be found in the Seychelles and Madagascar. is It is also used not just for culinary purposes, but for medicinal purposes from its stimulating, tonic properties and through improving blood circulation. Cinnamon can also be used as an antiseptic.  Many of these and other natural plant raw materials have been used for a thousand years in many forms. Fumes, ointments, oils, and essential oils with purifying effects have been used for their restorative properties to our healthy electromagnetic vibration frequencies. Essential oils’ scent molecules travel to the nose receptors that detect the oil molecules with specific frequency, and then send signals of these vibrational frequencies to the brain. The intention of the healing process is to provide the correct vibrational frequency required that will bring the brain and body back to a state of coherence. This is the therapy by special vibration remedies capable of healing or rebalancing the brain’s and body’s DNA cells. That it is why is so important to smell raw materials from Nature and not from synthetic molecules, as the Natural scent molecules have all the complete vibrational frequency codes necessary to be used in healing. Synthetic scent molecules will not have the same healing power, would not be beneficial for treating health matters and, in the worst cases, may distort our hormones and DNA.  The New Luxury Code
For these reasons, the International Perfume Foundation developed the “New Luxury Code” in Natural Perfumery products that allows us as perfumers to work on this goal by taking into consideration the meaning of “Luxury” as respectful, exceptional, sustainable, perfect, not necessarily expensive, smells and feels great, contributes to culture, sensitive to everyone’s culture, produces a change, makes us happy, and is eternally beautiful. The Natural Perfumery Teacher's Academy is proposing monthly online Olfaction Training Courses in French, English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese and Arabic languages. |
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