The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-06-11
How Man First Began to
Smoke
iRST USED AS INCENSE
Tobacco Was Originally a Sacred
Herb. According to an Eminent
some Centuries.

During the course of some special
Studies and researches on the utiliza-
ton of fire, conducted by DR.. Walter
Tough, curator Of e~thnology, United
states national museum, his attention
Was drawn to the collection of abort !
ginal incense burners in the museum,
and eventually he undertook a special
study Of this collection.
Dr. IIough has described the avail
able apparatus found principally in
Mexico and Central America in a pa
per recently published by the United
states national museum, Proceedings
No. 1887, in which he narrates on the
origin and history of the various i'm
plements and customs.
The development of the use of CEN
scrs rs suggested by the author is
not only Of interest, but very remark
able. 1t began in the prehistoric uses
Of ire and smoke, which at a certain
stage were employed in many ways
10 express feelings and reverence. It
is not strange that aboriginal man ex-
perienced some awe when he wit
messed the mysterious TRANSFORMED
tons brought about by the fire, which
80 him was obviously the change of
material things into Spiritual:, the
transition of the finite into the infn-
tie. So when the smoke Of his fire rose
from the earth and disappeared into
The air, it apparently ~ascended to the
heavens. carrying his prayer or pro-
testation to the Supreme Being above.
In this way smoke became symbolical
If prayer. With that signification it
was Introduced into the weird and Of
ten terrible rites Of the natives OF
Mexico and Central America and so
remained until their religion was
suppressed by the Spaniards.
Masonry BraZierS.
In the great temple-coqnpound Of
Mexico, it is sale that there were six
hundred masonry braziers, both Of
round and square design,
before shrines n other Sacrificial
places where perpetual fires were
maintained and offerings consumed.
These were not incense burners in the
strict sense. but victims were some
times scorched before the fires, ashes
from the portable censers were
thrown into the braziers, and such
paraphernalia and other offerings as
were used in the ceremony were here
fnally consumed.
= These braZiers were the source from
which live Goals were taken for ignit-
ing the incense-burners and cenSers.
They apparently represented the per-
netuation of the primitive communal
fire. the Nahuatl name for which sig
niiies fire navel indicating both
birth and the underworld. The bra
ziers were usually shaped like an
honr-Elass, although some had the
form Of stone basins borne aloft by
the figures Of men and animals, while
others were merely circular stones
mounted on short pediments or affairs
or shrines in temples. Nearly all rep
resented the human body in some way
either by eftigieS, masks or by an en-
tlrcllng band or sash. Several speci-
mems Of these various types, coming
mostly from Mexico and Costa RIGA
are found in the collections Of the ma
Qu.lal museum.
Pottery Vases.
Large pottery vases Of hour-glas:
shape. which form another class 0.
stationary brazierS, have been dis
covered in large numbers in an(
about the City of Mexico and at man!
other places. They are undoubtedl,
characteristic Of the Central Ameri
,ah censer-brazier and are remarka
bic Examples Of pottery, both as re
sards size and decorations. More ar
lStlc and detailed work is found IL
the class of pottery braZiers. due NJ
uoubt to the fact that the maker
Were enabled to work easier in pot
Terry than in hard stone.
me stationary braziers form tn
man class Of communal or genera
CenSers, which is divided into hire
sections the first consists of triba
society and family fre-places, fire
boxes. and ire-altars. The second di
vision includes the great stone bra
slers, stone basins with legs, circula
stones with pediments. and large or
hafnented pottery vessels. The thir'
man division includes the specia
torms-namely. portable, gesture, an
swinging cenSers. The portable bra
Ners comprise small braziers, tripo,
cenSerS, and BOWL censerS. The sec
ono group includes flaring bowls hav
ing ladies and feet; open work pot
very with ladies: spoons or ladies wit
ventilation holes; incense ladies