KEMENYAN

A.     Tell me what Kemenyan is!

Right, before I talk too far or further about kemenyan. It is better, hmm…no, it is the best thing to tell you what kemenyan is. For you, people who doesn’t live in Indonesia, I am sure that you haven’t heard about “kemenyan” word before, right? Well that is fine. But hoe if I change the word “Kemenyan” to be “Myrrh”, I am sure that you have heard people near you talk about it, or even you have bought it before. Okay, from now on the word “Kemenyan” will replace the word “myrrh” in this article.

The first thing that I am going to tell you here about kemenyan is its tree. Does kemenyan have a tree? Yes, it has, and you know what? I just knew this fact last night while I was chatting with my friends. Well, it is not important? Well that is fine. Keep reading! Right, Kemenyan is actually a product of Kemenyan tree. The sap of Kemenyan tree is incised and then the sap is used as the ingredient of Kemenyan.

B.     Kemenyan Tree

Kemenyan tree is called Styrax. Styrax trees have more than 130 species and some of which are used to produce Kemenyan. The habitat of Styrax stretches from East Asia until South East Asia. Some Kind of this tree also live in South America.

The Styrax tree is classified as herbaceous plant. The height of this plant can high as high as 2-14 m. It is tall enough for a herbaceous plant. The leaves of this plant is green, of course it is green, no need to tell, though! Okay, fine, the form of the leaves is actually oval and its width is wide enough to wrap an egg, because it has 1-18 cm x 2-10 cm width.  The flower of this tree is hanging.

The tree of Kemenyan has various diameter. The diameter is range from 20-30 cm. The tree is straight? What, straight, so the other is like you know? No, not that straight. I mean the form of the tree trunk is straight from bottom to the top. There are not to many branches live in this tree. The color of the trunk skin is brown or maroon.

C.     The Myth of Kemenyan

Okay, maybe you have read enough about the description of kemenyan tree. Yeah, even though I didn’t write it much. You can read the description on Wikipedia, anyhow, hahaha.

It is always being interesting when it come to a myth topic, because it will be always be connected to the ghost world or to the “another world.” Well, as it is called myth, then you can believe it or not.

Kemenyan, in most provinces in Indonesia is believed to be one obligatory accessory when you are going to do a magical ritual. It is believed that the scent of burned Kemenyan is a favorite scent of ghosts. Thus if you burned the Kemenyan, you will probably successfully invite “Them” to come to your place.

Then, it is also believed that if you suddenly smell the kemenyan scent when you are walking alone in a lonely place in the night or in the day, it indicates that you are being followed by ghost, or the ghost is near you.

Once, my old friend, his name is Satam. Okay his name is Satam not Satan, haha, he told me about his scary experience that he experienced when he was just a little boy. One night, he was just back from his friend house. The distance between his house and his friend house was far. It is about 500 meters. The way to his house was dark and there were a lot of bush and tree in the way home. (Note: The event happened in 1994, at which at that time, the inhabitants at my village were not any as many as now, and also the illuminati at that time is not the lamp as now.) In the way home, he felt something wrong, because he smelt a kemenyan scent. He said that he ran at that time, and he stopped running when he almost reached his house.

When, he almost his house (it is about 30 meters from his house) he just walked. The scent of Kemenyan was lost. He felt so glad at that time. Suddenly, he said that the scent was back when he passed the mango tree and the coconut tree. He also said that he said a picture in trunk of coconut tree, He said that he saw a snake picture drew on the paper that was adhered on that tree. Then he decided to fasten his walk and he was finally running to his house. In the morning, to make sure whether what he saw on the night was just true or it just his imagination, Satam decided to check the coconut tree. As he reached the coconut tree, and he focused his eyes on the trunk, he found nothing.

Well, that is all my writing about kemenyan. Maybe, if you cannot find enough information about kemenyan in my blog, then don’t blame me. Blame yourself, why you read my blog. Haaha, no I am kidding, keep visiting my blog, yeah pal? Maybe you, by accident, want to read my experience and use it as a before-sleeping story, so that a nightmare can easily come visit your dream.  Haha, LOL, goodbye.