Hookahs. Part 1

December 7, 2009

Hookah came from East and it tells a lot. Deliberate, measured life, sometimes mysterious for Europeans, inclination to philosophy and to world contemplation is showed also with respect to hookah smoking. This tradition exists for few hundreds of years and hookah smoking refinements are descend from father to son. Smoking ritual represents a difficult process as besides certain mental attitude is necessary kind of whole "deletion" from this world. Tobacco aromas for hookahs help us do this. It is said that to understand hookah for real it is necessary to be born on East. Lately, oriental culture has made a step far on West and is actively assimilated, especially by young people. In west countries life goes very fast and it is very useful sometimes to stop and think about main, high substances and our destination.

So, it is not known for certain from which country appeared "hookah", that is why it has a lot of names, as in each country it has its own name. There is interesting version of its appearance in India and further spreading in the Orient. Most often are mentioned Persia and Egypt. The simplest hookah in India was made of coco-nut of Narcil palm. From nut was removed all pulp, were made two holes were made in it, inside it were placed different aromatic and medicinal herbs, in the hole wood pipe was inserted. There is information about use of primitive hookah for anaesthetization using mixture of plants and hashish. In other countries for the same purposes pumpkin was used. Each country where hookah took the fancy began to upgrade it, relying on its view about beauty and the world around. For example in Persia pumpkin was replaced with practical flask but instead of wood stick began to use softer and durable material - snake skin. Hookah’s appearance hasn't remained without attention as well: it started to show wealth of its owner - of metal with handsome calking and carving. Gradually, hookah became an artwork and it began to be use to decorate housing.

There are versions of African, American and even European hookah origin. Archaeologists in process of excavations in Ethiopia have found balls made of clay with orifice for pipe and ash from hashish. Basing on this finds is assumed that hookah appeared much earlier. African tribes have used "dakka" pipe for smoking. May be it is progenitress of modern hookahs. Each chooses version of hookah origin that is close for him. But what scientists wouldn't say the Orient aroma is felt in hookah in direct and figurative sense.