Work

Commercialized “Smudge Sticks” Used as Incense in the Netherlands: An Inventory of Plants and Trends Behind a New Age Fashion

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Incense is essential in religious ceremonies, even in relatively new religious movements such as New Age and Neopaganism. These garner little attention from ethnobotanists, although they trigger an international trade in wild-harvested plants. In this paper, we studied the botanical ingredients of smudge sticks (dried plant bundles burned for purification) in the Netherlands, and people’s motivations to use them posing the following questions: what plant species are included in smudge sticks? what are they used for? and are exotic plants preferred over native Dutch plant species? We visited online and physical shops in Dutch cities, acquiring a total of 29 different smudge sticks containing at least 15 species. We held semi-structured interviews with 11 users, vendors, and herbal experts, and collected data from 33 questionnaires. Salvia apiana L. was most frequently found, along with North American species of the genus Artemisia. The rise of the New Age movement resulted in North American ritual plant species being easily available in (online) shops and it being used for personal protection and cleansing. Despite its commercial demand there is no data regarding the pressure on wild populations, therefore, we call for the need to monitor the harvesting of these species in the wild.

Source: Plants

DOI: 10.3390/plants13213003

Authors: Isabela Pombo Geertsma, Berber E. Zandstra, Anastasia Stefanaki, Tinde R. van Andel

Institutions: Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Utrecht University, Wageningen University & Research

Language: English

Topic: Ethnobotanical and Medicinal Plants Studies

Subfield: Plant Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,069

Funder: Universiteit Utrecht