Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
incense
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
burning incense Daci'en Temple: burning incense
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
burning incense
burning incense Incense burning at the Longhua Pagoda, Shanghai, China.

incense

chemistry
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

incense, grains of resins (sometimes mixed with spices) that burn with a fragrant odour, widely used as an oblation. It is commonly sprinkled on lighted charcoal contained in a censer, or thurible. Incense-bearing trees were imported from the Arabian and Somali coasts into ancient Egypt, where incense was prominent in religious ritual—e.g., at the daily liturgy before the cult image of the sun god Amon-Re and in the mortuary rites, when the souls of the...

Discover the world with Britannica

Subscribe to Continue Reading

Free Trial | No Ads | Exclusive Content
Explore Subscriptions
DNA
Right
Mobile