Vietnam Oud – From The Legend To The World – from HAGA Oud
Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia are the three countries in the union of Indochinese, that border each other. The border areas between the three countries are mainly forests, where there is luxuriant vegetation of the evergreen tropical, including Aquilaria Crassna, the species that creates the best type of Oud–Kynam.
Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia – the union of Indochina, where Aquilaria crassna grows vigorously in large quantities.
Vietnam Oud, from more than a thousand years ago was exploited and put into use, before the neighbors Laos and Cambodia (López-Sampson (2020), “History of Use and Trade of Agarwood”. Econ Bot 72, 107–129, 2020).
In Vietnam, for thousands of years, Oud has always been considered the quintessential, sacred item of Mother Earth. A long time ago, Oud was a rare wood, often used for offering to kings and royals. However, not everyone knows the legend about this special treasure.
“Seeking for Oud” – an arduous journey full of blood and tears
Oud is hidden deep in dangerous forests & it takes decades or millenniums to appear. People who have their jobs seeking Oud may have to exchange their lives to find this worth-a-fortune wood. Among a thousand Aquilaria trees, there may be only one tree creating Oud; among a thousand Oud trees, there may be only one tree creating Kynam.
Kynam is the first-class Oud, divided into four types (Nguyễn Thị Hiền (2009): Nghiên cứu bổ sung kỹ thuật nhân giống vô tính để phục vụ công tác cải thiện giống theo hướng tinh dầu. Báo cáo chuyên đề thuộc đề tài “Nghiên cứu đánh giá thực trạng và phát triển bền vững cây Dó trầm Aquilaria spp.” Hà nội, 2009) with four different colors:
- White Kynam (Bạch Kỳ): ivory white, light gray, extremely rare, the most expensive.
- Green-blue Kynam (Thanh Kỳ): blue-gray, greenish color, very rare and expensive after the white one.
- Yellow-brown Kynam (Huỳnh Kỳ): brown-yellow, golden brown, rare and expensive after the green-blue.
- Black Kynam (Hắc Kỳ): indigo black, tar, precious, and expensive after the yellow-brown.
The thousands-of-year-old White Kynam is considered the most unique and extremely rare aroma. “White the best, Green-blue the second, Yellow-brown the third, Black the fourth.” this is an ancient statement that proves that color is not the only factor determining an Oud’s quality, because Kynam – the best grade of Oud, solely has 04 colors varieties, altering from white up till black. (Yang-yang Liu, Zhi-hui Gao (2017), “A Review of Quality Assessment and Grading for Agarwood”, Chinese Herbal Medicines, Volume 9, Issue 1, 2017). Oud quality is determined by a combination of the tree species, color, and scent. (Barden, A., N. A. Anak, T. Mulliken, and M. Song. 2000. Heart of the matter: agarwood use and trade in CITES implementation for Aquilaria malaccensis.)
In ancient times, Oud was only used as a Fengshui, offering items that were tributed to kings or only the nobility could use, or a Fengshui item to bring in luck & fortune to owners.
The Aquilaria Crassna cultivating & Oud in the now
The area planted to Aquilaria Crassna in Vietnam as of September 2019 reached about 11,000-12,000 ha. If it is reduced to the concentrated planting area of pure species with an area of 1,100-1,600 trees/ha, there is only about 5,000-6,000 ha (Vietnam Academy of Forestry Science 2019). Crassna species distributed in Indochinese in general and in Vietnam, in particular, produce the best quality Oud in the world (Gishi Honda – Tokyo University).
At HAGA Oud manufacturer, we advocate exploitation but not eradication, exploitation but still retaining 1m of the original part, then taking care of by special methods. The new cloves are born on that 1m part and after 1-1.5 years, they develop & become mature, ready for a new life cycle.
This method was pioneered & developed for the first time in Vietnam by HAGA Oud contributing to the regeneration of the environment and economic benefits for farmers and communities.
Also, farmers are only stimulating the creation of Oud in a shorter period, do not leave it for such a long time to create Kynam as in old times. So nowadays Oud has become more popular with reasonable prices, stable output, a satisfying scent, and wide access to customers.
The current demand for Oud
Today, Oud is widely, daily used as incense, perfume,… and for religious purposes, especially in Middle Eastern countries. The need for Oud and Oud products in this region is very high (ModernEast 2020). Oud products such as wood, essential oil, incense, etc are sought after and popular.
Currently, the human impact creates quality Oud with good productivity and a more reasonable price. Today, due to demand, farmers cultivate Aquilaria trees for Oud on a bigger scale though still retaining the natural scent quality, more suitable prices, and stable output to reach a wider range of consumers.
Vietnam Oud, with the best quality from the best species, is more and more trusted by international markets. Each year, Vietnam Oud is exported in large volumes throughout the world, especially in the GCC regions with the ancient culture of using Oud daily.
In the next video, facts on how to distinguish natural Oud & processed Oud will be revealed by HAGA Oud experts with over 18 years in the field of Oud. Stay tuned for it!
About:
- Antonopoulou, M., J. Compton, L. S. Perry and R. Al-Mubarak. 2010. The Trade and Use of Agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates. TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
- Barden, A., N. A. Anak, T. Mulliken, and M. Song. 2000. Heart of the matter: agarwood use and trade in CITES implementation for Aquilaria malaccensis.
- López-Sampson (2020), “History of Use and Trade of Agarwood”. Econ Bot 72, 107–129, 2020
- Nguyễn Huy Sơn (2019): Kết quả nghiên cứu trao đổi kinh nghiệm kỹ thuật gây trồng và tạo trầm trên cây Dó trầm tại Thái Lan. Báo cáo chuyên đề thuộc đề tài “Nghiên cứu đánh giá thực trạng và phát triển bền vững cây Dó trầm Aquilaria spp.” Hà nội, 2019.
- Nguyễn Thị Hiền (2009): Nghiên cứu bổ sung kỹ thuật nhân giống vô tính để phục vụ công tác cải thiện giống theo hướng tinh dầu. Báo cáo chuyên đề thuộc đề tài “Nghiên cứu đánh giá thực trạng và phát triển bền vững cây Dó trầm Aquilaria spp.” Hà nội, 2009.
- Nguyễn Xuân Quát, Nguyễn Huy Sơn, Lê Văn Thành (2009): Đặc điểm sinh thái cây Dó trầm ở Việt Nam. Báo cáo chuyên đề thuộc đề tài “Nghiên cứu đánh giá thực trạng và phát triển bền vững cây Dó trầm Aquilaria spp.”. Hà Nội, 2009.
- Nguyen Hong Lam (1990) Report on the first result of the research on the Aquilaria crassna. Forest Science Institute of Vietnam, Hanoi.
- Yang-yang Liu, Zhi-hui Gao (2017), “A Review of Quality Assessment and Grading for Agarwood”, Chinese Herbal Medicines, Volume 9, Issue 1, 2017
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Factory partners:
- Ajmal Perfumes
- Sterling Parfums
- Naseem Perfumes
- Nabeel Perfumes
- Arabian Oud
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- Afkar General Trading Chain store
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- Ajodcorner
- Beauty Blends retailer
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