Mabkhara
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2024) |
A mabkhara (Arabic: مبخر or مبخرة [mabxara]; plural mabakhir), also called mujmarah (مجمرة) is a censer found across the Muslim world.[1] The word is derived from "bakhoor," which is the frankincense burned inside the mabkhara itself. The concept of mabkhara originates from the Arabian Peninsula and has existed since pre-Islamic times, even if not under the same name as now.[1][2][3][4] The Somali version of this concept is known as the dabqaad and the idea may have been brought to Somalia via Arab traders and Muslim immigrants to the place in its early history.[5]
A typical mabkhara has a square pedestal base with inward sloping sides which support a square cup with outward sloping sides; all with a cuboid exterior.[2][3][4] The wooden base is often carved out to form legs, while the cup itself is lined with sheet metal. The exterior can be made with any hard object, such as clay or terracotta.[4] The post-Ottoman and modern variations of mabkhara, on the other hand, have an exterior made from shiny metals and do not follow the traditional square shape; with most having a rounded or even spherical exterior.[6] Both traditional and modern mabakhir can range in height from being a few centimeters to a few feet tall.[1][3][4]
Usage
[edit]As the name suggests, a mabkhara is a censer, a vessel where the bakhoor frankincense will burn within it.[2][3] A mabkhara is typically used in households to produce a rich, aromatic smoke which perfumes the surroundings and eliminates any unpleasant odors.[2][3][4] They are also used in mosques and other Islamic religious institutions.[7] Usage of mabkhara is not limited to Muslim or Arabic contexts; synagogues in the Levant had also been known to use mabakhir in a limited presence until the end of the 19th century when a group of Karaite scholars denounced it as potentially being a form of idolatry.[8]
Mabkhara as an architectural form
[edit]The shape of mabkhara is also an architectural form, with minarets of the Ayyubid period in Egypt being designed after local mabkhara.[9][10] A surving example is the minaret of the Khanqah of Baybars al-Jashankir in Cairo.[11] Large-scale functional representations of mabkhara have also been found in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, although these are modern constructions.[12]
Gallery
[edit]-
A man holds up a mabkhara that is in use. -
Mabakhir on display at a museum in Kuwait. -
Another group of mabakhir on exhibition in a Kuwaiti museum. -
Mabkhara in the main prayer hall of a mosque in Telok Blangah. -
A giant monument in the shape of a mabkhara found in Muscat, Oman.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Le Maguier, Sterenn (2011). "Typology of incense-burners of the Islamic period". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 41: 173–187.
- ^ a b c d Huber, Barbara (2020-12-31). "Incense burners at the Oasis of Tayma, northwest Arabia: an olfactory perspective". Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (29/1). doi:10.31338/uw.2083-537X.pam29.1.14.
- ^ a b c d e Baird, Ileana; Yağcıoğlu, Hülya (2021-01-01). All Things Arabia: Arabian Identity and Material Culture. BRILL. doi:10.1163/9789004435926_003. ISBN 978-90-04-43592-6.
- ^ a b c d e Zimmerle, William G. (2018-09-18), "15 From History to Heritage: The Arabian Incense Burner", The Gulf in World History, Edinburgh University Press, pp. 295–312, doi:10.1515/9781474430678-019, ISBN 978-1-4744-3067-8, retrieved 2026-02-24
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link) - ^ Abdullahi, Mohamed Diriye (2001). Culture and customs of Somalia. Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-31333-2.
- ^ Ergin, Nina (2014-01-02). "The Fragrance of the Divine: Ottoman Incense Burners and Their Context". The Art Bulletin. 96 (1): 70–97. doi:10.1080/00043079.2014.877306. ISSN 0004-3079.
- ^ "Mabkharas from the Gulf". EastEast. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
- ^ Shemesh, Abraham O. (2017-02-08). "Those who require '[…] the burning of incense in synagogues are the Rabbinic Jews': Burning incense in synagogues in commemoration of the temple". HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies. 73 (3). doi:10.4102/hts.v73i3.4723. ISSN 2072-8050.
- ^ Behrens-Abouseif, Doris (1985). The Minarets of Cairo. The American University in Cairo Press. ISBN 9774240359.
- ^ Meinecke, Michael (1992). Die Mamlukische Architektur in Ägypten und Syrien [The Mamluk Architecture in Egypt and Syria]. Glückstadt: Verlag J. J. Augustin.
- ^ "Khanqah of Baybars al-Gashanqir - Discover Islamic Art - Virtual Museum". islamicart.museumwnf.org. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
- ^ "Khorfakkan Monument - Sharjah, UAE". Procom Middle East. Retrieved 2026-02-24.