Sandalwood
Santalum spicatum is marketed as the notable members of this group today by merchants because of its stable sources; others in the genus also have fragrant wood.
India continues to produce a superior quality of Santalum Album, with FP Aromatics being the largest exporter.
[15] Australia is the largest producer of S. album, with the majority grown around Kununurra, in the far north of the state by Quintis (formerly Tropical Forestry Services), which in 2017 controlled around 80% of the world's supply of Indian sandalwood,[16] and Santanol.
Australian sandalwood (S. spicatum) is grown in commercial plantations throughout the wheatbelt of Western Australia, where it has been an important part of the economy since colonial times.
To maximize profit, sandalwood is harvested by removing the entire tree instead of felling at the trunk near ground level.
This way wood from the stump and root, which possesses high levels of sandalwood oil, can also be processed and sold.
Indian sandalwood, used mainly for oil extraction, does require removal of the sapwood prior to distillation.
[20] Sandalwood is often cited as one of the most expensive woods in the world, along with African blackwood, pink ivory, agarwood and ebony.
[25] Tongan people have a unique social dynamic referred to as “fahu.” On the one hand, the kinship system of fahu is able to ensure biodiversity and sustainability in contemporary Tonga.
But on the other hand, a principal factor in the over harvest of the ‘ahi tree was the result of the defensive actions of farmers defying fahu customs.
[26] In 2007, Mike Evans published a scholarly report on Tongan sandalwood overharvest and the socio-environmental implications of resource commodification and privatized land tenure.
Evan’s concluded that “whatever the short-term ecological benefits of enforcing privatized land tenure, because private property not only fragments social ties by allowing an individual to deny others, it has the potential to fragment the regional ecology as well.”[27] Sandalwood oil has a distinctive soft, warm, smooth, creamy, and milky precious-wood scent.
[28] Sandalwood lends itself well to carving and has thus, traditionally, been a wood of choice for statues and sculptures of Hindu gods.
[29] Early Europeans in Australia used quandong in cooking damper by infusing it with its leaves, and in making jams, pies, and chutneys from the fruit.
[36] The wood is used for worshipping the deities, and it is said that Lakshmi (Sri), the goddess of well-being, lives in the sandalwood tree; therefore, it is also known as Srigandha.
With the gradual addition of water, a thick paste forms, (called kalabham "കളഭം" in Malayalam language and gandha ಗಂಧ in Kannada) and it is mixed with saffron or other such pigments to make chandanam.
[37][38] This paste is integral to rituals and ceremonies, for making religious utensils, for decorating sacred images, and it is believed to calm the mind during meditation and prayer.
Sandalwood powder is showered as blessings by Jain monks and nuns (sadhus and sadhvis) onto their disciples and followers.
During the festival of Mahamastakabhisheka that is held once in every 12 years, the Gommateshwara statue is bathed and anointed with libations such as milk, sugarcane juice, and saffron paste, and sprinkled with powders of sandalwood, turmeric, and vermilion.
In the Indian variants of Sufism, sandalwood paste is applied on a revered Sufi's grave by the disciples as a mark of devotion.
In Tamil culture, irrespective of one's religious identity, sandalwood paste or powder is applied to the graves of Sufi saints as a mark of devotion and respect.
[43][44][45] In East Asia, sandalwood (檀木), is the most commonly used incense material by the Chinese, Korean and Japanese in worship and various ceremonies.
After the firekeeping priests complete the ceremony, attendees are allowed to come up to the afarganyu and place their own pieces of sandalwood into the fire.
