The history of smoking pipe use is as diverse as the people
who use them for ritual, religious, and spiritual reasons. The Catholic Church
has used incense as part of their ritual of purification for centuries.
Hippocrates of Cos II or Hippokrates of Kos (circa 460 B.C. circa 370 B.C.),
the historic first specialist of scientific medicine, prescribed inhaling for
his patients with gynecological infections. The Romans inhaled the smoke of
lavender, mint and oregano. They used a simple reed or a modified marrow bone
as a pipe. They also used a pipe made of clay.
According to archaeologists and historians, the first pipes
were found during a dig in the region of Yorkshire, United Kingdom. The second
pipes that were found were very small and called elfin pipes. But, these finds
were excavated in the 17th century. The story of the ritual, religious, and
spiritual use of the pipe has been traced to before the 15th century A.D.!
In the New World, the Aztecs,
Mayans, Toltec, and other Native American cultures for health purposes as well
as to celebrate religious and business events. Africans used tubes to sniff or
inhale various types of herbs. Historians say that the first culture to use
tobacco with a pipe-like device for smoking was the Mayans of Mexico and
Central America.
Explorers coming to the New World
found natives smoking pipes. In 1519, the Spanish explorer, Cortez reported
finding tribes in Mexico smoking from perfumed reeds. The French explorer,
Jacques Cartier, said that native Canadians in the Northwest using pipe smoking
for ritual ceremonies. In 1559, Spain imported the first tobacco from the New
World. They used tobacco as a medicinal herb and thought that the smoke was
good for the lungs when smoked.
Jean Nicot, the French ambassador
to Portugal, used tobacco in a powdered form for health reasons like migraines,
minor aches, and pains. During this period, men of the lower classes began to
use tobacco in clay pipes for pleasure; however, it was Sir Walter Raleigh who
introduced pipe smoking to the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1590.
Raleigh had learned about the pleasurable use of pipe smoking from Ralph Lane,
the first Governor of Virginia. Raleigh helped spread the use of pipe smoking
among the fashionable British aristocracy. England began the production of
pipes.
By 1602, pipe smoking had spread
all over Europe, India, China and Japan.
A peace pipe is also called a
calumet or medicine. It is a ceremonial smoking pipe used by many Native
American peoples. According to tradition, the pipe is a token of peace. The
bowl of the pipe is usually made from red pipestone. It has been commonly found
in South Dakota. Warring tribes made this their neutral ground. Many holy
religious ceremonies are done in this neutral area. A special blend of herbs or
tobacco is usually used. Each regional area uses plants that have special
qualities or have been cleared for special use by the various tribes.
The European term peace pipe
refers to only one type of pipe and one way it was used. Ceremonial pipes were
used by the Lakota Sioux in the New World as a means of sending prayers or
wishes. The construction of the pipe and the smoking mixture is symbolic. It
forms a bridge believed quite important for contacting the spirit world that
assists with fate or the end of problem. The pipe stem symbolizes the male in
the world as well as nature. This is why a piece of fur was often wrapped
around the bowl of the pipe. The female in the world and plant kingdom is
represented by the bowl. The entire pipe (bowl and stem) is the genesis of the
World.
The burning tobacco in the pipe
allows prayers to come to the attention of the forces of the Higher Power.
Traditionally, pipes have been adorned with feathers, fur, animal hair, bird
wings, plants, beadwork, quills, carvings and other items of personal
significance to the owner.
Peace pipes come in many sizes:
palm sized, short, round, and horn shaped. They have carefully carved into
animal or human configurations. There are short and long pipes. The two foot
long pipes are actually feathered reeds ending in an upright rather than a
round bowl. There are many individual uses of the pipe; therefore, there is no
one way that cultures conduct their rituals.
Lakota tradition explains that
White Buffalo Calf Woman is the aboriginal source of the pipe. It instructs the
Lakota people to keep the stem upward during rites and rituals. Thus is
constructed the holy bond between this and Wakan Tanka, the creators world.
There are personal family pipes.
The Sacred Pipes are not just ordinary pipes. Rather, a real Sacred Pipe is a
variety of objects. They are used in coordination with ceremonial songs,
dances, prayers, and even silence. These pipes change all the time.
A milder form of tobacco used in
commercial tobacco was widely used by the North American native tribes. It was
(and is) considered by these tribes to be a sacred plant. Often it was
cultivated separately from other plants. There were a great number of
ceremonies using specific rituals for sowing and harvesting. Many times it has
been burnt over a fire, thrown on water, or left on the ground. It was also
smoked in a pipe that was passed around a circle of people. Individual people
also smoked it in individual pipes.
In South and Central America,
where other forms of tobacco was cultivated, pipes of many sizes and shapes
were used.
The anti-smoking offensive by
King James of England began in 1603. This campaign led ultimately to the
execution of Sir Walter Raleigh in 1618. It is said that Sir Walter Raleighs
last act was to smoke a full pipe of tobacco. King James later relented in his
anti-smoking tactics. He signed a charter incorporating all British pipe
makers, but with complicated laws and rules. Instead of hindering the pipe
makers, this action allowed the profession to flourish. Other countries had
begun to ban pipes, smoking, and tobacco but later changed their minds as well.
The fine art of smoking a pipe
was soon accepted all over the world. In 1794, Pope Benedict issued an edict
exonerating the users of tobacco from any sin. Snuff became the rage in Europe
while pipes and pipe smoking grew in the New World.
During the Victorian era, pipe
smoking became associated with relaxing contemplation beside a fireplace.
Cigars came to be considered a great social pastime. Pipes became a more
personal and individualistic endeavor.
Today, pipe smoking is gaining in
credibility while cigar smoking diminishes.
While the late 1970s and 1980s
are referred to as the Golden Age of Pipes, Smokers are turning more and more
to finding their relaxation and pleasure from pipes once again. Variety of
size, shapes and materials are being used and appeal to the modern day tobacco
smokers taste.
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