Natural Louban Dakar Frankincense

✨ Louban Dakar — The Classic Frankincense of Moroccan Homes

Louban Dakar is natural frankincense, the dried aromatic resin that seeps from the bark of Boswellia trees and hardens into small translucent tears. In Morocco it is called اللبان الذكر (el louban dakar, “male frankincense”), or simply louban. It is also known as olibanum, الكندر (kundur), luban and, in French, encens oliban. The tears in our photograph range from pale lemon-yellow to smoky grey-brown, some clear and glassy, others dusted with a fine white powder from rubbing together. On hot charcoal they melt and release a thick white smoke with a fresh, lemony, resinous and slightly sweet scent.

🌿 Traditional and Cultural Uses

Frankincense is one of the oldest fragrances known to people. It was carried along the ancient incense routes of Arabia, offered in temples and churches, and it remains the heart of bakhour culture across the Arab world and North Africa.

• 🏠 In Moroccan homes, louban was burned on Friday and on feast days to perfume the house and freshen the air after cooking.
• 🤝 It was traditionally lit to welcome guests, at weddings, at a birth and at family gatherings.
• 🧿 Grandmothers burned it to purify the home and to ward off the evil eye (العين), often together with harmel or other protective incense.
• 👗 Clothes, djellabas and kaftans were held over the smoke so they kept its scent.
• 💧 In Arab and Moroccan folk tradition, a few tears were soaked overnight in water and the water was drunk, notably by students, as it was long associated with memory and concentration.
• 🍃 In the Arabian Peninsula, pieces of louban were traditionally chewed like a natural gum to freshen the breath.

🧴 How to Burn It

1. Light a charcoal disc in a heat-proof mbekhra (incense burner) and wait until it is covered with a thin layer of grey ash.
2. Place two or three small tears on the charcoal.
3. Let the smoke fill the room, then air the room briefly if the scent becomes strong.
4. Add a tear or two whenever the smoke fades.

Louban can be burned alone or blended with other resins and woods such as myrrh, benzoin or oud to create your own bakhour.

🔬 Product Profile

• 🌳 Material: natural gum resin of Boswellia trees (family Burseraceae)
• 🌍 Origin: frankincense trees grow in the dry lands of the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula
• 💎 Form: whole resin tears in mixed sizes, pale yellow to grey-brown
• 🌿 Ingredients: 100% frankincense resin, nothing added

📦 How We Sell It

Whole, natural frankincense tears, available in 100g, 250g, 500g, 1kg, 2kg, 3kg and 5kg. You receive loose resin pieces of mixed sizes, just as they are sorted, not powder.

⚠️ Usage Note

Burn on a heat-proof burner in a ventilated room, never leave hot charcoal unattended, and keep it away from children and pets.

🌤️ Storage

Keep the tears in a sealed jar or pouch in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight and heat, which can soften the resin and make the pieces stick together. Stored well, frankincense keeps its fragrance for several years.