Copal is a type of resin, sometimes referred to as pom (the Maya language name). The word is derived from the Nahuatl language word copalli, meaning incense. It is sometimes likened or (in sharp practice) substituted for amber and put in jewellery.
Many indigenous cultures in Mexico use fresh copal as an incense, used during energy cleanings and aura healings and during the temazcal, or sweat lodge ceremony. It is available in different forms. The hard, amber-like yellow copal is a less expensive version. The white copal, a hard, milky, sticky substance, is a more expensive version of the same resin.
COPAL (Mexican copalli, incense), a hard lustrous resin, varying in hue from an almost colourless transparent mass to a bright yellowish-brown, having a conchoidal fracture, and, when dissolved in alcohol, spirit of turpentine, or any other suitable menstruum, forming one of the most valuable varnishes.
Copal is obtained from a variety of sources; the term is not uniformly applied or restricted to the products of any particular region or series of plants, but is vaguely used for resins which, though very similar in their physical properties, differ somewhat in their constitution, and are altogether distinct as to their source.
The raw copal, which is obtained direct from the trees, or found at their roots or near the surface of the ground, is not regarded by the natives as of much value, and does not enter into European commerce.
Copal is not the fossilized, hardened resin that is known as amber, but rather an immature recent resin.
Copal has many uses, from incense to varnish, and is important as an avenue in studying past life.
Copal should not be misrepresented as amber, a mature fossilized resin, but marketed as copal, a fresh recent resin, with many desirable qualities of its own.
Feeds |
Contact