A Short Glimpse in the History of Hookah
Hookah knew as sheesha is single or multi-stemmed machinery used to heat and then vaporize tobacco and sometimes hookah tobacco flavours, cannabis, hash. It works on a simple mechanism where a long duct is appended to a pipe is implanted in a glass container and coal is put on the head to smoke the tobacco and through the pipe, the smoke comes out.
It has a long history and with time it has also been renewed and refurbished. It has a long history, it was first invented by a Persian physician named Abul-Fath Gilani who was the physician of Akbar during the Mughal time in Fatehpur Sikri city in India. Hookah was so famous that it spread from the Indian subcontinent to Persia where they modified it and were introduced to the Near East. Knowing that tobacco roots predicament still it was used in the noble families and then it got redesigned but now in South Asia people still utilize the old hookah also known as Tumbak. Tumbak used to have pure tobacco and to burn that they used wooden coal whereas now most people use flavored tobacco which yields a sweet-smelling smoke that alleviates the person.
With the days passing hookah gained its popularity and now is used world widely. Many hookah parlors around the world specialize in their flavors and the way of smoking them. On the middle east side, families do prefer to smoke together hookah to make their bonds stronger. Friends and families gather together and smoke hookah and enjoy together. If we go back in time hookah has been always been a part of the cultural tradition of Indian, Persian, Egyptian, and many Middle eastern families and carried out in today's generation. Hookah is prescribed as a gesture of entertaining and strengthening the bond between friends and families and mostly to relax your mind and body.
Components of Hookah:
- Glass basin
- Hose
- Charcoal holder
- Stem
- Bowl
- Charcoal heater
- Mouth tip and holders
- Grommets
- Charcoal holder
- Cleaning supplies
- Tong
- Trays
- Stash containers
As we see, Back in the 16th century in India, Indian glass manufacturing was established in those days where the Indian glass manufacturer exports the glass in India through the British East India Company. And also in that period smoking hookah was considered a noble thing, only the nobleman and the high society people could smoke hookahs. In order to purify that smoke coming out from hookah through a water glass basin, hookah was founded. Smoking hookah has been viewed as a form of showing off your status and royal status.
With time back in the 17th century, hookah became a part of Persian culture where they use strong dark tobacco leaves of Ajami, which was consumed in excess during those days. It took a lot of passion and dedication to craft the wooden pipes, the craftsmen took contentment in the aesthetics and redefined the aspect of the pipe through woodworking. It was in this century when the consumption of hookah was convenient for everyone and hookah industries were established.
In the times of 18th century, hookah augmented popularity among the Turkish people and became a part of their culture. With time the looks of hookah also changed, blacksmith began molding intricate brass designs and embellished the pipe with royal and religious stampings. In Turkish culture, hookah was a symbol of class and status in Turkish high societies. They used to smoke hookah after every strategic gathering and royal dinner. The guests also used to smoke with the nobleman which became an extensive sign of trust and withholding to smoke could be counted as a critical insult.
In the 19th century, the culture of hookah was broadly spread into the Middle east. The Egyptians used to reformulate the tobacco into Mu'Assel by processing honey or molasses with the tobacco. Mu'Assel interprets directly as with honey but this phase generally relates to hookah tobacco flavours as even dried lemon, grape, watermelon and mint were added. Hookah was so into the community that even the hookah cafes were increased to embrace more and more people. Hookah produced a great impact on society which consolidated all the classes, races, and genders alike. It now had become a part of the lives of the people where they can socialize and relax with their families and friends.
During the 20th century, the tradition of hookah deepened its roots in the culture of Indian, Persian, Turkish, and the Middle East and also in the adjoining countries such as Israel, Pakistan and Armenia. In the coming 1900s, hookah was so widespread among people that they carried this custom with them to share a piece of their culture to the modern world in their own way.
The time of the 21st century came when hookah industries were set up in many parts of the world. Industries were made to improve the quality of the products using their modern technologies. Flavors were their first priority. Trying sometimes new with the flavors, adding up flavors, enhancing the flavors, mixing the flavors and making different flavors from the traditional one was a big part and which is still progressing. The United States were the one that established these industries and saw a way to do that.
In the present day, hookah is considered a way to socialize and relax with your friends and families. The way hookah was consumed 100 years back is different from now what we are consuming. It has come a long way. Family members, friends and guests come together and smoke hookah which strengthens their love and bond. There are many top hookah tobacco flavours companies that provide a fine variety of different flavors and people love to smoke them and also there are industries that provide customized hookahs.