The art of making incense, popularly known as Turaren Wuta, is no new tradition to those who come from the Northern region of Nigeria. However, turaren wuta has now become a popular household item and is used by people of different tribes across the country. In this report, Daily Trust Saturday x-rays how profitable the business of selling Turaren Wuta has become.
Although incense is mostly used for freshening homes and neutralising odours, it also serves other different purposes. Some traditions believe that the smoke from the incense fortifies the home against evil spirits – like the ones used in the Catholic church, while others believe its scents can be used to attract men or women. Some women also believe that the consistent use of Dhukkhan (a particular type of incense) serves as an aphrodisiac and can help in sexual exploits.
The popularity of the use of incense has grown to the extent that is it not only appreciated by the northern tribe but by almost all tribes around the country. Locally made incense or turaren wuta as it is popularly known in the northern region of Nigeria has become a very profitable business in Nigeria, especially for those in the northern region as some of the ingredients needed are naturally grown there. Turaren wuta is used in aromatherapy and as fragrance for the home, body or clothes. Aromatherapy is the use of holistic healing treatment that uses natural plant extracts to promote health and well-being.
They are different types of turaren wuta available and they are made from a variety of different materials. In Nigeria, the most common scents are sandal oud, grounded Kajiji, Hawee balls, sandal sticks, etc.
The grounded Kajiji is a plant that grows in Maiduguri, while Hawee sticks can be gotten from Kano. Asides from smelling good, the business side of turaren wuta has been part of human existence for ages.
Fatima Kannike is an indigene of Maiduguri and specialises in the making of turaren wuta. She tells Daily Trust Saturday how profitable the business is in Nigeria. “In Maiduguri, out of ten houses on the street, it’s most likely that 6 or 7 families are involved in the turaren wuta business,” says Fatima. When making her turaren wuta, Fatima mentions that some of her ingredients are locally sourced and some come from Senegal, India, Pakistan, etc. She further explained that the most expensive turaren wuta are the ones which contain sandalwood and firche which is gotten from crocodile skin.
“Oftentimes, people believe that Prophet Mohammed (SAW) stepped on the very ground where the sandal wood tree grows, therefore it is considered sacred by many,” she said. When making her turaren wuta, Fatima prefers using exquisite scented oils in order to make the scents from the turaren wuta last for a longer period of time, which could be between 6-8 hours and most of her oils are sourced from Dubai.
“After mixing my turaren wuta, I like to seal it and leave it for weeks to allow the ingredients marinate and become more potent.”
When asked what the process entails, Fatima narrates: “Making turaren wuta is easy for me. As far as all my ingredients are available, I can do it in the comfort of my home. It involves making a sugar syrup and frying the incense woods before adding the oils needed for the fragrance.”
However, Fatima mentions that when making turaren wuta, it’s often better to use firewood and the local frying pans in order to perfect the mixture. She also advises to put on a face mask to avoid catching a cold and hand gloves to avoid your hands from being burnt.
When asked how she gets her customers, she explains that, often times, when burning her incense at home, her neighbours are always interested in knowing where she gets such incense that smells good, same thing also happens when she burns it at her shop. Fatima’s customer base is mostly women from the North as most times they believe that turaren wuta gives off the scent of a wealthy Arabian and also believe that it helps to attract men.
“Where I come from, turaren wuta is considered an important gift on your wedding for the women, even more important than getting a fridge or TV,” she said.
However, Fatima notes that in recent times, she has also received a lot of female customers from the eastern part of the country. Although her customer base is mostly women, she also has male customers who buy the body oils and incense for their cars.
Fatima has turaren wuta of different price range and sizes, depending on the ingredients used. Fatima also sells her turaren wuta in litres for those who may like to join the business and not want to go through the stress of making it themselves.
“Depending on how big you want to start, getting into the business doesn’t need that much capital. For instance, with 100,000 naira you can get two to three varieties of turaren wuta in litres to resale, with another sum of 400,000 you can purchase three to five varieties of scents.”
Asides the turaren wuta, Fatima also makes humrah which is the body oil and can be used on clothes.
“Often times, because of how good the smell is, customers are always indecisive about what scent they want. When issues like that arise, we like to burn each scent and allow the customer to decide which scent they like the most,” Fatima said.
She also advises her customers to use a charcoal burner instead of an electric burner because from experience, the electric burner wastes the turaren wuta and doesn’t burn as effectively as the charcoal.
Fatima’s most patronised scents are the sandal Oud, grounded kajiji and Halut. She notes that these particular scents get sold out the minute her customers are aware of its availability. Fatima also mentioned that her sales peak season is the rainy season, this is because the smoke that comes from the incense burner aides in keeping the house warm so customers are always willing to purchase more.
Mrs Amina Kogi, an ardent lover of turaren wuta told Daily Trust Saturday that she spends at least N20,000 monthly purchasing different fragrance of turaren wuta for her house. “Whenever I wake up in the morning, I tell the maid to burn incense round the house and doing that makes the house smell good and homely.”
Mrs Amina also told Daily Trust Saturday that most of her guests express delight over the pleasant scent in her home and insist on getting the contact of the person she purchased the incense from.
However, another turaren wuta seller Rahanatu Ahmad in Abuja told Daily Trust Saturday that she doesn’t believe that turaren wuta has any spiritual benefits asides it sweet scent and its potency in clearing or diffusing bad/offensive odour. She noted that the business is more profitable when sold in larger quantities. Her cheapest turaren wuta goes for N3500 and the most expensive N23,000. The prices all depends on the size of jars. She also produces Durot – a special kind of turaren wuta that is sometimes considered medicinal. She advises her female customers to purchase this particular turaren wuta to help fight minor infections and leave them feeling fresh and good. She told our reporter that her most patronised scents are the Desired orbs and Thirteen scents.
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