Scent of a Queen

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In Ackerman's book A History of the Senses she discusses how during our time period we attempt to mask our normal pheromones and smells.There must be a context for each smell otherwise it is unprecedented. Not only that, but we are also taught at a young age what smells are important, what smells are disgusting and what smells are pleasurable. However, I believe that smell programming did not just start in this era but a long time ago. First, I need to discuss religion as it is very important to all of this. In a lot of different religions we want to smell good in order to please God. Not only that but, what we consume also affects how we smell also so there is  method to the madness of religions having a food code. Also in the past smell was used to distinguish royalty and Nobility from the common people. A great example of this was in the story of Ester in the bible.
 When Ester was chosen to become the King's wife, before she could meet the king she had to consume many different spices so that her scent did not offend the king. Similar to the smell tampering we do nowadays this is a prime example of this in the past. It shows how Important a sense smell is even though it is looked down upon. In conclusion although we belittle this sense in a way it still emerges to be one of the most important in human interaction and religion. Through teachings and food we hone this sense to make sure it is pleasing to us, others and high powers.

 

Comments

  1. NickRMarch 23, 2020 at 9:56 PM

    I am intrigued by how valuable a good scent is when attached to a person. Smelling good persists even when people commonly know how perfume and cologne are a huge part of commodity culture.

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