Copalero

A little friend to put your smudging sticks or burning resins .
The copalero is traditionally found on household altars. During celebrations and ceremonies small pieces of crystallized tree resin are kept smouldering in the copalero to provide a continuous emanation of aromatic smoke. The smell of incense permeates the room. Copal resin is tapped from a family of trees called burseraceae, native to Mexico. Its uses are both ceremonial and therapeutic. Important occasions start with an offering of copal to the four cardinal directions, followed by a ritual purification of each person in a bath of smoke. All four corners of a newly built house should also be purified with copal. If a bad fall has dislodged the soul, copal is used as part of the treatment to help put it back in place. In the hands of a shaman the trail of smoke rising from the copalero becomes a conduit facilitating communication with the gods.