Thoughts of hookah’s origin

It is known that modern hookah has Eastern roots. However, there are many interesting and truth like stories about hookah’s origin, not even speaking about more than 40 devices designed for smoking through water filter. The most spread names of hookah which travelers or tourists may have heard in Eastern countries are Arabic shish, Persian nargile or narguile, hookah or huqqa and etc. Widespread of wonderful smoking apparatus has become the reason of all these names. It is not easy to find out the true origin of hookah by the names but it is worth to try.

The most truth like version – is Indian, because one of the well spread names of hookah is nargile and the word narcil means coconut palm whose nuts were used to made a devise similar to modern hookah, with two holes and stems. From India hookah quickly spared to Persia and middle east countries. Persians are still recognized for the invention of modern hookah, coconut shell was replaced with ceramic bowl, plant stems with – elastic cord made of snake skin. Persians also added copper tobacco holder located under the bowl. Researches in this direction have created second theory on how hookah has been originated and this theory state that origin was in ancient Iran.

In some scientists opinion, modern hookah has reached Muslim world from Iran and then was spread everywhere from Indo-China to Morocco. This version is not unfounded at least because of the fact that Indians were not familiar with tobacco when they smoked through the coconuts. Actually the Indian device was used in medical aims – tars, left after the burning of smoking blends have had strong pain killing effect. In India hookah prototype was filled with coconut cork, spices and different kinds of medical plants.

Third version is that hookah originated in ancient Egypt is also questionable instead of coconut they were using pumpkin.

South Africa also pretends to be the motherland of hookah, makes a fourth version. Various tribes have used special water pipe named-dakka for smoking. Archeological researches in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia have proved this fact. In Ethiopian caves were found clay bowls for water pipe and remains of smoking blends. The age of them – is about 14 centuries and the excavations in eastern Africa are 16 centuries old.

Fifth version is that hookah was originated in America. Indians also used hollow pumpkin to smoke the tobacco through. And in was a usual habit much longer before the piligrims have arrived – at least four centuries before. Some researchers believe that European conquerors have brought smoking process to Africa where it has been shaped into modern hookah.