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Hookah Spirituality
By peace | January 10, 2007
Hookah use has been common for hundreds of years and enjoyed by people of all ages. The exact origin of Hookah was not known. What is Hookah? Hookah is a kind of water pipe. It is multi-stemmed and often glass-based. It is a device for smoking. Hookah originated from India. Depending on locality, hookahs are known as other names, such as a water pipe, nargeela/nargile/narghile/nargileh, argeela/arghileh, shisha/sheesha, okka, kalyan, or ghelyoon or ghalyan. Many of these names are of Arab, Somalian, Indian, Ethiopian, Turkish, Uzbek, or Persian origin. For example, Shisha is more commonly seen in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Somalia.
How a hookah works?
Traditionally, hookahs have been ornately decorated. Some modern hookahs bear little resemblance to older designs. A hookah is constructed from four fundamental components:
1. the base, vase, or smoke chamber, is partially filled with water.
2. the bowl or head, which contains the tobacco; the heating apparatus is placed on top.
3. the pipe or stem which connects the bowl to the base by a tube that descends into the water.
4. the hose, which connects to a second tube in the pipe that does not descend into the water, instead, extends into the smoke chamber.
Hookah operates by water-filtration and indirect heat. The heating apparatus is usually charcoal, but in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf, electric heaters are common.
The design of a hookah allows for multiple hoses to lead to a single filtration chamber; this simplifies use by groups. Multi-hose hookahs are particularly popular in the Western world, where hookah smoking is a social phenomenon. They are not as common in Asia and Africa.
Hookahs can be used for smoking many substances, such as herbal fruits, tobacco, or cannabis.
Uses of Hookahs
Hookahs are now being manufactured in all parts of the world. Hookahs are used to smoke flavoured tobacco. The use of hookahs has formed important cultures in many different parts of the world. Different countries have different cultures of Hookahs. For example, in the United States and Canada, many city, state/provincial and federal jurisdictions have in more recent years moved to ban smoking in public places. Many hookah lounges and bars were closed as a result. In many cases, hookah businesses have been able to remain in business by replacing their traditional, tobacco-based shisha with tobacco-free, herbal alternatives. Hookah bars or cafés are showing up throughout the United States, especially near college campuses. The use of hookahs is very popular among Muslim college students in America as well, especially those who do not drink.
Hookahs are also becoming increasingly popular in Moscow and other Russian cities. Many bars employ a “hookah man”, often of middle-eastern appearance and wearing an approximation of Arab or Turkish costume, to bring the pipes to customers’ tables and to prepare and light the tobacco.
In Britain, hookahs are very rarely seen in Indian restaurants and are most commonly found in Lebanese restaurants and Egyptian-run “hubbly-bubbly” bars. A ban on public smoking was enacted in Scotland in 2006, and a similar ban will take effect in England in April 2007. The effect of these laws on hookah bars is not yet clear. There are many of these hookah cafe’s, run by Arabians, Egyptians or Pakistanis/Indians.
Hookah is not well-known to everyone in the world. In places like Sweden, Philippines, India and Germany, hookah smoking is getting popular, while in Asia, particularly South and South East Asia the hookah is becoming better known. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, hookah smoking has become a trendy social activity in which youth can legally partake.
Nowadays Hookahs have become a youth-oriented pastime in Asia. With Hookahs getting more popular, especially with youngsters, more hookahs are being manufactured and sold commercially as flavored hookah tobacco falvors. There are a varieties of hookah and shisha store online. There are various designs and flavours of hookahs for consumers to choose.
Getting a hookah is just so easy and convenient now. They are sold at affordable prices.
Hookahs Vs Health
Hookahs parties, Hookahs bars, Hookahs coffee house, Hookahs shops Hookahs websites, Hookahs trend seem to be on the rise. Is there no other good social past-time? Is this the best social past-time where people can think of? In Singapore, I have not seen anyone with Hookahs. To me, Hookahs is another alternative to opium. People who are involved with the daily ritual of puffing Hookahs are addicted to it. No doubt people can replace the harmful tobacco with some herbal instead, I think ’smoking’ is just no good for the human body as well as the environment. Hookahs, like the cigarettes, contain nicotine, and its smoke contains harmful carbon monoxide and other harmful chemicals such as nitroamines. These harmful effects of the smoke can cause Hookahs ’smokers’ to get cancer or gum diseases. Whether you are smoking indoor or outdoor, you are polluting the air.
Smoking of any form, regardless of what brand of tobacco or what instrument you use, it is still smoking and you and the surrounding people will share your ’smoke’. As we know the harmful effects of cigarette smoke and normal smoke from vehicles. Do we need to invent more instruments to pollute the air and to shorten the lives of more people? Cigarettes are being banned or prohibited from some area and also from children and teenager. The purpose is to prevent these youngster from taking up bad habits from young. We know bad habits are difficult to abolish, and it is easy to start a habit from young. However, the purpose is not to ban one thing and invent another thing to replace it. Health is important. Be responsible for your own health and also those around you. It could be your parents and your friends. They are your ‘passive’ smokers.
Though it is a stressful world and you need to seek some ‘outlet’ to destress, there could be better ways of doing it. Instead of hookahs, you could have a social past-time of singing song, dancing, eating snacks, drinking or making food together, inventing ‘new food recipes’ with your friends and sharing stories with your friends!
These are just some of my own opinions, of course everyone has his/her own free choice of what they want in their life. Your destiny lies in your own hands. What you do today will determine your fate tomorrow. Judge for yourself what you think is the best option for you.
Why would you spend money on something which bring you more harm than good in the long run? Imagine, everyday you are ‘poisoning’ yourself with the harmful effects of the smoke. There is better way of spending your money! Put your money in good use. Invest your money, donate your money to needy people, save your money for rainy days, buy gifts for your friends and families, and spend your money on good stuff like nutritional supplements and food.
Topics: Spiritual Articles, View All Post |
March 20th, 2008 at 5:14 am
i have read all the artical and shld say its very genuine and nice advise. well i have been smkoing hokha from quite a while.. even hjave bought one at home. but after reading this inspiring artical i will try to avoid it and to smoke rarely.
thank you for ur knowledge.
kunal atree.
August 5th, 2008 at 9:19 am
This is a very good article, very informative and interesting. I am a hookah smoker and in response to your section “Instead of hookahs, you could have a social past-time of singing song, dancing, eating snacks, drinking or making food together, inventing ‘new food recipes’ with your friends and sharing stories with your friends!” Those are much healthier activities, but when we do hookah we usually are singing, listening to music, eating, drinking, chatting and sharing stories. To us hookah is more of a social enhancement, regardless of how bad it is to your health. “Smoking a hookah is nothing like smoking a cigarette…cigarettes are for nervous people, competitive people, people on the run…when you smoke a hooka, you have time to think. It teaches you patience and tolerance, and gives you an appreciation of good company.”
-Ismet Ertep