Kananga water is a
cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
based on a foundation of the essential oil of
Ylang Ylang
''Cananga odorata'', known as ylang-ylang ( ) or cananga tree, is a tropical tree that is native to the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Queensland, Australia. It is also native to parts of Thailand and Viet ...
(also known as ''Cananga odorata''). Plantations for producing kananga water were established by the British in
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
in the 19th century. Kananga water, like
Florida Water
Florida Water is an American version of Eau de Cologne, or Cologne Water. It has the same citrus basis as Cologne Water, but shifts the emphasis to sweet orange (rather than the lemon and neroli of the original Cologne Water), and adds spicy note ...
, is used in various rituals including spiritual cleaning, and appeasing the spirits of the dead. Its use is particularly common among people of the
African diaspora
The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were e ...
.
Peter L. Patrick in his list of "Some Recent Jamaican Creole Words" (an earlier version of which appeared in the journal American Speech in Fall 1995, 70(3):227-264.) suggests that the origin of the word is possibly from Kikongo kalunga '(Angolan) for lake, sea, ocean', Laman 1936, 207; but also in senses 'proper name' and 'in the depths, right at the bottom,
in the heart of the earth'. Patrick also notes Bettelheim (1979, 323), as quoted in Ryman (1984, 84), that "kalunga is also the name of an underworld deity and/or the home of this god".
[http://privatewww.essex.ac.uk/~patrickp/papers/RecentJCwords.html#k A version of the Glossary in Patrick's article in the journal American Speech in Fall 1995, 70(3):227-264.]
This false etymology is easily disputed, however. Kananga water clearly gets its name from its main component, Ylang Ylang, also known as "cananga odorata".
As far as reporting on the use of the water is concerned, Patrick reports that it has been quoted by Patterson (1964) as being a type of "holy water" that is used for purification in revival ceremonies. Quoting Patterson "male church leader, Shepherd John, cleansing a sinful woman: "'Bring de robe an' de cananga water an' call de Water Mother.' The period of cleansing began with a purity bath.
hepherd Johnsprinkled some of the cananga water over the room, then poured the rest in the tub. Then the water mother came forward, helped her in the tub, and bathed her from the neck downwards."
References
{{Reflist
Sources
*
Laman, Karl E. 1936. Dictionnaire Kikongo-Francais. Brussels. Rpt. 2 vols. Ridgewood, NJ: Gregg, 1964.
*Patterson, Orlando. 1964. The Children of Sisyphus. Essex: Longman. Rpt. 1982.
*Ryman, Cheryl. 1984. "Kumina: Stability and change." Afro-Caribbean Institute of Jamaica Research Review 1: 81-128. Kingston: ACIJ.
Perfumes