A Tili Smudge

At the southern edge of the Cidelian jungle, lived a small, particularly reclusive, Resk hermit. He had a small hut and a small garden and lived a long way from others, which suited him just fine. Unfortunately he was a very good cook and had the very finest garden, no matter how small and he was constantly visited by petitioners seeking recipes, or seeds, or gardening advice. Whenever he grew tired of the stream of visitors, or if he knew baking day was imminent, he would steal into the jungle in search of tili, a pungent purple fern.
After drying and bundling the tili he would set smudges along the path to his little yard. The smudges emitted a dank dark smoke that smelled of all that was evil in the world and for a short time would drive away all who would visit the little hermit. He could barely stand the smell of the smudges, and they would only burn for a day, but that was enough to guarantee his solitude for a month. Or so he thought.
After lighting his most recent batch of smudges, he turned to return to his little hut, smiling to himself at the month of quiet he was about to enjoy, when he heard the hearty laughter behind him. The ghost of a large man, floated above the path, praising the Resk for devising such a clever way to keep the devils from his surroundings. The ghost had told his friends and he assured the despondent Resk that undead parties would reign non-stop in the smoke filled jungle.
He was about to despair. He would have to stop using the smudges as at least his petitioners would let him sleep. Then a wisp of tili smoke entered a nostril and elicited a cough, a gag, and a tear - and sparked an idea. The little man carefully made a deal with the large spirit. the hermit would light a smudge, well down the path, each fortnight. The spirit and a few acquaintances could celebrate there, unmolested by their eternal tormentors, provided they scared away any petitioners and let the hermit sleep.
A more lonely, happier hermit could never be found.

Summary

This fable is the first recorded literary reference to the old wives' tale that a tili smudge will drive away bad luck (evil). Tili is found in undergrowth world wide, and the associated tradition is found wherever tili is. While there is no way to prove that bad luck can be driven away, it has been proven that the vile smelling smoke of a tili smudge is an extremely effective fumigant against insect and rodent pests (and virtually any living thing with a half developed sense of smell).

In Art

The earliest images of tili smudge usage occurs in cave paintings found in the heights. The purple leaved branches are obvious.  The paintings show usage of the smudges for herding antelope and driving away dire wolves.

Date of First Recording

1550 BCE

Date of Setting

~1400 BCE (The Fable of the Hermit's Unwanted Guests)