Musallam (our guide) starts his description of frankincense harvesting.
"Ladies and gentlemen - Do you want more tea?"

"The same system. Wherever they grow [frankincense] there is only one system.
And the coast frankincense trees, they produce three qualities.
It means [that] the first cut is one quality and this frankincense.
The second cut is better quality than the first cut.
So, and more, always the first scratch produces less frankincense or less sap.
Second scratch produce more sap. 
The third scratch produce more and better quality."
Stan (question) "why do you think that is?"
(Answer) "it is how it is."
[Laughter]
Stan (comment) "you don't need to understand?"
(Answer) "I don't know why."
Stan (question) "Because you are cutting the same area, it is not a though you are cutting a different part of the tree....."
(Answer) "OK."

Musallam "The rocky desert frankincense, it has the same system.
So now you see that mountain over there, that is a rocky mountain.
There are frankincense trees in that mountain and that frankincense trees [over there] 
and that mountain produces second quality."

"From here, from this kind of rocky dessert, more to the East produced best quality.
So, why is second quality over there? Because it is more windy in summer and we are less windy here."
Stan (comment) "A variation in condition for the trees?"
(Answer) "yes, exactly."
"And the frankincense here is further to the East, so they are higher, bigger, 5 metres, 4 metres."
Stan (comment) "The trees themselves are bigger?"
(Answer) [yes] "in some canyons they are bigger than here."

"Now, my father will show you, he will show you how to scratch the tree."
Stan (comment) "they are using different daggers to the standard show daggers."
Stan (comment) "it is quite high up, isn't it?"

Start of song - while Musallam's father scratches/cuts the frankincense tree.
 [Repetitive song, like any english language worksong.]

Stan (question) "is that every branch of the tree that you are going to harvest?"
(Answer) "yup."

Stan (question) "and at that height?"
(Answer) "they harvest from the middle of the tree.
Not from here, so from here to the bottom."
Stan (question) "where the stronger branches are?"
(Answer) "exactly."

Stan (comment) "that is really going." [the first scratch was starting to weep frankincense sap.]

"And this is the goatskin , they keep the water in the goatskin, and the water stays always cool.
Now he will show you how he drinks." [laughter at the father's comedy performance for the tourists.] "He will show you now, he shows you, he used to work hard until someone comes and then you... and then you see him come to drink water." [Refresh his visitor, Stan thinks]

Stan (comment) "so this is the last cut." (Stan took a picture.)
Stan (comment) "so this is one of the first cuts." (Stan took a picture.)
Stan (comment) "there is just a trace there." Mary (answer) "yes."
Stan (comment) "and as we have been talking so that bit more has come through."
June and Mary (talking about the oozing) "it is alright to say to people they tap it like rubber - but they have to know what they are doing haven't they?" (And need to know how to cut the tree, it is not so easy as it looks.)
"You can see why they call it tears."
Stan (question) "so the crystals that we see, are processed from this [the tears]?"
Mary - "no they go hard. When it dries out. In a way it is like glue."
Stan - "isn't it?"
Mary - "it clears as it goes [hard]."
Stan - "I wonder why does some of it goes brown?"
Stan - "where it drips onto perhaps."
June - "well, if they were doing this, they were actually gathering it."
June - "there will be a cover [on the ground] so that it falls gently onto some form of cover."
June - "what it is I don't know, it could be plastic, they will put it here, so that it doesn't pick [up] the dirt."
Stan - "these grubby bits [small lumps] are other ones that have escaped perhaps, but they will do for burning?"
June - "yes, they will do for burning."
"But actually purifying or that sort of thing it would not happen."

"They are not collecting [today] so they just let it [the frankincense tears] drop presumably."
June - "what it will do is form and like solidify and if it is still is oozing it causes the other form."

Mary - "thinking about the cuts, I think the tree must work harder, second and third cuts."
Lyn (comment) "I think possibly, if it is after the rains, the first cut is full of sap which goes boosh, and it is probably more dilute and then later the tree has been a bit dehydrated. It is like feeding melons lots of water they get bigger but they don’t have a lot of taste whereas if they are slightly dehydrated and they are struggling [they taste nicer]."

by Stan Owen, taken from his video footage.

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