Dufar is mentioned by Chau Ju-kwa under the name of Nu-fa among the dependencies of the country of the Ta-shï (Arabs). (Hirth and Rockhill, pp. 116, 121.)
XXXVIII., [pp. 445–449.]
FRANKINCENSE.
Chau Ju-kwa (Hirth and Rockhill, pp. 195–196) tells us: “Ju hiang (‘milk incense’), or hün-lu-hiang, comes from the three Ta-shï countries of Ma-lo-pa, Shï-ho, and Nu-fa, from the depths of the remotest mountain valleys. The tree which yields this drug may, on the whole, be compared to the sung (pine). Its trunk is notched with a hatchet, upon which the resin flows out, and when hardened, turns into incense, which is gathered and made into lumps. It is transported on elephants to the Ta-shï (on the coast); the Ta-shï load it upon their ships for barter against other goods in San-fo-ts’i: and it is for this reason that the incense is commonly collected at San-fo-ts’i [the three ports of the Hadhramaut coast].
“When the foreign merchants come to that place to trade, the Customs authorities, according to the relative strength of its fragrance, distinguish thirteen classes of incense. Of these, the very best is called kién-hiang, or ‘picked incense’: it is round and of the size of the end of a finger; it is commonly called ti-ju or ‘dripping milk.’ The second quality is called p’ing ju, or ‘potted milk,’ and its colour is inferior to that of the ‘picked incense.’ The next quality is called p’ing hiang, or ‘potted incense,’ so called, they say, owing to its being prized so much at the time of gathering, that it is placed in pots (p’ing). In this p’ing hiang (variety of frankincense) there are three grades, superior, medium and inferior. The next quality is called tai-hiang, or ‘bag incense’; thus called, they say, because at the time of gathering, it is merely put into bags; it is also divided into three qualities, like the p’ing hiang.
“The next kind is the ju-t’a; it consists of incense mixed with gravel.
“The next kind is the heï-t’a, because its colour is black. The next kind is the shui-shï-heï-t’a, because it consists of incense which has been ‘water damaged,’ the aroma turned, and the colour spoiled while on board ship.
“Mixed incense of various qualities and consisting of broken pieces is called chö-siau (‘cut-up’); when passed through a sieve and made into dust, it is called ch’an-mo (‘powder’). The above are the various varieties of frankincense.”