Chillum
There is also a Chillum, Maryland, a suburb North of Washington, D.C.
A chillum, or chilam, is a pipe used by Indian Sadhu holy men,[1] and by many recreational drug users to smoke cannabis. It is sometimes known as a bat (or batty) due to its resemblance to a baseball bat, but goes by many other names as well, including one-hitter (or simply hitter), straight-shooter, and oney (pronounced one-knee).
Function
A chillum is a conical pipe usually made out of clay, a cow's horn, or glass. Chillums are used as ritual pipes by Sadhus in India to imbibe charas. They have also recently been used by Rastas in reasoning sessions and grounations.
Method
The ganja or charas may be mixed with tobacco. When used in the western world, a wet cloth is put over the mouthpiece to filter and provide a good grip. The smoker uses a lighter, therefore he will probably have to look in a mirror to correctly burn the mix inside the chillum. Two traditional methods of using a chillum exist, the Hindu and Rastafari:
Hindu Ceremony
In the Hindu ceremony, the safi (or saath) cloth is wetted, the stone (gitthuck in hindi) inserted and then the mix is deposited in the chillum until it is full. Then the mouth piece of the chillum is cupped between two hands forming a closed chamber so that the smoker may inhale the smoke without touching the chillum with his lips.
A match is struck by a second party and, before the smoker inhales, various praises to Shiva will be chanted such as "Boom Shankar" or "Boom Bolenath". The smoker must inhale heavily to ignite the chillum adequately which he will then pass always to the person on his right, preferably supporting his right arm with his left (except for Kali chillums which are passed to the left and usually include opium and ganja in the mix).
The required etiquette can become quite complex and the average Westerner has little or no chance of meeting the ritual standards of a sadhu.
Rastafari Ceremony
In the Rastafari ceremony, the ritual chillum used is made of a cow's horn or wood fitted with a large, conical wooden bowl and with a long tube made of rubber or plastic.
Types of Chillum
Following the 1980s legislation against charas in India, the ready-made clay chillums fell out of fashion. These had been disposable chillums that were simply thrown back onto the ground from which they were made.
Recently "designer" chillums have come into fashion. Those made by names like Alverman, Rosso, Manu and Daniele are made of ceramic. These are often seen on the goa trance scene.
References
- ^ Dolf Hartsuiker. Holy Smoke. Sadhus and Yogis of India.
See also
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