Chillums & bats

Chillum and its smaller form - Bat

Function

A chillum is a conical pipe traditionally made from a cow's horn. Chillum are used as a ritual pipe for Rastas in reasoning sessions and grounations. Also, It has been used for a number of years by holy men in India to imbibe charas. It is a very social form of smoking as a chillum is generally far too strong to be smoked alone. The whole operation of preparing the mix and smoking the herb, ganja, or charas is something of a ritual. The Hindu god, Shiva is invoked with the ceremony and the smoker considers the spirit of Shiva to enter him with the act of smoking. Rastas believe ritual smoking purges body and mind of impurities, thereby facilitating meditation.

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Method

Usually the ganja or charas will be mixed with tobacco. Rastafari Ceremony: A ritual chillum used in Rasta sessions and grounations is made of a cow's horn fitted with a large, concial, wooden bowl. Indian Ceremony: The safi cloth is wetted, the stone inserted and then the mix is deposited in the chillum until it is full. Then the mouth piece of the chillum is cuped between two hands forming a closed prism so that the smoker may inhale the smoke without touching the chillum with his lips. To do so would no doubt provoke a violent reaction from all present for such a break of etiquette. A match is struck by a second party and before the smoker inhales various praises to Shiva will be chanted such as "Bom Shankar" or "Bom Bolenath" The smoker must puff violently 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.

Types of Chillum

Following the 1980's legislation against charas in India as a result of Nancy Reagan's 'just say no' campaign in the war on drugs, 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. Chillums are still for sale in shops (without the charas) and can be incredibly ornate, set with snakes or Indian gods. The longer the chillum the cooler the smoke will be. Prices range from $1-20. The Italians went one step further and came up with designer chillums. Those made by names like Alverman, Manu and Daniele are made of ceramic. Hippies with money may well pay up to $200 for such a chillum. These can be seen on the goa trance scene.

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