The Chillum is a pipe used by the Indian sadhu, ascetic practitioners of yoga.

Function

A chillum is a conical pipe traditionally made from fired clay. It has been used for thousands 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 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. The chillum is always accompanied by a conical stone which prevents pieces of burning charas falling into the smoker's mouth. There is also a wetted piece of cloth known as the safi which is a second safety guard.

Method

Usually the charas will be mixed with tobacco. The cigarette will be roasted by passing it quickly over a naked flame. Then the charas is crumbled by hand and mixed with the tobacco, often in a dried coconut shell. 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 do 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 Bolenad" 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. 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 and hence the more stoned the smoker will become. Prices range from $1-20. The Italians went one step further and came up with designer chillums. Those made by names like Franco are made of glass, crystal and ceramic. Hippies with money may well pay up to $500 for such a chillum. These can be seen on the goa trance scene.