by LUCIEN DE GUISE

Few luxuries have changed as many lives as spices. No excesses of consumerism that exist now can match the frantic quest for flavor enhancers that has existed for more than 2,000 years. The source of these prized commodities has been lands that are mostly Muslim, often supervised by traders who were also Muslim. Despite this, their contribution has rarely been credited. In a novel exhibition at the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, viewers are taken on "Spice Journeys: Taste and Trade in the Islamic World."

Finding a satisfactory definition of spices is as difficult as it used to be to locate the spices themselves. It is generally agreed that they must be organic, portable and highly valued for their taste or odor. Aromatics are included, even when not edible. Herbs are excluded as their worth depends on freshness, which was hardly a consideration at a time when a journey could take months or sometimes years. Certain items considered to be spices in the past are not admitted into the category today. Sugar is a prominent example, as is coffee.

Geography is another important factor; one man's prized spice is another's garden weed, depending on which part of the world they live in. One recurring feature of the most desirable spices is that they tended to be found in places that were not only inaccessible to Westerners, but also to traders who were much closer to the source of the material. Chinese, Arab and Indian merchants were often as confused about the goods they sought as the Europeans who were prepared to pay so much for this exotica.

Imaginations ran wild where spices were concerned. The most entertaining - as well as the most informative - versions are in Arabic. Sindbad the Sailor was more of a spice trader than a sailor, and his adventures took him to places that people only went when in pursuit of huge profit. Cloves and cinnamon were two of Sindbad's most important cargoes around the 9th century. About 700 later, lives were still being staked in the quest for Asia's most fabled wealth.

As the most respected spices were those that were hardest to obtain, a network of trade needed to be established. This was a prototype of the globalized world in which we now live. The main difference is that in the past, it would only have been the highest level of society that ever saw the bounty of far-off lands. Nowadays, there are few people who do not own at least some molded plastic from China.

Among the earliest spice traders were Arabs. The importance of their merchandise was enormous. In the Middle East especially, demand was great enough for spices to be mentioned frequently in the Old Testament. Joseph of the colorful coat was eventually bought by traders who were probably transporting spices. When the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon, it was south Arabian spices that were her most welcome gifts.

In the Islamic world, people were not just traders in these commodities, they were also avid consumers. From the outset, Islam emphasized cleanliness and hygiene. Luxury was not encouraged, and certainly not the hedonism of ancient Rome or Persia. Still, certain pleasures of the flesh have always been permitted within the official guidelines. People and food were allowed to look and smell good. This was an alien approach to most European societies at the dawn of Islam.

The Qur'an assures those who reach paradise that in addition to a fountain of camphor, they "will be given to drink a cup tempered with ginger." Ginger and camphor are the two extremes of "hot" and "cold," a concept explored thoroughly in Medicine of the Prophet, compiled by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawaziyya in the 14th century. Spices were clearly an essential part of early Islamic cuisine and have remained so ever since. The great Sufi master Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi used food as a metaphor in much of his philosophy and organized his dervish brotherhood around the kitchen. Among the spices that appear in his recipes are cumin, black pepper, cinnamon and sumac.