3/22/2023- Role of smell in memory

The “holy smell” of Ungit is described as a sweet, sticky thing, with strong associations to the rituals of the holy people pof Ungit.  The incense in “Till we have faces,” like the incense of other religious traditions, represents the prayers of the faithful, rising to the heavens. However, in the case of Ungit’s temple, the smell accompanies the other “holy” things (holy in this context has a negative connotation, because of the role of the temple of Ungit in the story).

The description of a smell which evokes a strong response is a common experience, for smell is the sense which most closely relates to memory. A whiff of a smell from one’s childhood can instantly transport them to a different era of their life, evoking the emotions that represented that Era for them. For Oural, the “holy smell” evoked the fear and dread of anything related to Ungit.

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