Tree of Life - 5 South American Way

So many cultures, so little time.  We took a tiny glimpse into the beliefs of the ancient Mayan people regarding the Tree of Life. Fascinating: (thanks to Wikipedia)

The concept of world trees is a prevalent motif in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cosmologies and iconography. World trees embodied the four cardinal directions, which represented also the fourfold nature of a central world tree, a symbolic axis mundi connecting the planes of the Underworld and the sky with that of the terrestrial world.

Depictions of world trees, both in their directional and central aspects, are found in the art and mythological traditions of cultures such as the Maya, Aztec, Izapan, Mixtec, Olmec, and others, dating to at least the Mid/Late Formative periods of Mesoamerican chronology. Among the Maya, the central world tree was conceived as or represented by a ceiba tree, and is known variously as a wacah chan or yax imix che, depending on the Mayan language. 

World trees are frequently depicted with birds in their branches, and their roots extending into earth or water (sometimes atop a "water-monster," symbolic of the underworld). The central world tree has also been interpreted as a representation of the band of the Milky Way.    

When we think of the Big Bang theory a Creation Myth that places our origins in the stars doesn't seem quite so far-fetched:
The star clouds that form the Milky Way were seen as the tree of life where all life came from. Near Sagittarius, the centre of our galaxy, where the World Tree meets the Ecliptic was given special attention by the Maya. A major element of the World Tree is the K'awak Monster. This monster was also a mountain or Witz monster. A sacrificial bowl on its head contains a flint blade representing sacrifice, and the Kimi glyph that represents death. The Ecliptic is sometimes represented as a bar crossing the major axis of the world tree, making a form that is similar to the Christian Cross. On top of the World Tree we find a bird that has been called, the Principal Bird deity, or Itzam Ye. There is also evidence that shows the Sun on the World Tree as it appeared to the Maya at Winter Solstice.

Celebration

Yvette

Fiesta Time

Flower garlands abound

But in the street not a sound

The wind blows

The people do not show

But resounding celebration is found amongst the bells and prayers

A Night to Remember

Fiesta here is long,

Tailing into the night

Girls swirl to the

Music, rhythmic and fiery

Frenzied frivolity at its height

Rhian

South American Celebration

Senses shaking with Samba

Tempting to touch costume frills

Do you hear the bongos greeting?

Taste the carnival heating

Smell the air with aroma filled

Tango Trees

Trailing across the ballroom

Alive with faces, frozen

Near yet so distant

Gazing in passionate thrall

Orchestra straining with Jealousy, Fernando’s Hideaway,

Tijuana Brass branching out, swinging, swaying,

Rustling and roaring

Elephantine behind the palms

Evergreen palms, ever polished

Sparkling as the waxed ballroom floor.

This is a picture of the giant Ceiba (now Kapok) tree sacred to the Mayan people.  

Tree of Life 4 - Africa - Argan Tree and Goats!

We discovered that the Argan Tree grows exclusively in southwestern Morocco and yes, it's the one you often see depicted with goats climbing about in it. Strange or what?  It's amazing that the tree manages to survive at all but luckily has now become part of the "Biosphere Reserve: 


The Argan tree (Argania spinosa) grows exclusively in southwestern Morocco, where the local Berber people through the ages have used the tree's incredible resources. The Argan tree is very resistant and thrive in the arid surroundings and reminds in its the form of the olive tree. The Argan tree reaches between 150 to 200 years, surviving heat, drought and poor soil. This thorny tree gets about 8 to 10 meters high, and is often twisted and gnarled, giving goats the opportunity to climb up on the branches where they eat the leaves and fruits. The leaves are small and dark brown, the oval fruits yellow-green and becomes rock hard when they mature. The tree has a huge impact both economically and environmentally in the entire region. Berbers have in ages had the Argan tree as an income source, and today the extraction of oil from the tree's fruit has become a major export industry, which may prove to be crucial for the people's continued positive economic development.


Like the Neem Tree of India, the Argan Tree has become a sort of village pharmacy and it's ancient medicinal properties have been treasured and developed by the Berber people over  generations .Argan products have now become part of a very up-market beauty industry and Argan oil is one of the most expensive in the world.

This led to discussion and writing about beauty rituals:

Sonia

Ritual – A Memory

The water, tepid in the pan from the black-leaded range was gently poured into a jug - and so it began.  My mind is alive with the memory of my hair-washing treat, wartime style.

The dry powdered shampoo, mixed to a paste, was lovingly spread over blonde hair,  worked in and through and rinsed, and rinsed again.  This last with a dash of malt vinegar to bring out the shine, or with collected rainwater to soften. The hair was allowed to dry naturally; the term split ends was not invented – scissors trimmed any fly-away strands.

Then the unrushed brushing began: systematic strokes to the beating of hearts, untangled hair plaited, one fat one thin, never quite symmetrically correct, and the warm smile of my mother. 

And then my turn to give that love back – brushing her long, beautiful tresses for a while; chatting and knowing this closeness and watching her coil her hair up and pin it easily in place.

I grew up.  My long hair was brushed by others with love and tenderness and I coiled it up too, remembering my father’s words:

Long is the hair of a woman

Long also is her understanding.

Rhian

AFRICA

Alive with rhythm and colour

Forest framework for potential progress

Roots for many, some more modern now

Identity and inheritance

Continuity and conservation

An Amazon of opportunity, of advancement.

We were also captivated by the poem "Goat" by Jo Shapcott- here's a sample:

Goat

Jo Shapcott (b 1953)

Dusk, deserted road, and suddenly

I was a goat. To be truthful it took

two minutes, though it seemed sudden,

for the horns to pop out of my skull,

for the spine to revolutionise and go

horizontal, for the fingers to glue

together and for the nails to become

important enough to upgrade to hoof. 

And of course goats are smelly in both the active and passive senses of the word so this led on to:

Annie

 Intoxicating tang

salt air

fish

seaweed and crabs

coffee   with tia maria   melting chocolate

rosemary and lemon balm, balsam and witchazel

new wool

new baby

new puppy

new kitten

new love

roast beef, bacon, bread.

It all goes to my head!

Tree of Life 3 - China - Dragon and Phoenix

 
A tiny taste of the many myths and legends surrounding this ancient tree of life theme. (The image above is of a wedding cake design!)

In Chinese mythology, a carving of a Tree of Life depicts a phoenix and a dragon; the dragon often represents immortality. A Taoist story tells of a tree that produces a peach every three thousand years. The one who eats the fruit receives immortality.

                                                                 

An archaeological discovery in the 1990s was of a sacrificial pit at Sanxingdui in Sichuan, China. Dating from about 1200 BCE, it contained three bronze trees, one of them 4 meters high. At the base was a dragon, and fruit hanging from the lower branches. At the top is a strange bird-like (phoenix) creature with claws.

 ..any reported sighting of a dragon and a phoenix was considered an extremely auspicious sign, said to herald a glorious period of peace and prosperity for the people and the country. This is reflected in the Chinese saying, "When the dragon soars and the phoenix dances, the people will enjoy happiness for years, bringing peace and tranquility to all under heaven."

Taoism (also spelled Daoism) refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao (道), which is the mechanism of everything that exists. The word "Tao"is usually translated as "way", "path" or "principle", although the word also means "nature" as in the nature of all things as well as the natural world. Taoism had not only a profound influence on the culture of China, but also on neighbouring countries

As the wonderful translations by Stephen Mitchell of the Tao Te Ching are already on the 'net I am adding a complete chapter here - one we read during our session:

Tao Te Ching

translated by Stephen Mitchell

54

Whoever is planted in the Tao
will not be rooted up.
Whoever embraces the Tao
will not slip away.
Her name will be held in honor
from generation to generation.

Let the Tao be present in your life
and you will become genuine.
Let it be present in your family
and your family will flourish.
Let it be present in your country
and your country will be an example
to all countries in the world.
Let it be present in the universe
and the universe will sing.

How do I know this is true?
By looking inside myself.

Tree of Life 2 - Neem Tree

In this session we looked at the significance of the Neem Tree in India (their tree of life) and all its remarkable properties:
In the villages of Rajasthan near Jodhpur, the Neem tree is still essential to daily life.

A large Neem tree usually stands in the centre of each village, providing shade and cool underneath its branches - it is said that the temperature under a Neem tree is always two or three degrees cooler than in any other shade.

'The tree is so crucial to life in this part of India that the Hindu villagers described how they worship it as a God, and told the story of Lord Krishna comparing himself as a God amongst men as the Neem tree is a God amongst trees'.

Here's poem written in the voice of the tree.

Neem Tree

Yvette

Hey!  Come on over

I’m just branching out.

Just wanted to shout

But then you would come

You’re always there

Plucking and preening

Arriving from thin air.

And YOU, down there, can stop

Nibbling my feet

How your little tails beat

Don’t bleat like that,

Where people are sat

Laughing, joking it all happens here

Good job I give cheer

With my cooling leaves

No-one needs to roll up their sleeves.

Just look at my leaves reflecting the midday sun

Allowing these folk to have fun

I can even heal their wounds

I’m proud to say

Just cured a fellow the other day.

Many hold me dear so just listen now

I’m standing here.