“There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole; there is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin sick soul.” (baobab.hyms). This hymn is usually sung around the tree when they are need of healing or a cleansing. The Baobab is believed to have been around for thousands of years, and is the heart of the African continent. It’s said that the tree holds secrets, and is a very intelligent tree due to the fact that it “hears and sees” everything. This has helped the African tribes stay around for many years, but people are still wondering how did the Baobab become such an iconic figure to this country. The Baobab Tree has its own story just like we have ours. Its story begins with knowing its roots, story, and personal connection to Africa. Adansonia …show more content…
digitata or commonly referred to as “The Tree of Life” or “Baobab Tree” is one of Africa's most iconic symbols, and they are considered the oldest form of life on the African continent. The Baobab grows in 32 different countries in Africa; it’s described as a strange looking upside down tree that grows in low-lying dry areas in Africa, Australia, and Madagascar. The Baobab may live to be 3,000-5,000 years old, and it can reach up to 30 metres high and up to an enormous 50 meters in circumference. One ancient hollow in Zimbabwe is so large that up to 40 people can shelter inside its trunk. Baobabs have a interesting story of how they came to be Africa’s strangest looking and oldest life form on the entire continent.
The creator grew the first Baobab next to a small lake, and the taller it grew until it started noticing the other trees. The tree noticed that some were tall and slender, some had brightly coloured flowers, and other others had large leaves. The Baobab looked into the lake and saw its reflection. It was so shocked and disgusted with itself because it saw a huge fat trunk covered in bark that looked like the wrinkled hide of an old elephant. It was so upset that it cried to the creator and asked “why’d you make me so ugly?” God was becoming annoyed with the Baobab because he constantly complained, so God silenced the Baobab forever. He came down and snatched it out the ground and replanted it upside down. The Baobab couldn’t see its reflection or complain anymore. Since then, the tree has been working in silence, and paying for its mistake in the past by being the most useful and helpful tree in …show more content…
Africa. Later on, the Baobab tree is the most famous tree in Africa and Madagascar; therefore, it became the national symbol. The Senegal Tribe have a very spiritual connection with the Baobab Tree as long as they’ve grown, and they view it as their main source of nutrition and shelter.
Sengal’s sometimes bury their dead relatives at the base of the these trees; therefore, they believe that the baobabs become connected with the souls of their relatives. Also, they say that ancient kings and other leaders would have their meetings under the Baobabs to discuss important task. The kings believed that holding these meetings under the tree would help guide them into making wise decisions because the tree held magical powers of wisdom. The Baobab also serves as a “healer” for them; “it is known as of the heart of many traditional African remedies/medicines………..” Baobab leaves provide an edible vegetable like spinach, and it used to treat kidney/bladder disease, asthma, insect bites, and several other diseases. Pregnant women also eat from this tree because it provides a great amount of vitamin c. Along with all the other great things the Baobab Tree is a very dependable source for shelter or other necessities. Fiber from the bark is used to make rope, baskets, cloth, musical instrument strings, and waterproof
hats. The Baobab has served as the icon of Disney's Animal Kingdom mythical tree, or the Tree of Life. The tree has 325 carvings of existing and extinct animal species on its trunk and roots. In the Disney movie “Lion King” Rafiki is often seen performing many strange magic tricks in the tree. Rafiki wasn't always a resident of the Pride Land, was a traveler studying the African lands who eventually stumbled upon the Pride Lands; he was attacked by a young Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. Rafiki flew to the tree for shelter and protection, and the huge tree soon became his home. The trunk of the tree is covered in paintings, including stories and prophecies of Simba, Kiara, and Kovu. In conclusion, the Baobab has a very deep and personal connection to everyone in Africa. This tree started off as any other tree then soon became furious because of it’s appearance. Later on to soon find out that it was made for a special purpose which was to keep the continent and its people close together. The fact that it has been around for so many years, and the task that it is designed to perform shows that this tree symbolizes Africa.
Tree itself is already a very commonly used symbol in many places, it symbolize sheltering, evocative of enternity, rooted in earth and reaching up to the sky and many more. In this book however, it focoused on the growing of the tree, we all know that it takes a lot of time for a tree to grow, likewise, it took a long time for melinda to speak up and face the truth. Moreover, this drawing of the tree is representing the mind growth ofMelinda, for inctense, the drawing was poorly done at the beggining, Melinda’s presure and her life is weighting her down, as the drawing gets better throghout the school year, Melinda’s strength and mind set is getting better too. If the tree ment sheltering, then Melinda sure developed a very nice shelter for herself in the
In Christianity, trees were viewed as a primary source of life and knowledge, exhibited in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9). Denver used trees as a safe haven for her; a safe place where she can hide from her mother after the trauma that transpired the night that crawling already? was killed. “Veiled and protected by the live green walls, she felt ripe and clear, and salvation was as easy as a wish,”(Morrison, 29). Contrasting with the safety of the trees for Denver, Sethe’s idea of trees has much darker connotations. As a child, she saw “Boys hangin’ from the most beautiful sycamores in the world. It shamed her-remembering the wonderful soughing trees rather than the boys,” (Morrison 6). For Sethe, the symbolism of trees has been twisted into viewing trees not as hope, but as death, and the pain from her past. As Amy had observed, the scars on Sethe only served as reminders of her painful time at Sweet Home, where she had very little hope for the future. A lesson that should be derived from this book is that the perspective from which you look at the past could help it become less painful. Sethe is too focused on the pain of her past, so therefore she is unable to see trees as they were meant to be seen, while Paul D views them as a pathway to second chances. He views trees as “inviting; things you could trust and be ear; talk to if you wanted to as he frequently did since way back when he took the midday meal in the fields of Sweet Home,” (Morrison,
...l life. By planting the sequoia it allows a memory to life forever even when things around it continue to die.
The author also used logos to logically make the audience understand how things worked in the article. The author introduces the audience to facts about how the tree is past its living capabilities. The bonsai that is 390 years has lived over almost two lives. On average a bonsai will live for only 200 years, but this tree has almost reached a full 400 years old. The tree was lucky enough to live by
At the beginning of time only the Gods where living, until one day Sovereign Plumed Serpent and Heart of the Sky, named Hurricane, created trees, bushes, and life. Bearer Begetter was the creator or animals big and small, like birds, deers, jaguars, pumas, and serpents. When the Gods created animals they created them for the sole purpose of being worshiped by them. However, when they realized that the animals could not speak they decided they would be sent to live in the woods and fend for themselves. After this Xpiyacoc and Xmucane attempted to make humans, but instead of not being able to speak. They appeared to be too unnatural and decided to call them manikins or wood carvings so, Heart of the Sky creates a flood killing them off. It is believed that monkeys look like humans because they are the manikins who survived the flood by climbing onto trees.
... traditional African myth in a way that is tangible and entertaining but also includes layers of symbolism which reveal traditional beliefs. For the western audience, "Yeelen enables viewers not just to understand but to experience a traditional African way of seeing the world. Its innovative narrative style captures the Bambara belief in time as circular…always returning to that initial 'brightness' which creates the world" (Diawara 1997:11). Cissé shows the images of this tale in a thoughtful and deliberate way to highlight the importance of the interconnectedness of things, the ambiguity of good and evil and the circle which pulls everything together.
Five myths from throughout Africa will be mentioned throughout this essay. They are from the Boshongo, Mande, Shilluk, Egyptian, and Yoruba peoples. For a brief description of these myths please see the appendix. Please remember that these myths do not represent the beliefs and stories of all of Africa.
The use of nature to tell how the charities in the story feel and how the conflict develops with symbolism and imagery is common throughout the story. One-way Achebe shows this is when Nnaemeka first approaches Okeke about the issue with his arranged marriage, they sit underneath the cassia tree in Okeke’s retreat the scene is also depicted
trees in the Garden of Eden. One was the “tree of life” and the other
Creation myths vary among African ethnic groups highlighting similarities and differences in belief systems and societal constructs. There are many factors that contribute to creation myths for each individual group. Survival issues dominate many my ths, suggesting the origins of land, the ability to cultivate land, and the benefit of existing off of what one has cultivated. Questions of where land came from, the purpose of man, and the relationship between the creator and the created are evaluated. The important issues of each African ethnic group became the focal point of their creation and origin myths.
At the time The Jungle was written, the plants were a horrible place to work. They were full of violence, viruses, bacteria—there weren’t clean. Frequently, dead and diseased animals were slaughtered and then made into food.
Once upon a time, there was a tree who lived in a beautiful, beautiful forest and his named was “flowers”. Also known as “bloom” tree. Everyday flowers was alone but one day a little girl came and she said hi and second she said hi flowers said hello the little girl a flower got to know each other but year past by really fast and the little was not so little anymore and the big made real friend so she didn’t have a lot of home to visit flower. So since the big girl does not come anymore flowers started to feel sad and the big girl doesn’t come the more flower loses his happiness and without happiness a bloom tree there is no bloom tree at all. After one year the big girl have not come visit and all the happiness is out of flower and since
God made a tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree had a fruit that was forbidden. God said not to eat the forbidden fruit, but the serpent on the tree persuaded Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and Adam tasted the forbidden fruit too. Adam and Eve lost their innocence immediately, and they became ashamed of their nakedness and they covered themself with leaves, when God saw they had not listened to him he kicked Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.
The myths regarding herbs or roots which have magical power are narrated in the mythology of India, Greek, Egypt, China etc. The herb Acacia has been connected to a resurrection and immortality in many religious traditions and magical contexts. In West African Vodun and African-American Conjure Acacia is used with frankincense and myrrh in rituals to contact the dead and to open the mind to visions (Catherine yronwode, Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic) Agrimony is used in African-American Conjureto reverse a jinx, curse, or hex after it has been put on you. It is used in protection spells, to banish negative energies and spirits and to reverse spells and send them back to the sender (web, Indian Mirror). Indian mythology narrates about the herb called SanjeevaniBooti which is capable of curing any woe irrespective of its type and origin (Valmiki Ramayana, Yudhakanda). In Indian myth, a miracle has been mandatory to establish the purity of a woman, while a man’s mere word is taken for the truth. Here Rani was compelled to prove her chastity by putting her hand into the ant-hill where a king cobra lived. She should pull out the king cobra and take her oath by that cobra. It was same in case of Sita, the consort of Rama. She undergoes Agni Pariksha (an ordeal of fire) by which she proves her chastity before she is accepted by Rama(Wendy Doniger,
On the edge of a small wood, an ancient tree sat hunched over, the gnarled, old king of a once vast domain that had long ago been turned to pasture. The great, gray knees gripped the hard earth with a solidity of purpose that made it difficult to determine just where the tree began and the soil ended, so strong was the union of the ancient bark and grainy sustenance. Many years had those roots known—years when the dry sands had shriveled the outer branches under a parched sun, years when the waters had risen up, drowning those same sands in the tears of unceasing time.