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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
31
Thus
when
food
is
cooked,
an
oblation
is
made
by
the
Hindu
to
trees,
with
an
appropriate
invocation
before
the
food
is
eaten.
The
Bo
tree
is
extensively
worshipped
in
India,
and
the
Toolsee
plant
(Basil)
is
held
sacred
to
all
gods--no
oblation
being
considered
sacred
without
its
leaves.
Certain
of
the
Chittagong
hill
tribes
worship
the
bamboo,[17]
and
Sir
John
Lubbock,
quoting
from
Thompson's
"Travels
in
the
Himalaya,"
tells
us
that
in
the
Simla
hills
the
Cupressus
toridosa
is
regarded
as
a
sacred
tree.
Further
instances
might
be
enumerated,
so
general
is
this
form
of
religious
belief.
In
an
interesting
and
valuable
paper
by
a
Bengal
civilian--intimately
acquainted
with
the
country
and
people[18]--the
writer
says:--"The
contrast
between
the
acknowledged
hatred
of
trees
as
a
rule
by
the
Bygas,[19]
and
their
deep
veneration
for
certain
others
in
particular,
is
very
curious.
I
have
seen
the
hillsides
swept
clear
of
forests
for
miles
with
but
here
and
there
a
solitary
tree
left
standing.
These
remain
now
the
objects
of
the
deepest
veneration.
So
far
from
being
injured
they
are
carefully
preserved,
and
receive
offerings
of
food,
clothes,
and
flowers
from
the
passing
Bygas,
who
firmly
believe
that
tree
to
be
the
home
of
a
spirit."
To
give
another
illustration[20],
it
appears
that
in
Beerbhoom
once
a
year
the
whole
capital
repairs
to
a
shrine
in
the
jungle,
and
makes
simple
offerings
to
a
ghost
who
dwells
in
the
Bela
tree.
The
shrine
consists
of
three
trees--a
Bela
tree
on
the
left,
in
which
the
ghost
resides,
and
which
is
marked
at
the
foot
with
blood;
in
the
middle
is
a
Kachmula
tree,
and
on
the
right
a
Saura
tree.
In
spite
of
the
trees
being
at
least
seventy
years
old,
the
common
people
claim
the
greatest
antiquity
for
the
shrine,
and
tradition
says
that
the
three
trees
that
now
mark
the
spot
neither
grow
thicker
nor
increase
in
height,
but
remain
the
same
for
ever.
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