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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
4
Indeed,
under
a
variety
of
forms
this
animistic
conception
is
found
among
the
lower
races,
and
in
certain
cases
explains
the
strong
prejudice
to
certain
herbs
as
articles
of
food.
The
Society
Islanders
ascribed
a
"varua"
or
surviving
soul
to
plants,
and
the
negroes
of
Congo
adored
a
sacred
tree
called
"Mirrone,"
one
being
generally
planted
near
the
house,
as
if
it
were
the
tutelar
god
of
the
dwelling.
It
is
customary,
also,
to
place
calabashes
of
palm
wine
at
the
feet
of
these
trees,
in
case
they
should
be
thirsty.
In
modern
folk-lore
there
are
many
curious
survivals
of
this
tree-soul
doctrine.
In
Westphalia,[9]
the
peasantry
announce
formally
to
the
nearest
oak
any
death
that
may
have
occurred
in
the
family,
and
occasionally
this
formula
is
employed--"The
master
is
dead,
the
master
is
dead."
Even
recently,
writes
Sir
John
Lubbock[10],
an
oak
copse
at
Loch
Siant,
in
the
Isle
of
Skye,
was
held
so
sacred
that
no
persons
would
venture
to
cut
the
smallest
branch
from
it.
The
Wallachians,
"have
a
superstition
that
every
flower
has
a
soul,
and
that
the
water-lily
is
the
sinless
and
scentless
flower
of
the
lake,
which
blossoms
at
the
gates
of
Paradise
to
judge
the
rest,
and
that
she
will
inquire
strictly
what
they
have
done
with
their
odours."[11]
It
is
noteworthy,
also,
that
the
Indian
belief
which
describes
the
holes
in
trees
as
doors
through
which
the
special
spirits
of
those
trees
pass,
reappears
in
the
German
superstition
that
the
holes
in
the
oak
are
the
pathways
for
elves;[12]
and
that
various
diseases
may
be
cured
by
contact
with
these
holes.
Hence
some
trees
are
regarded
with
special
veneration--particularly
the
lime
and
pine[13]--and
persons
of
a
superstitious
turn
of
mind,
"may
often
be
seen
carrying
sickly
children
to
a
forest
for
the
purpose
of
dragging
them
through
such
holes."
This
practice
formerly
prevailed
in
our
own
country,
a
well-known
illustration
of
which
we
may
quote
from
White's
"History
of
Selborne:"
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
