Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1888-10-19
TREE LORE.
LEGENDsCo CONCERNING THEM IN
NEUROLOGICAL STORY.
Worshipiug tho Forest Monarch as
Deity - venerated by tho
Ojtbway's-Thc Famous
Soma Trco Myth.

Tho troc figures in tho earliest cos.
mogonies. In the Garden Of Eden stood
tho tree of life, whose fruit would have
testowod perpetual youth upon tho first
pair, and near it was tho troo of knowl
edge, fatal to them and to the destiny OF
man. a Scotch tradition assigns to the
apple tree tho honorof being the treo OF
knowledge.
In Morse cosmogony tho tree plays @
still moro important part. 1t Is here the
world ree-Yggdrasil- folingo is
the clouds, tho stars its fruit aud tho soa
its bed. AT its foot bubbles tho fountain
OF life, and from its branches fire was
brought to man. Under it sit tho three
| Norpes who weave the events of mans
liio. Its roots extend into tho highest
heaven and into the deepest hell. This
tree was an ash, and another legend says
Odin created Adam from tho ash aud
Eve from tho elm.
Like this is the famous soma tree,
which stands on an island in tho middle
of tho lake, guarded by fish. From 1t is
distilled the soma or anita, the dink OF
Immortality. Near it stands another treo,
called the inviolate, bearing tho seeds OF
all plants and flowers. In lis branches
are perchcd the eagles. When ono rises
thousand branches break olf, scatter.
Ing tho seed over the earth.
Like tho Morse world troc, tho intelli.
gent oak of Dodona had its roots In deep.
est purgatory, aud fountain at its foot
gave forth the oracular sayings of Jupi-
ter. This evergreen oak spoke its
thoughts, even when cut down, for of
1t was the Intelligent PROV of the Argos
made.
Tho ''troo of life" was not merely n
| figure OF speech in ancient b.lof. Mnny
Greek and Persian families claimed do.
scent from trees. Cadmus sprang from
a tree, the Achamonid claimed simi-
lar descent, and even Mars, according to
one legend, was the offspring of tree.
Pliny says there stood before tho temple
oi (suirinus, ut Rome, two myrtle trees
one tho pa,r.cian, tho Other. tho plcbeian-
and that as these orders OF society grow
or diminished in importance, its treo
ilourishcd or pincd.
Among snvago tribes the treo is often
god. The Ojibways thought certain
troes were dctios, and made offerings to
them. The Dacotahs worshipod many
trees, especially medicine wood. Caro-.
lima Indians vcneratcd the youpon, or
wild fig tree; tho ATayas recognized n
divinity In trees; tho ropanecs worshipod
them, and Darwin saw tribe which
vcncrated n tree, the home of deity
called Wallechu. They poured libations
throngha hole bored in it, and around It
were the bones of horses that had been
sacrificed. Indian tribes generally
worshiped trees, and some thought that
they sprang from thcm. Daricn tribos
descended from trees, and some of tho
Axtccs claimed their origin from two
trees in n wooded gorgo
AS tho trco WAS the origin OF life. il
was also thought the home Of souls after
life ended. Empodoclc says souls of the
highest vlrtEo passed into trees. Tho
Old tale OF Ihilemon and Baucis assigned
them a final homo in trocs rs reward
Tor charity shown to Zous Another
tradition says the pcnitcnt Myrrhn be.
ramc tree, and the drops which fall
from the bark (myrrh) are her tears.
Dante travcrsed lcallcss wood, in tho
bark of every tree of which was i'm
prisoncd suicide and he spoke to Pic.
trodellc Vigne. The Greek Dryads were
fablci to have their abodes in trees
Opbway Indians thought trees possessed
souls, and mover cut them, some fearing
to pain them. In many places i'm Ger.
many trees arc thought to be the first
abodes of infants.
The tree of knowledge also occurs in
popular lore. In North Germany, when
the master dies, somo one must 70 INTO
the gardcn and stand under tree md say:
Master IL dead, for if the tree is not
informed there will be another death.
An fltlhWnu fo1a
whispering tale OF lovo to certain
maiden who dcdicatos herself to it, dies,
aud Is often seen wandering in the for
est. According 10 Maori myth heaven
and Garth were once joined in an embrace
go close that their children had no place
to dwell. Iut Tanemahuta, father of
trees, pushed them asundcr with his
branches. These ideas concerning tho
divinity OF trees led to their worship in
primitive times.
In the deepest groves abide the gods.
Primitive nations inhabited the forest,
and the tree was their first shelter. The
centre oil the early Greek ms we'll ms of
the Icutonic dwelling was tree, around
which spread the house. Groves wero
the first temples, and the Gothic church
Is but grove turned into stone. In old
German dialects temple and grove are
the same word. Trco worship was the
foundation OF Gormanic and Celtic re.
ligion. Down to the introduction uf
Christianity i'll the North, tho dcit:cs
were worshiped in sacred groves, and on
tho boughs OF tho trees hung the heads
OF sac iiccd animals. AS late as the
eleventh century trees were worshipcd
in many places. The Druids, as is we'll
known, worshipcd and sacrificed in
gro es, and the oak was a sacred tree to
them g 7 out, IToI, Tlx,,o...f