THE TREES ON THE LAND OF THE SACRED HEART OF LIFE
We are blessed with many, many trees on the Land of the Sacred Heart of Life. Well over half the Land is forest. Some old growth forest, some newer growth forest. From the perspective of both the Taino and Bakongo Roots, Trees are very important Spiritually.
Very often Cemis are made from trees, some of the Cemis of the Koki Medicine Clan are made from trees that came right from the Land. The trees represent Ancestral Trees, Ancestral Spirits, that which allows our existence in the here and now. When we speak of Spiritual Roots, the word "root" is not used as a convenient metaphor but reflects the power and significance of the Tree within the Traditions. Of course in Boriken the Ceibe tree is the central tree, its huge size, its mysteriousness, its long roots, are all very powerful and have been long honored and used by not only Taino but also by the African roots which found a home within our Caribbean homelands.
As Paleros, trees are of course also very important! Here we cannot grow a Ceibe tree or many of the other tropical trees that grow in the Caribbean, but there are also huge powerful trees here, most notably the OAK tree. We also have cherry trees, birch trees, elm trees, maple trees, poplar trees, sycamore trees, locust trees, walnut trees, sassafrass trees, beech trees, cedar trees, hawthorn trees, hickory trees, dogwood trees, mulberry trees, and we have planted many others, such as ginko, fruit trees, magnolia, red bud, flowering cherries, flowering pears, fig, weeping willow, dogwood, honey locust, river birch, fir, and more. All of these trees have spiritual qualities, and most of them (if not all) also have medicinal qualities and the trees are planted and cared for with respect for these qualities. However it is also vital to note that some of the trees have been planted for specific Egun (Ancestor), as a means to ground and center that Egun. It is also vital to note that some of the trees are ceremonial that are connected to a specific ceremony or medicine and were planted for a spiritual reason.
The tree in the beginning, which is also the tree above is a very mysterious, special tree. It must have once been a huge tall tree, but now it is half alive and half dead! It has an amazing hollow in bottom, which we use for spiritual purposes and it lives by one of the Springs that are on the Land. It is a very important marking point and is hundreds of years old, and has easily been standing since the African Community was upon the Land 100 years ago.
This tree is a Egun Tree, it is a Green Mountain Maple which was planted for a specific Egun during a Spiritual Process to benefit that Egun.
This is another Egun Tree, a sycamore, for an Ancestor of the Koki Medicine Clan. This particular Tree is connected to a very significant and important Ceremony that took place 4 years ago. It has grown strongly since it was planted.
This is two trees, a cherry and a poplar, which have grown together. This was discovered when we were clearing a space for a Women's Batey. The roots at the base of the tree form a uterus, confirming the appropriateness of the space for the women's Batey. These particular Trees are connected to the fusion of two trees coming together in each of us (our Mother's Tree and our Father's Tree). It is of course essential for the health of the individual that both of these trees, although distinct, are in harmony within the individual and are not in hostility towards one another. This is also a place where significant and very unusual Ceremony has taken place, and these are very definitely Ceremonial Trees.
The two trees above are concerning a Ceremonial Process that was done 6 years ago with the first tree, which was to "hold" the winds of negativity which were seeking at that time to destroy the Vision and to disrupt the process of the Land coming into the hands of the Koki Medicine Clan. There was a ceremony that translates to the ceremony of the 32 essences of the Dead (no in depth detail can be given for this ceremony). The tree took the "impact" of the negativity and parasites literally consumed the tree. These parasites reflected the two legged parasites who were attempting to suck the Life out of the Vision. From the Spiritual perspective the impact was so strong that it killed the tree, which was amazing to see, however the impact did not succeed in destroying the Vision or the process of the Land coming into the hands of the Koki Medicine Clan because of the Ceremony with this tree and the Medicine involved. This was the purpose of the Ceremony that the tree would take the impact and the Vision would not have to take the impact. The dead tree was replaced with a living tree, which was later successfully transplanted to the Land. This tree has flourished!
To the right is an Elm Trees that we planted on the Land and in the background is a pine tree that we rescued from an abandoned lot.
This tree that is behind the Bohio is marking another important point and a ceremonial point. When I say "ceremonial point" that means that an actual ceremony/ spiritual process took place at that point and many times indicates that medicine has been placed at that point. It is not a vague statement or a fantastical statement or a statement of wishful thinking. It is a statement indicating TRATADO.
Another wonderful tree on the Land, a very old apple tree. This apple tree still bears many fruits!
This tree is growing right out of the roof of the Monansu. We built the Monansu around the tree itself through some creative carpentry. It is the central post within the monasu. As I said previously Palos are very significant to Paleros!
Another beautiful tree on the Land, another old apple tree. This is in the horse field and surprisingly although the horses will eat most of the other tree's bark they will not eat the apple tree, but they do enjoy eating all the apples that fall to the ground in the Fall.
Behind the stones of this Batey are the many tulip poplar trees and some cherry which we cleared of vines when we first built the bohio. They were being choked by many vines. Since they were cleared of vines, they have accelerated their growth. On the other side of the Batey is mostly locust trees, which are very strong and have been used as fence posts which last 50 years with no chemical treatment at all! The bees love both the poplar and locust flowers. Here the tulip poplar tree's flower make up one of the strongest nectar flows for the bees.
This side of the Batey has mostly locust and some black walnut trees and here the ground is covered in various medicinal "weeds" and is green all spring, summer and fall, the other side does not grow anything and stays the color of soil!
Hawthorn tree in one of the horse fields. It has spikes all over it, and is used for specific spiritual purposes. The hawthorn is also known as espanta muerto. The animals do not chew on it because of the spikes and most likely they do not like its flavor! Next to it is one of the wild elderberry bushes that grow all over the horse fields. Again the horses, fortunately do not eat them. Elderberry is a wonderful tonic for the immune system and is a great syrup to take when you have a cold or the flu. Once you have a cold Elderberry is more effective than echinacea!
Flowering dogwood tree in front of cherry and cedar all of these are here naturally. We have many dogwoods naturally on the Land.
Two cedars and a tulip poplar in a horse field. These trees will have the opportunity to grow very big because they are in a field and not in the forest so they do not have to compete for sunlight. We have a true hardwood forest in much of the Land, but in the areas that have newer growth which are actually in a recovery process after the Land was pastured or farmed, we are able to select the strongest trees to grow very tall and we keep the space below them accessible.
We are also creating "hedges" which are perfect habitats for birds and are also windbreaks for the gardens. It is very important to us that we do more than replace any trees that we use. It is also important to us that we re-introduce many of the native trees to this region. We are concerned with medicinal trees as well and increasing the diversity of trees upon the Land. The trees are sacred to us, and also provide us with health, shade, shelter, warmth, cooking fuel, and the sacred materials for Medicines and Cemis! There are many more trees of interest on the Land, this is just a brief glimpse.
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GIVING BACK!!!!
THE TREE NURSERY!
We have hundreds of saplings in our Tree Nursery! Which we planted when they were no bigger than a small twig! We put them in a nursery because it enabled us to care for them more efficiently as they required water and weeding. Today they have grown tall, some are over 8' tall. There are sycamores, river birches, honey locusts, dogwoods, butterfly bushes, peach trees, and some pine trees. Over the next year we will be planting many of them around the Land. They are to replace the many trees that have been destroyed over the years and to bring back more of the native trees to this region. When looking at the area we live in from the sky (google map) it is shocking how depleted and TREELESS this so called rural area looks. There has been a devastation of the tree life in this area, and although it appears that there are a lot of trees, this is an illusion due to the fact that there are many trees planted along the roads, so it appears as if the area has a lot of forest. Farmers in this area have systematically destroyed all the forested areas in the quest for more farm and pasture land. There is also a lot of quarrying that takes place in this area as well as housing developments which appear to have an obsession to cut down every tree in order to build a house.
There is a misunderstanding that for a space to be productive that it has to be treeless. The trees are vital to our thriving. Their leaves enrich the soil, we use the leaves for mulch, they contribute to trapping carbon dioxide, they provide so many essential products for us including medicines, and they also reduce soil erosion. The Earth will naturally cover herself back up with trees as soon as the people stop mowing them down, clearly indicating that trees are her natural adornment in this area. We honor that by replanting trees!
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