chapter XX 



THE FEAST OF THE TREES 



Trees have always held an important place in the im- 

 agination of primitive man. This special regard for trees 

 is not restricted to African races, but appears in the 

 art and mythology of almost every nation. In the growth 

 of a tree man saw a resemblance to his own life. Their 

 age long existence was to him a symbol of immortality. 

 It is not surprising therefore that tree worship goes back 

 to the earliest times, and one of the established traditions 

 among the ancients was that of a World Tree. 



The relation between an Ideal Tree and Paradise is 

 so consistent that we may conclude that there would 

 have been no Paradise without the tree. Mahomet had 

 his paradise which was set in the seventh heaven, where 

 grew a marvellous tree whose boughs bent of their own 

 accord so that the people who were lucky enough to be 

 in Paradise could pick the fruit without having to climb 

 up for it. In Indian tradition, the garden of Indra con- 

 tained as many as five miraculous trees, "that sheltered 

 the gods and provided them with ambrosia." 



The ancient Gaels conceived of a paradise where there 

 were many unfading trees and a Sixth Century Irish 

 poem describes how Bryan voyaging to the Isle of De- 

 light saw 



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