Religious inclinations vested on the FIG tree
Did you know that the African people are a distinct kind of species that are the most genetically diverse people on earth? They are so diverse that two Africans are more genetically different from each other than a Chinese and an European are from each other.This attributes to why the African people have so many beliefs and religious inclination.
In commemorating our tree tuesday today let me introduce the Mugumo fig tree, but other common names are wild fig and strangler fig. Ancient Kikuyu tradition holds this tree as a sacred tree, because it was thought that spirits, especially deceased ancestors, dwelt in this tree. Therefore, when clearing a field for cultivation, the Kikuyu will never cut down a Mugumo tree that happened to be in the field and thus these trees will often grow to be very old. They are most often found where water is very plentiful, and they usually begin their life by growing up around another tree and eventually strangling the host tree thus the name strangler fig. In ancient times, ceremonies and sacrifices were often carried out under large Mugumo trees.
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chao @darkqueen
Amazing background regarding this type of tree. @darkqueen Do you have personal experience with these trees by any chance? We used to have an American Chestnut tree here in the USA, but it's been wiped out by a blight imported from China in the early 20th century. It towered over the oak trees we see growing around the country now. Once a national treasure, it's now basically extinct. But at one time it was the oldest and tallest trees around like this one is.
These trees apparently are quite common in most rural homesteads.