What does mean

not2sure


Joined: 15/07/2008
Posts: 79

Message Posted:
16/09/2008 15:34

On the way to Kayala there is a tree set back from the road with a large amount of fabric and bags etc tied to it. Does anybody know what it is please.

robin hood


Joined: 26/05/2008
Posts: 238

Message Posted:
16/09/2008 15:48

OLd tradition to grant wishes. Tie something to a tree and make a wish. Some trees have some kind of symbolic value. Who knows why?

not2sure


Joined: 15/07/2008
Posts: 79

Message Posted:
16/09/2008 15:59

Thanks for that it seems very important tree! Hope all their wishes come true maybe I should go asap!!!

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
16/09/2008 16:52

This might help.



A field study to survey the custom of tying rags on sacred trees in the northern part of Israel was carried out during 2000–2001. It included 60 interviewees: 24 Druze, 18 Moslem Arabs, 12 Moslem Bedouins and 6 Christian Arab individuals. Tree veneration was found to be quite uncommon among the Bedouins and rare among the Christian Arabs.



The results of the present study suggest there are 17 reasons for tying rags on sacred trees. Five reasons, as far as the author is aware, were not previously reported from the literature (i.e., breaking an oath, marking a blessed tree, marking the road to a blessed tree, asking for permission to pick fruit, and setting out rags for needy people). These usages appear to be endemic to Israel and to the Druze.



Two customs previously reported from Israel but not corroborated by the present survey are to pacify a tree’s spirit and as a charm for new clothes. Three of the 17 known reasons for tying rags on sacred trees are also known from regions beyond the Middle East (i.e., to transfer illness to the tree, to use a rag as a visiting card, and to pacify the tree’s spirits). And lastly, several customs never reported before from Israel appear to stem from the belief in ancient pagan polytheistic religions (to ensure a good yield, offerings to a tree’s deities/spirits, to pacify the ancestor’s spirits, to commemorate a death, and to pacify a tree’s spirit while picking fruits).



Twelve of the reported 17 reasons for hanging rags on sacred trees are known from Israel. These findings elucidate the widespread and variable tree worship traditions that are prevalent today in the region. In spite of a monotheistic ban against ancient pagan beliefs, trees still remain a subject of worship in Israel today, as manifested by the daily tying of rags upon branches.

PtePike



Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 2334

Message Posted:
17/09/2008 01:36

I've seen this done on the Greek side as well. Maybe it's common among semite peoples throughout the Near and Middle East.

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
17/09/2008 08:13

It's the equivalent of throwing coins in the fountain...

PtePike



Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 2334

Message Posted:
17/09/2008 13:30

Well that's one way to get me wet instantly.

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
17/09/2008 13:38

What goes in dry and it comes out wet, the longer its in the stronger it gets.It comes out dripping and starts to sag?

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
17/09/2008 13:38

You sound like a slapper!

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
17/09/2008 13:42

My message was for Eric (aka Pte Pike)

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
17/09/2008 14:03

Spot on Bob.