Rituals , ceremonies and customs related to sacred trees with a special reference to the Middle East

Tree worship is very common worldwide. This field study surveys the ceremonies and customs related to sacred trees in present-day Israel; it includes the results of interviews with 98 informants in thirty-one Arab, Bedouin, and Druze villages in the Galilee. The main results are: 1. Sacred trees were treated as another kind of sacred entity with all their metaphysical as well as physical manifestations. 2. There is not even one ceremony or custom that is peculiar only to a sacred tree and is not performed in other sacred places (such as a saint's grave or a mosque). 3. Few customs, such as: quarrel settling (= Sulkha), leaving objects to absorb the divine blessing and leaving objects for charity) seem to be characteristic of this region, only. 4. In modern times, sacred trees were never recorded, in Israel, as centres for official religious ceremonies including sacrifices, nor as places for the performing of rites of passage. 5. There is some variation among the different ethnic groups: Kissing trees and worshipping them is more common among the Druze although carrying out burials under the tree, leaving water and rain-making ceremonies under them have not been recorded in this group. Passing judgments under the tree is more typical of the Bedouin in which the sacred trees were commonly used as a public social centre. Most of the customs surveyed here are known from other parts of the world. The differences between Muslims and Druze are related to the latter's belief in the transmigration of souls. Background On the subject of sacred places, Turner [[1]:24] states: "This place where other realms are meet is also indicated by various forms representing a link or connection between the human and transhuman spheres, and usually set in a vertical dimension as a ladder, poles and pillars, trees and hills". Sacred places are found all over the globe and may consist of various artificial objects (buildings, shrines, graves) as well as natural ones (mountains, water source and trees). According to Eliade [[2]:26] "Every sacred space implies a hierophany, an irruption of the sacred that results in detaching a territory from the surrounding cosmic milieu Published: 9 July 2007 Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2007, 3:28 doi:10.1186/1746-4269-3-28 Received: 10 May 2007 Accepted: 9 July 2007 This article is available from: http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/3/1/28 © 2007 Dafni; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

and making it quantitatively different". The distinction between the profane and the sacred may contain the following elements: reverence; deference; sanctions, prohibitions and rules of conduct; demands for offerings; territorial demarcation that serve as centres of pilgrimage [ [3] [20][21][22]. One should bear in mind that the sacred cannot exist without the profane, for the former needs to be constructed and protected from the latter [ [9]:50]. Trees are very common as sacred objects as and as leading landmarks of sacred places [ [10]: passim; [11]: passim; [12]: passim; [13]: passim; [14]: passim; [15]: passim].
In the Muslim world, as well as in the Middle East, sacred places are closely related to the veneration of saints [ [16]: passim; [17]: passim; [18]:passim; [19]:passim; [20]: passim] and, in many instances, sacred trees are connected with sacred graves/shrines and share the same supernatural powers, to grant divine blessings, to cure and to punish the offenders against the saint to whom the tree is dedicated and who endows them with their miraculous powers [ [19]: passim; [15] passim; [21]:passim; [22]passim]. So it is not surprising that many of the customs and ceremonies which are performed, in general, in sacred places, are performed also at the sites of sacred trees. Frese and Gray [ [23]:32] have already stated,"Sacred trees have a ritual significance. The trees and their meanings may be incorporated into rituals of curing, initiation, marriage and death. Trees used in any of these contexts stand for the divine and represent the sacred beliefs being honored through the ritual". Eliade [(1963,[4]:268] has already stated : "No tree was ever adored for itself only, but always for what was revealed through it, for what it implied and signified". Sacred trees are, thus, treated as any other sacred places and one may expect to see common customs related to sacred trees as well as to any other sacred places.
This work studies the present-day rituals and customs related to sacred trees in Israel; it is based on personal interviews as well as a field survey. Some of the customs related to sacred trees have already been considered elsewhere (seeking for asylum, taking oath, deposition of properties [ [22]: passim]; tying rags [ [21]: passim] and the hammering of nails [ [24]:7]. Although the division is somewhat artificial, the present paper is more concerned with social as well as religious issues. It also includes some very brief additions to the former papers resulting from our continuous field study since 2000.

Methodology
The field study (1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)) centred on thirty-one Arab, Bedouin, and Druze villages in the Galilee. Informants were asked about the customs and ceremonies performed near or under sacred trees. The survey covered 98 informants, consisting of 34 Druze and 64 Muslims (45 Arabs and 29 Bedouin). The distinction between "Arabs" and "Bedouin" has been made in an attempt to examine whether there were any different traditions regarding sacred trees which may reflect the different origin of nomads versus settled village people. We took "Arabs" to be people settled in their villages for several centuries, and "Bedouin" as people who originated in the deserts of Israel and Jordan, and who migrated to the Galilee in the last three centuries, and were nomads until the end of the 20 th century [ [25]: 30 The survey excluded Christians, who hardly believed in sacred trees while, in the Jewish sector, the adoration/worshipping of trees is a new trend of the last two decades and almost all the worshipperd trees are already known as old Muslim sacred ones in the vicinity of graves of supposed historical righteous Jewish personalities.
In each village we carried out a preliminary survey to locate the more knowledgeable people in advance, and we also chose important religious leaders to examine their attitudes to the veneration of sacred trees. The informants were chosen mainly according to their knowledge of common/local traditions and/or religious status. The average age of the informants was 57.7 (+/-14.8) years. Respondents were 86 males and 22 females (in general women are reluctant to be interviewed and, when they agreed the interview was held in the presence of other family members). Because of the refusal of most of the informants to be videotaped or recorded, the study is based entirely on oral interviews and field notes taken on the spot. The interviewees were asked what are the customs and manners performed at the sacred tree. We also surveyed 26 sacred trees near which active worship takes place today and could be observed. (Numbers printed in bold in the table and the text indicates how many informants related to a specific issue).

Results
The results concerning religious and community issues are presented in Table 1 family/personal issues and respect of the tree in Table 2.

Wedding preparations under sacred trees
In some villages there are sacred trees which are called "Sajarat el Orsan (the groom's tree, 8) or "Sagarat el Arus (The bride's tree, 7). These names reflect the old custom of performing weddings under these trees. Just before the ceremony at the groom's house he was brought to the sacred trees for final preparations (Zaffa). Mats were spread under the tree and food and sweets were offered to the guests. A group of males surrounded the groom and washed him, he was then dressed in beautiful clothes and his friends used to encourage him while the women gathered nearby singing special songs. Sometimes horse races were held on the same occasion. Later the groom was brought in a special ceremonial parade to his home in which the official meal was held. (This ceremony or parts thereof were common in many villages, 12, all of which are Muslim). Weddings under sacred trees are known also among the Druze; here it is more of a kind of feast or celebration -but without special attention being paid to the groom, 10). When people were asked why the ceremony was held under the tree some (7, Arabs) they said that it was to get a blessing, while others (5, Bedouins) mentioned that the large solitary tree was a good place for gathering under as it offers much shade in the summer and is a good place for horse racing. The Druze (5) mentioned the pleasant and spacious area around the tree as the reason for choosing it as the place for the celebration, while others (4) indicate that it was done "for a blessing".

Rainmaking rituals
The rainmaking ceremony at the village of Kaukab Abu el Heija, in the Western Galilee, was so famous that people from other villages in the region used to take part and each delegation brought its special flags which were assigned for this specific purpose. When there was a rain arrest, the rainmaking parade was leaving the village from the sacred saint's shrine of Sheikh Sa'eed (in which the flags and the musical instruments are deposited even today) to the close mountain (Mt. Atzmon). The participants were equipped with their flags and special musical instruments. On the way they stopped at a sacred tree (Christ Thorn Jujube, Ziziphus spina christi, the tree had already disappeared) and they put the "rainmaking flags" near this tree. Here they read the opening chapter of the Quran (Surrat el Fatikha) while asking another saint (Abu El Heija, the local saint, buried on an adjacent hill) for a permission to continue the ceremony. Then they approached his grave and circumambulated it seven times while praying.
The parade continued to another sacred tree; underneath it was the grave of Sheikh Ottoman (the tree of Pitacia lentiscus and the grave has already gone) and circumambulated it seven times with the flags. Then they climbed the mountain which is close and prayed near an impressive tree, an evergreen oak (Quercus calliprinos), circumambulated the mountain peak and prayed for rain. They then returned to the village in a special track (along a special path) which is called "the way of the musical instruments  and the flags" and the rain begun soon. The last ceremony was held around 1953 (8).
In other villages we heard that rainmaking ceremonies and praying were carried out near sacred trees, they included special songs and prayers (which may have varied from village to village) and sometimes included the sprinkling of water. (10, from six different villages, all of which are Muslim), these ceremonies came to an end over the last three to five decades.
Rain making ceremonies at the Druze sector are quite rare and performed (mainly as water pouring and special songs, 8) by woman and children in the streets and are never related to sacred trees. The religious leader considering rainmaking ceremonies as a kind of an intervention in God's action. A popular saying, reflecting this view, says "My son doesn't look at the cloud, God's mercy is closer" (Salekh Khatib, 22.4.07. Pers. comm.,)

Discussion
The tree as a social centre In many cases it is easy to attribute meetings under the tree not to its sancticity but simply because many of them are very large and give a lot of shade (5). As a rule, in Israel, there are no official religious meetings under a tree and it is not a centre of communal worship as in many polytheistic religions. . This custom has nothing to do with a sacrifice to any supernatural being that is related to the sacred tree or the grove in which sacrifices are part of the official religion (see above).

Sulkha
Sulkhas being conciliations between families, especially when serious quarrels or murder were involved. In the village of Arab a' Shibli (in the foothills of Mt Tabor) there is a special tree (Quercus ithabusresis) named Al Mizar (= the visits) under which the local judges used to sit regularly until around 1950 (17 informants from this village). Near this village there was another oak tree (named "Sajarat el Bahta") near which Sulkhas were carried out (6). The act of a "Sulkha" under the tree seemed to prevail, in the past, more in Bedouin than in Arab villages and was not found by us among the Druze.
So far this custom (performed under a sacred tree) was found by us only among the Bedouin. Sulkha procedures are very common among the Arabs and are held generally at the leader's (Sheikh's) house. It seems that among the Bedouin it is carried out under the tree especially because it is a well-shaded place; not one of our informants has pointed out a special connection between the sacred tree and the saint that is related to it.

Rain making ceremonies
Rainmaking ceremonies are known worldwide in many diverse communities [ [12]: passim]. A rainmaking ceremony may contain one or more of the following elements: water pouring, imitation of rainfall and thunder prayers, use of musical instruments/special songs, sacrifices and the use of special objects for these ceremonies.
The ceremony is carried out by special members of the community; it is a secret ceremony, which takes place in special places frequently sacred ones, there is the performing of a special procession, as well as special costumes. These elements or parts thereof were reported from many countries [Palestine, [19] 103] in order to get the saint's divine blessing ("Barakeh"). Rix [86]:32] mentioned, "Holiness is, indeed, to the Palestine peasant a sort of liquid which may be absorbed by physical contact. The man who hangs a rag upon a tree will take from it and wear about his person another rag which has become soaked with the virtue of the place by hanging there..." Dafni [21] found seventeen reasons for tying rags on sacred trees worldwide, twelve of which were recorded in Israel: Five reasons (the breaking of an existing oath, to mark a blessed tree, to mark the road to a blessed tree, to ask for permission to pick fruit and to leave rags for needy people) which are endemic to the Druze. Two reasons (to pacify the tree's spirit and a charm for new clothes) were previously reported from Israel but were not confirmed. Three other reasons (transference of one's illness to the tree, using a rag as a visiting card and to pacify the tree's spirits) are also known beyond the Middle East. Other reasons (such as ensuring good crops, offerings to the tree's deities/spirits, pacifying the ancestor's spirits, commemorating a death, pacifying a tree's spirit while picking fruit) were never reported from the Middle East and are connected with polytheistic religions.

Hammering nails into sacred trees
Hammering nails as well as hanging clothes are "tying" rituals, whereby the person seeks healing or a solution to problems by transferring his or her illness or problems to the tree, or to whatever object the clothes are hung on or nails hammered into. Such "tying" is one of the best known and commonest beliefs practised throughout the world among Christians, as well as among

Weddings
People used to arrange weddings under the sacred tree to receive blessings from the saint to whom the tree is dedicated (24) and, also, just because it was almost the only large available tree that gave considerable shade (5, all of which are Bedouin who stressed that the tree was a meeting point because of this very reason). In some villages there are special sacred which were used for the pre-wedding ceremonies. Weddings under a sacred tree can still be seen in the village of M'ghar (Lower Galilee) under the huge Ziziphus spina christi of Sheikh Rabis. This custom was more common among the Bedouin in rural areas but quite rare among the Druze whose religious leaders are strictly against this custom (4).

Taking vows
Vows are taken under a sacred tree just as they are in saints' shrines [ [19]: [132][133]. This is frequently manifested by tying rags in the shrines or on sacred trees [see [21] and references therein]. The religious belief is that these places are regarded as channels between God and his believers through the saint's mediation in his place [shrine or a tree, see [22] Groom [[107]:2] explains the use of incense "The spreading of the smoke and fragrance of incense and the visible movement of the smoke upwards towards the heaven has given it a symbolic relationship to prayer, making the offering synonymous with worship". When our informants were asked why they used incense (under the sacred tree) the answers were: for barakeh (16), to honour the saint (9), against the evil eye (4, as it is known in Jewish  (18) or as a regular commitment (generally on certain days of the week, especially Thursday night) to the saint as a result of a vow (7) Westermarck [[18]: I: 302] explained the use of candles" The Jinun (devils) are fond of darkness and terrified by light. The burning of candles is therefore a means of keeping them away". Our informants explain candle lighting as for Barakeh (7) and as thanks (6) to the tree/saint as it is also done in a saint's shrine [Canaan, 1927-8:19:132].

Use of sacred parts of trees
In the Middle East, parts of the trees may be taken as talismans/charms/amulets/medicine because the tree had the divine blessing of the saint " ("Barakeh") to whom the tree is dedicated [ [19]: passim; [20]: passim; see [22]   . In Israel, even species of some plants or parts of it that are not known as having medicinal properties, such as the leaves of a sacred oak (Quercus calliprinos), are regarded as omnipotent forms of medication when administrated externally as a poultice (6) or as a decoction (8). Leaves of a "secular" oak are not used for healing. Clearly, the leaves acquire the healing powers only when granted by saints; just as actual medicinal plants gathered in the vicinity of the sacred tree are more potent than their conspecifics (5). Most of the uses of sacred trees for divine blessings or cures or as talismans (Table 2) are based on a magical contact.
In our survey it was found ( Table 2) that individual people may use parts, especially the leaves of the tree only as carriers of the saint's divine blessing (Barakeh). Sacred trees are never used as a part of an official religious ceremony.
The use of parts of sacred trees (especially specific species) is very common in India, especially when the specific trees are sacred to a certain deity [115]: passim; [11]: passim; [93]: passim] as part of the fulfilling of daily rituals (especially leaves and flowers), also in Nigeria [ [119]: 125,129].

Charity
Visitors to sanctuaries, in Palestine, used to leave objects in honour of the saint as votive objects, as part of a fulfillment of a vow or for use by later visitors; these included candles, oil for lamps [19]:144-146, also personal observations], incense [19]:148] and matches [19]145]. It is unique to the Druze believers to leave used clothes at sacred trees as a charitable gift for use by other people [21].

Decorating the tree
The Druze sometimes put pictures of their religious leaders on sacred trees (Table 2) as they used to do in their house of prayer (Hilwe) and other sacred places (personal observation.). When they declared a "new" tree as sacred on Mount Carmel [see [15]] they decorated it with such kinds of pictures. The reason given was "hanging pictures brings blessings" (4). So far this custom has been found only in the Druze sector.
In addition to the great fear of punishment due to harming or making sacrilegious utterances about the trees [see [22]], there are many gestures which show the deep respect for the trees; these are performed while approaching or visiting the tree such as a ban on defecating or urinating near the tree (3), swearing (3), cleaning around the tree (Table 2); a need for personal purifying (e.g. washing before visiting the tree as is done before a visit of the mosque) (5); the saying of a special chapter from the Quran (18); and it is forbidder to leave ant dirt under the tree (5).

Kissing and embracing of the tree
This custom seems to be almost exclusive to the Druze. They (13) explain that kissing the "blessed tree" [see [15]] is to receive a blessing as the kissing is done in a sacred grave 6). The same is regarded for putting the palm of one's hand on the tree (5). In India, people embrace a sacred tree in order "to get their desires fulfilled" [ [103]:23].

Sacred trees, saint's graves
In the discussion about the reason/s for the sanctification of trees [ [15] passim; [18]: passim]. it is agreed that there is a similarity between sacred trees and graves of Muslim saints (Wellis). The spirit of the Welli dwells in his grave or his shrine or in a tree which is dedicated to him. It is not surprising to see the close similarity between the ceremonies and rituals that are performed in a saint's shrine/ grave and at a sacred tree.
Many of the rituals and ceremonies that are held at the sacred tree first take place at the saint's shrine or his grave. Dafni [22] has already noticed that in the Middle East, as well as in Europe, tree worship today is practised by individuals making personal petitions. Tree worship is, by no means, a part of the official monotheistic governing religion. In Israel there are no performances of regular religious ceremonies, as they may be held in a maqam (a saint's shrine) [ [19]: 98] or of, course, in a mosque that is performed at a sacred tree. Nevertheless, in many polytheistic religions, tree worship is a part of the official worship and is performed at a community-based level [see discussion and references in [22]].

The uniqueness of some Druze customs
Some customs such as rainmaking ceremonies, burials, pronouncing judgment, conducting a Sulkha, and leaving water under the sacred tree are absent in the Druze sector.
As far as the author is aware, rain-making ceremonies are almost unknown in this sector in relation to sacred trees, although they were previously common in the villages (6).
The Druze believe in the transmigration of souls: a person's body is a kind of clothing for the soul and, with death, the soul passes to the body of a newborn child [ [26]:60]. The Druze never consider sacred trees as an abode for the souls of righteous figures and certainly do not relate trees to graves [see [22]]: for further discussion. However, some Druze ascribe supernatural powers to sacred trees [22]. Their fear and admiration of such trees are of the same magnitude as in the Muslim sectors [(Tables 1 and 2, and [22]]. While the Muslims credit the miraculous powers (e.g., the trees' immunity to fire) to the souls of Wellis or of God, the Druze ascribe these powers to their prophets or religious leaders themselves [22].

Conclusion
When comparing the customs and ceremonies which are held, in many cultures, in sacred places and religious shrines as well as under sacred trees and groves one may come to several conclusions: • 1. Sacred trees are just another kind of sacred place with all their metaphysical as well as physical manifestations. In our region, sacred tress are frequently related (by Muslims) to the shrines of saints • 2. There is not even one ceremony or custom that is peculiar only to a sacred tree and is not performed in relation to other sacred places (such as a saint's grave or mosque).
• 3. Few customs (e.g. the settling of quarrels = Sulkha), leaving objects to absorb the divine blessing and leaving objects for charity) seems to be characteristic of the Middle East • 4. Sacred trees were never recorded in modern times, in our region, as centres for official religious ceremonies including sacrifices, or places for the performing of rites of passage.
• 5. There are some variations among the different ethnic groups: The kissing and worship of trees is more common among the Druze while burial under the tree, leaving water and rain-making ceremonies under the tree was not recorded in this group. Passing judgment under the tree is more typical of Bedouin communities in which the sacred trees were commonly used as public social centres.
Most of the customs/manners related to sacred trees and groves are ubiquitous and can be found throughout human history. Some of these, such as family gatherings, conducting a Sulkha, the leaving of food, the leaving of objects to absorb divine blessings and leaving objects for charity) seem to be characteristics of this region, while the performing of official religious ceremonies under the sacred trees was never recorded in present-day Israel and is typical of the old Semitic religions [ [43]: passim]. Today, these ceremonies exist mainly in polytheistic religions.