Baobab is the symbol of life, wisdom, and resilience

A common Arab legend is that the Baobab tree kept moving around when it was planted, and God turned the tree upside down to keep it in place. So Baobab Tree is also known as the upside-down tree. From the Congo to Senegal, Ghana to Tanzania, a similar story has been shared from generation to generation.

Source of Life

Baobab, the African Tree of life, is revered by African communities as a symbol of life, strength, and resilience. Some Africans believe Baobabs spontaneously appeared on earth by magic overnight. The Hadza Tribe in Tanzania believes man arrived on earth by climbing down a baobab tree. Some consider the Baobab a sacred and peaceful Tree, while others believe ancestral spirits inhabit the trees.

One will find a Baobab at the center of every community in northern Ghana. The Baobab serves as a place for ceremonies, festivals, and offerings. In Senegal, parents bathe their babies in water with baobab powder to protect them from evil.

In Dar es Salam an ancient Baobab serves as a place for healers to remove evil from their clients and where unmarried women come to pray for a husband.

n the Limpopo River area, natives believe that women living in villages with plentiful baobabs have more children than in towns with no baobabs. Doctors believe this story has as the soup made from baobab leaves is rich in vitamins and may increase fertility.

Source of Wisdom and resilience

People in the Volta region in Ghana have an expression: Knowledge is like the trunk of the Baobab Tree; no one’s arms are long enough to encompass it. The African baobab tree (Adansonia digitata) is the oldest flowering plant on earth and can live for more than 2,000 years. Their wide trunks often have hollow cavities, and their high branches resemble roots sticking into the air. They can store tremendous amounts of water in the rainy season surviving in the vast arid parts of Africa. The Sale Big Tree in Masisi, South Africa, is the giant living baobab. The sale has a huge base that covers 60.6 m² (652.3 sq ft), a height of 19.8 m (64 ft 11.5 in) and has been carbon-dated to 800 years old.

References

  1. https://safarisafricana.com/baobab-upside-down-tree

  2. The Baobabs, Pachycauls of Africa, Madagascar and Australia, Gerald E. Wickens, Pat Lowe