A tree deity or tree spirit is a

nature deity In religion, a nature deity is a deity in charge of forces of nature, such as water, biological processes, or weather. These deities can also govern natural features such as mountains, trees, or volcanoes. Accepted in animism, pantheism, panenthe ...

related to a

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

. Such deities are present in many cultures. They are usually represented as a young woman, often connected to ancient

fertility Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate ...

and

tree worship Trees are significant in many of the world's mythologies, and have been given deep and sacred meanings throughout the ages. Human beings, observing the growth and death of trees, and the annual death and revival of their foliage, have often seen ...

lore.Heinrich Zimmer, ''Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization.'' (1946) The status of tree deities varies from that of a local

fairy A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

, sprite or

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

, to that of a

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

Examples of tree deities

The

Yakshi Yakshinis or Yakshis (, , Prakrit: ) are a class of female nature spirits in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious mythologies that are different from Devas and Asuras and Gandharvas or Apsaras. Yakshinis and their male counterparts, the Yaks ...

s or Yakshinis (),

mythical Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

maiden deities of

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, and Jain mythology are closely associated with trees, especially the

ashoka tree Ashoka tree is a common name for two plants which are frequently confused with each other: *'' Saraca asoca'', native to South Asia and western Myanmar *'' Saraca indica'', native to eastern Myanmar and Southeast Asia *'' Monoon longifolium'' i ...

and the

sal tree ''Shorea robusta'', the sal tree, sāla, shala, sakhua, or sarai, is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The tree is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet and across the Himalayan regions. Evolution Fossil evidence from lign ...

. Although these tree deities are usually benevolent, there are also yakshinis with malevolent characteristics in

Indian folklore The folklore of India encompasses the folklore of the Republic of India and the Indian subcontinent. India is an ethnically and religiously diverse country. Given this diversity, it is difficult to generalize the vast folklore of India as a uni ...

. Panaiveriyamman, named after ''panai'', the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

name for the Palmyra palm, is an ancient fertility deity linked to this palm that is so important in

Tamil culture Tamil culture refers to the culture of the Tamil people. The Tamils speak the Tamil language, one of the oldest languages in India with more than two thousand years of written history. Archaeological evidence from the Tamilakam region indicat ...

. This deity is also known as Taalavaasini, a name that further relates her to all types of

palm tree The Arecaceae () is a family of perennial, flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are colloquially c ...

s. Some other Tamil tree deities are related to ancient

agricultural deities Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food ...

, such as Puliyidaivalaiyamman, the deity of the tamarind tree, and Kadambariyamman, associated with the

kadamba tree ''Neolamarckia cadamba'', with English common names burflower-tree, laran, and Leichhardt pine, and called kadamba or kadam or cadamba locally, is an evergreen, tropical tree native to South and Southeast Asia. The genus name honours French natu ...

. These were seen as manifestations of a goddess who offers her blessings by giving fruits in abundance. In

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

the village ghosts or fairies related to trees such as

Nang Takian Nang Ta-khian (, "Lady of Ta-khian") is a female spirit of the folklore of Thailand. It manifests itself as a woman that haunts ''Hopea odorata'' trees. These are very large trees known as ''Ta-khian'' (ตะเคียน) in Thai, hence her n ...

and

Nang Tani Nang Tani (; "Lady of Tani") is a female spirit of the Thai folklore. According to folk tradition, this ghost appears as a young woman that haunts wild banana trees (''Musa balbisiana''), known in Thai language as ''Kluai Tani'' (กล้ว� ...

are known generically as ''

Nang Mai Nang Mai () is a ghost from Thai folklore that inhabits a large tree. It builds a palace in the tree, but nobody can see it, and if anyone cuts that tree, the cutter will be cursed, grow sick, or even become crazy. Description Nang mai in Thai ...

'' (นางไม้). There are also other tree ghosts that are male. Tree deities were common in ancient Northern European lore. In

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

's time, following the '' Capitulatio de partibus Saxoniae'' in 782 offerings to sacred trees or any other form of worship of the spirits of trees and springs were outlawed. Even as late as 1227 the Synod of

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

decreed that the worship of trees and sources was forbidden.

List of tree deities

Tree deities in different cultures of the world include: *

Anito ''Anito'', also spelled ''anitu'', refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities in the Indigenous Philippine folk religions from the precolonial age to the present, although the term itself may have other meanings and associ ...

, various

animistic Animism (from meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, Rock (geology), rocks, rivers, Weather, ...

nature spirits in indigenous

Philippine mythology Philippine mythology is rooted in the many indigenous Philippine folk religions. Philippine mythology exhibits influence from Hinduism, Hindu, Islam, Muslim, Buddhism, Buddhist, and Christianity, Christian traditions. Philippine mythology ...

are commonly believed to reside in

balete tree The balete tree (also known as balite or baliti) are several species of trees in the Philippines from the genus ''Ficus'', which are generally referred to as ''balete'' in Filipino. A number of these are ''strangler figs'', as they germinat ...

s * Bà Mộc, Vietnamese goddess of trees *

Chuhaister The Chuhaister () is a Ukrainian tutelary deity of the forests. He is specific to the Ukrainian Carpathians. It's a fantastic image in Slavic paganism, Ukrainian mythology, unknown to other Slavs, Slavic peoples. Description He was imagined as ...

, Ukrainian tree spirit, also Lisovyk * Druantia, hypothetical Gallic tree goddess proposed by

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were b ...

in his 1948 study ''

The White Goddess ''The White Goddess: a Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth'' is a book-length essay on the nature of poetic myth-making by the English writer Robert Graves. First published in 1948, it is based on earlier articles published in ''Wales'' magazine ...

''; popular with

Neopagans Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, spans a range of new religious movements variously influenced by the Paganism, beliefs of pre-modern peoples across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. Despite some comm ...

Dryad A dryad (; , sing. ) is an oak tree nymph or oak tree spirit in Greek mythology; ''Drys'' (δρῦς) means "tree", and more specifically " oak" in Greek. Today the term is often used to refer to tree nymphs in general. Types Daphnaie Thes ...

s and

hamadryad In Greek mythology, a Hamadryad or Hamadryas (; ) is a tree nymph. They are born bonded to a certain tree on which their life depends. Some maintain that a Hamadryad is the tree itself, with a normal dryad being simply the indwelling entity, or ...

s of

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

Hathor Hathor (, , , Meroitic language, Meroitic: ') was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky god Horus and the sun god R ...

, also called ''Lady of the

Sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning . Species of otherwise unrelated trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', a ...

'' in the

Old Kingdom of Egypt In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning –2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth Dynasty ...

Jinmenju Jinmenju or Ninmenju () is a type of ''Yōkai'' and ''Yaoguai'' in Japanese and Chinese folklore. It is commonly depicted as a tree bearing flowers that resemble human heads. It notably appears in the Edo period ''Konjaku Hyakki Shūi'' by Toriyam ...

, a tree with human-faced fruits in

Japanese mythology Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of years of contac ...

* Kodama and Kurozome, the spirit of the ''

Prunus serrulata ''Prunus serrulata'' or Japanese cherry is a species of cherry tree that grows wild in Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Philippines, Malaysia, Indones ...

'' (Japanese cherry) * Kukunochi, Japanese tree spirit *

Lauma Latvian Lauma or Lithuanian Laumė, or Yotvingian Łauma is a fairy-like woodland spirit, and guardian spirit of orphans in Eastern Baltic mythology or Yotvingian mythology. Originally a sky spirit, her compassion for human suffering brought h ...

, a woodland fae, goddess/spirit of trees, marsh and forest in Eastern

Baltic mythology Baltic mythology is the body of mythology of the Baltic peoples stemming from Baltic paganism and continuing after Christianization and into Baltic folklore. History Baltic mythology ultimately stems from Proto-Indo-European mythology. The Bal ...

Leshy Leshy or Leshi, ; literally, ' efrom the forest'. is a tutelary deity of the forest in pagan Slavic mythology. As Leshy rules over the forest and hunting, he may be related to the Slavic god Porewit. A similar deity called ''Svyatibor'' ('' ...

, is a

tutelary deity A tutelary (; also tutelar) is a deity or a Nature spirit, spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept ...

of the

forests A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological functio ...

in pagan

Slavic mythology Slavic paganism, Slavic mythology, or Slavic religion refer to the Religion, religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation of the Slavs, Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and ...

along with his wife ''Leshachikha(or the''

Kikimora Kikimora is a legendary creature, a female house spirit in Slavic mythology. Her role in the house is usually juxtaposed with that of the domovoy. The kikimora can either be a "bad" or a "good" spirit, which will depend on the behavior of the hom ...

'') and children (leshonki, leszonky)''. *

Meliae In Greek mythology, the Meliae (also called Meliads) (; or ) were usually considered to be the nymphs of the ash tree, whose name they shared. Mythology According to Hesiod, the Meliae (probably meaning all tree-nymphs) were born from the dr ...

, the nymphs of the

Fraxinus ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae, and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous trees, although some Subtropics, subtropical specie ...

(Ash tree) in Greek mythology * Metsaema, mother of the forest in

Estonian mythology Estonian mythology is a complex of myths belonging to the Estonian folk heritage and literary mythology. Information about the pre-Christian and medieval Estonian mythology is scattered in historical chronicles, travellers' accounts and in eccle ...

* Metsavana, old man of the forest in

Mielikki Mielikki () is the Finnish goddess of forests and the hunt. She is referred to in various tales as either the wife or the daughter-in-law of Tapio (Metsän emäntä, Mistress of Forest or Metsän miniä Daughter-in-law of Forest), and the mothe ...

, goddess of the forests in

Finnish mythology Finnish mythology commonly refers of the folklore of Finnish paganism, of which a Finnish Neopaganism, modern revival is practiced by a small percentage of the Finnish people. It has many shared features with Estonian mythology, Estonian and othe ...

Nang Ta-khian Nang Ta-khian (, "Lady of Ta-khian") is a female spirit of the folklore of Thailand. It manifests itself as a woman that haunts ''Hopea odorata'' trees. These are very large trees known as ''Ta-khian'' (ตะเคียน) in Thai, hence her n ...

, related to the ''

Hopea odorata ''Hopea odorata'' is a species of tree in the plant family Dipterocarpaceae. It is found in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Description ''H. odorata'' is a large tree reaching up to in hei ...

'' (Ta-khian tree) in

Thai folklore Thai folklore is a diverse set of mythology and traditional beliefs held by the Thai people. Most Thai folklore has a regional background for it originated in rural Thailand. With the passing of time, and through the influence of the media, large ...

, an ambiguous female spirit who lives in the ''

Musa balbisiana ''Musa balbisiana'', also known simply as plantain, is a wild-type species of banana. It is one of the ancestors of modern cultivated bananas, along with '' Musa acuminata''. Description It grows lush leaves in clumps with a more upright habit ...

'' (wild banana tree) *

Nariphon The Nariphon (, from Pali ''nārīphala''), also known as Makkaliphon (, from Pali ''makkaliphala''), is a tree in Buddhist mythology which bears fruit in the shape of young female creatures. The maidens grow attached by their head from the tree b ...

, a tree in

Buddhist mythology The Buddhist traditions have created and maintained a vast body of mythological literature. The central myth of Buddhism revolves around the purported events of the life of the Buddha. This is told in relatively realistic terms in the earlie ...

which bears fruit in the shape of young female creatures *

Penghou The Penghou (, pronounced ʰə̌ŋ.xǒʊ literally: "drumbeat marquis") is a tree spirit from Chinese mythology and folklore. Two Chinese classics record similar versions of the Penghou myth. The (c. 3rd century) ''Baize tu'' (白澤圖, "Diag ...

, an edible dog-shaped spirit in

Chinese mythology Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural tradit ...

* Pi-Fang, a Chinese tree deity * Rakapila, a sacred tree deity of

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Salabhanjika A salabhanjika or shalabhanjika is a term found in Indian art and literature with a variety of meanings. In Buddhist art, it means an image of a woman or yakshi next to, often holding, a tree, or a reference to Maya (mother of the Buddha), Maya ...

, another general term for Hindu tree nymphs * Sijou '' Euphorbia milii var. splendens'' the living embodiment of Bathoubwrai, the supreme deity in the Bathouist religion of the

Bodo people The Boro (बर'/बड़ो ), also called Bodo, are a Tibeto-Burman languages, Tibeto-Burman speaking ethnolinguistic group native to the state of Assam in India. They are a part of the greater Bodo-Kachari people, Bodo-Kachari family of e ...

or ''Mech'' of

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

and

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

Spriggan A spriggan is a legendary creature from Cornish folklore. Spriggans are particularly associated with West Penwith in Cornwall. Etymology ''Spriggan'' is a dialect word, pronounced with the grapheme as /d͡ʒ/, sprid-jan, and not sprigg-an ...

Tree like creature from Cornish mythology * Tāne-mahuta, atua (deity) of the forests and birds, and one of the children of Ranginui and Papatūānuku in

Māori mythology Māori mythology and Māori traditions are two major categories into which the remote oral history of New Zealand's Māori people, Māori may be divided. Māori myths concern tales of supernatural events relating to the origins of what was the ...

* Tapio, god of the forests in

* Thuyaung fruit trees from Burmese mythology *

Curupira The Curupira, Currupira or Korupira () is a forest spirit in the myth of the Tupí-Guaraní speaking areas in the Brazilian and Paraguaian Amazon and Guyanas. It is a guardian of the rainforest that punishes humans for overcutting. The ''Curu ...

, a powerful Demon/Forest Spirit in Guarani mythology and

Brazilian mythology Brazilian mythology is a rich and diverse part of Brazilian folklore with cultural elements, comprising folk tales, traditions, characters, and beliefs. The category is representative of Brazil’s greater culture, being a melting pot of Iberic ...

Gallery

File:Yoshitoshi The Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree.jpg, Kurozome, the tree spirit of

, "Japanese cherry" File:Panmosaic.jpg, Tile mosaic of Pan and a

, found in

Pompeii Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...

File:Sasaki Toyokichi - Nihon hana zue - Walters 95209.jpg, In the play ''Love Story at the Snow-covered Barrier'', the villain's wishes to cut down a giant blossoming black cherry tree are thwarted. As he wields an ax, a courtesan who is the living incarnation of the spirit of the tree manages to freeze the villain's hands. Then the spirit herself appears and overcomes him. File:Takian77.JPG, Lengths of brocade tied around the exposed roots of a ''

'' or "Ta-khian tree" growing on a steep slope as an offering to

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tree deities, List of * Lists of deities Comparative mythology *

Examples of tree deities

List of tree deities

Gallery

See also

References

External links