The Sacred Silk-cotton Tree

The Sacred Silk-cotton Tree PDF Author: Winston Small
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789768080745
Category : Common coral tree
Languages : en
Pages : 175

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Book Description

The Sacred Silk-cotton Tree

The Sacred Silk-cotton Tree PDF Author: Winston Small
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789768080745
Category : Common coral tree
Languages : en
Pages : 175

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Book Description


The Healing Tree

The Healing Tree PDF Author: Stephanie Rose Bird
Publisher: Weiser Books
ISBN: 1633412695
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
“A beautiful blend of folklore, botanical science, acquired wisdom, and spiritual guidance.” —from the foreword by Luisah Teish “If you want to learn about the reciprocal spiritual connection between humans and trees, you’re going to love this beautiful book.” —Tess Whitehurst, author of The Magic of Trees Reclaiming traditional botanical and herbal practices has never been more important than it is today. So much of our future depends on our ability to use ancient earth knowledge. In this crucially important book, author Stephanie Rose Bird recounts the story of the sacred wood: how to live in it, learn from it, and derive spiritual enrichment from it, as well as how to preserve and protect it. The Healing Tree offers functional, accessible recipes, remedies, and rituals derived from a variety of African and African American traditions to serve mind, body, soul, and spirit. The Healing Tree celebrates the forest: its powers, spirits, magic, medicine, and mysteries. Bird shares how trees have provided her with personal healing, then allows us to share in that process for our own benefit. Bird’s book follows her own personal journey, but Africa is always her touchstone—the persistent and tenacious ancestral mother wisdom and spiritual foundation that refuses to fade away. The Healing Tree preserves this knowledge, presenting it as relevant and viable and demonstrating in intimate detail how vestiges of that knowledge took root in the Western Hemisphere, in African American culture, and more broadly in American culture in general. Previously published as A Healing Grove, this updated edition includes a new preface by the author and a source guide for the botanicals discussed within.

Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart PDF Author: Chinua Achebe
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141393963
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World' A worldwide bestseller and the first part of Achebe's African Trilogy, Things Fall Apart is the compelling story of one man's battle to protect his community against the forces of change Okonkwo is the greatest wrestler and warrior alive, and his fame spreads throughout West Africa like a bush-fire in the harmattan. But when he accidentally kills a clansman, things begin to fall apart. Then Okonkwo returns from exile to find missionaries and colonial governors have arrived in the village. With his world thrown radically off-balance he can only hurtle towards tragedy. First published in 1958, Chinua Achebe's stark, coolly ironic novel reshaped both African and world literature, and has sold over ten million copies in forty-five languages. This arresting parable of a proud but powerless man witnessing the ruin of his people begins Achebe's landmark trilogy of works chronicling the fate of one African community, continued in Arrow of God and No Longer at Ease. 'His courage and generosity are made manifest in the work' Toni Morrison 'The writer in whose company the prison walls fell down' Nelson Mandela 'A great book, that bespeaks a great, brave, kind, human spirit' John Updike With an Introduction by Biyi Bandele

African Mythology A to Z

African Mythology A to Z PDF Author: Patricia Ann Lynch
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
ISBN: 1438119887
Category : Mythology, African
Languages : en
Pages : 137

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Book Description
Designed specifically for young readers, the Mythology A to Z series explores the world's most important myths and legends in an accessible and entertaining manner. Each volume includes vividly written entries on the major figures, places, stories, objects, and themes of a given mythology. A vast continent, Africa is the home of the first humans and the birthplace of many cultures, ranging from nomadic bands to farmers to sophisticated civilizations. With four major language families and myriad peoples, Africa is also the source of a diverse and engaging body of myth. African Mythology A to Z is a clearly written reference guide to this lore. Containing 42 illustrations, two maps, a time line, a bibliography, an index, and extensive cross-references, African Mythology A to Z is a comprehensive and accessible reference guide for anyone interested in learning more about various African myths, traditions, and beliefs.

Talin and the Tree- The Legend

Talin and the Tree- The Legend PDF Author: Stephanie DosSantos
Publisher: BlackDog BrownDog Press
ISBN: 173515900X
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 331

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Book Description
Two families. A legendary title at stake. Only one youth can claim it...and the battle won’t be easy. An island's sacred tree hides a portal to an underground world full of mystical energies --and the shocking truth that local superstitions are much more than just myths. When Talin, a bullied outcast, unexpectedly plunges into the portal and is chosen to fill the long-vacant role of island Healer, the reluctant teen must make a difficult decision: accept his destiny or let the power that comes with it fall into the evil hands of his rival, Dewain, who believes he is the next Healer. In order the preserve the legend for future generations, Talin must face a series of challenges that test his courage, strength, and character...and stay alive long enough to navigate between his home and a forgotten underground world. Described by young adult readers as Harry Potter meets The Chronicles of Narnia, Talin and the Tree-The Legend, is the first book in this new, enchanting, and addicting epic fantasy series. It’s more than just a tree...it’s a legend dying for revival.

Chocolate

Chocolate PDF Author: Meredith L. Dreiss
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
ISBN: 0816550867
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
Chocolate: Pathway to the Gods takes readers on a journey through 3,000 years of the history of chocolate. It is a trip filled with surprises. And it is a beautifully illustrated tour, featuring 132 vibrant color photographs and a captivating sixty-minute DVD documentary. Along the way, readers learn about the mystical allure of chocolate for the peoples of Mesoamerica, who were the first to make it and who still incorporate it into their lives and ceremonies today. Although it didn’t receive its Western scientific name, Theobroma cacao—“food of the gods”—until the eighteenth century, the cacao tree has been at the center of Mesoamerican mythology for thousands of years. Not only did this “chocolate tree” produce the actual seeds from which chocolate was extracted but it was also symbolically endowed with cosmic powers that enabled a dialogue between humans and their gods. From the pre-Columbian images included in this sumptuous book, we are able to see for ourselves the importance of chocolate to the Maya, Aztecs, Olmecs, Mixtecs, and Zapotecs who grew, produced, traded, and fought over the prized substance. Through archaeological and other ethnohistoric research, the authors of this fascinating book document the significance of chocolate—to gods, kings, and everyday people—over several millennia. The illustrations allow us to envision the many ancient uses of this magical elixir: in divination ceremonies, in human sacrifices, and even in ball games. And as mythological connections between cacao trees, primordial rainforests, and biodiversity are unveiled, our own quest for ecological balance is reignited. In demonstrating the extraordinary value of chocolate in Mesoamerica, the authors provide new reasons—if any are needed—to celebrate this wondrous concoction.

Dictionary of Plant Lore

Dictionary of Plant Lore PDF Author: D.C. Watts
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080546021
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 482

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Book Description
Knowledge of plant names can give insight into largely forgotten beliefs. For example, the common red poppy is known as "Blind Man" due to an old superstitious belief that if the poppy were put to the eyes it would cause blindness. Many plant names derived from superstition, folk lore, or primal beliefs. Other names are purely descriptive and can serve to explain the meaning of the botanical name. For example, Beauty-Berry is the name given to the American shrub that belongs to the genus Callicarpa. Callicarpa is Greek for beautiful fruit. Still other names come from literary sources providing rich detail of the transmission of words through the ages.Conceived as part of the author's wider interest in plant and tree lore and ethnobotanical studies, this fully revised edition of Elsevier's Dictionary of Plant Names and Their Origins contains over 30,000 vernacular and literary English names of plants. Wild and cultivated plants alike are identified by the botanical name. Further detail provides a brief account of the meaning of the name and detailed commentary on common usage. * Includes color images * Inclusive of all Latin terms with vernacular derivatives * The most comprehensive guide for plant scientists, linguists, botanists, and historians

The Postcolonial Novel

The Postcolonial Novel PDF Author: Richard Lane
Publisher: Polity
ISBN: 0745632793
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 155

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Book Description
Richard Lane explores the themes surrounding the postcolonial novel written in English.

The African Trilogy

The African Trilogy PDF Author: Chinua Achebe
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143131346
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 578

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Book Description
Chinua Achebe is considered the father of modern African literature, the writer who "opened the magic casements of African fiction." The African Trilogy--comprised of Things Fall Apart, Arrow of God, and No Longer at Ease--is his magnum opus. In these masterly novels, Achebe brilliantly imagines the lives of three generations of an African community as their world is upended by the forces of colonialism from the first arrival of the British to the waning days of empire. The trilogy opens with the groundbreaking Things Fall Apart, the tale of Okonkwo, a hero in his village, whose clashes with missionaries--coupled with his own tragic pride--lead to his fall from grace. Arrow of God takes up the ongoing conflict between continuity and change as Ezeulu, the headstrong chief priest, finds his authority is under threat from rivals and colonial functionaries. But he believes himself to be untouchable and is determined to lead his people, even if it is towards their own destruction. Finally, in No Longer at Ease, Okonkwo's grandson, educated in England, returns to a civil-service job in Lagos, only to see his morality erode as he clings to his membership in the ruling elite. Drawing on the traditional Igbo tales of Achebe's youth, The African Trilogy is a literary landmark, a mythic and universal tale of modern Africa. As Toni Morrison wrote, "African literature is incomplete and unthinkable without the works of Chinua Achebe. For passion, intellect and crystalline prose, he is unsurpassed."

Major Flowering Trees of Tropical Gardens

Major Flowering Trees of Tropical Gardens PDF Author: M. S. Swaminathan
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108481957
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 399

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Book Description
Discusses new species of flowering trees, useful for graduate students and academic researchers in the field of life sciences.