Saturday, May 17, 2008

Where the Evil Spirits goes...


According to ancient African myth, bottles on trees could catch evil spirits and prevent them from entering a home. In the 18th century, Africans who came to the South as slaves adorned cedar trees with bottles for protection, said Robert Farris Thompson, African and African American art historian at Yale University. The color blue also signified healing powers.

"Bottle trees are an important element of African-American visual culture, they will always be with us - like okra, hominy and black-eyed peas."


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18 comments:

  1. GMGMay 17, 2008 2:47 PM

    Hi Sue! Here I am for the weekly visit… ;)
    The bottle tree picture is beautiful! There are two amazing bottle trees at the Berardo Museum in Lisbon; it seems they are proliferating...
    It's just a cup of coffee is a fabulous post with wonderful pictures!
    The Wednesday special was special this week!
    Thanks for your comment on Blogtrotter, which as you know has landed in the imperial town of Marrakesh, the Red City!
    Hope you have a great weekend!

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  2. S-V-HMay 17, 2008 2:58 PM

    Hi Gil,

    thanks for being such a loyal weekly visitor and commentator to my blog. You made mt day with all your compliments to my posts and pictures, thank you.:-)

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  3. AnonymousMay 17, 2008 5:35 PM

    very interesting :) as always, your blog is very nice for me.

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  4. S-V-HMay 17, 2008 5:40 PM

    Hi Reggina,

    nice to see you again commenting on my blog. Thank you so much for your kind words.:-)

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  5. MikeMay 17, 2008 7:24 PM

    Hello Sue! At first that looked like a real tree! Didn't know it was bottles until I looked at it a second time. Interesting stuff.

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  6. S-V-HMay 17, 2008 8:16 PM

    Hi Mike,

    I like that when people are looking closer to my photos...LOL..thanks for commenting.:-)

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  7. AnonymousMay 17, 2008 8:19 PM

    What a fascinating tradition or habit - never heard of it - thanks for sharing and for the wonderful picture of it too!

    Btw: Thanks for your Norwegian National Day greetings. Your welcome over for a report from the celebration today :-)

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  8. S-V-HMay 17, 2008 8:38 PM

    Hi Renny,

    I didn't knew it either until yesterday when I made the picture and the Lady told us the story about those blue bottles in the trees.

    Thanks for commenting!

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  9. MicheleMay 17, 2008 9:35 PM

    Hi Sue, I saw a craft to make a smaller version for your home in a Martha Stewart Magazine and thought it was a great idea but seeing a photo here was delightful in this big version!!! Nice!

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  10. S-V-HMay 17, 2008 9:58 PM

    Hi Michele,


    thanks for your tip! And thanks for commenting too. Have a nice weekend.

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  11. roentareMay 18, 2008 2:09 AM

    Seriously beautiful and graceful. Wonderful posts here.

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  12. S-V-HMay 18, 2008 9:12 AM

    Thank you roentarre,

    for your kind compliment to my work in photography. Nice to see you around again on my bog.:-)

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  13. Bob JohnsonMay 18, 2008 11:45 AM

    Too cool Susanne, very interesting about the bottles.

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  14. S-V-HMay 18, 2008 11:55 AM

    Thanks for visiting, Bob!

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  15. CaroleMay 18, 2008 6:33 PM

    Wow didn't know that about the bottles on trees. great shot as always

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  16. S-V-HMay 18, 2008 7:52 PM

    Hi Carol, thanks for commenting. Yep..we are learning all the time new things - me too. :-)

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  17. AnonymousMay 19, 2008 3:22 AM

    wonderful shot, very interesting info

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  18. S-V-HMay 19, 2008 8:50 AM

    I'm glad you liked it, evlahos. Thanks for your kind comment.

    ReplyDelete

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