By Dr Michelina Andreucci

IN African philosophy, plants, trees and flora did not just occupy geographical spaces, but social, spiritual religious, narrative and industrial spaces within our body of traditional intelligence.
Our ancestors understood and respected the co-habitation, co-existence and inter-dependency – that is to say: the stewardship of the environment; preserving it for future perpetuity.
Evidence at Great Zimbabwe and other archaeological sites points to the fact that certain trees and plants considered sacred and essential were planted around these spaces.
The cacti, besides medicinal purposes, wards off lightning.
Musasa/mutondo provided shade for conducting daily consultations and various other trees associated with community well-being and welfare.
The forests, its trees, water bodies, rocks, caves and underground enclaves also played an important role in the spiritual life of indigenous people.
For many local sub-groups of people, trees were not just plants; they were social institutions which became part of our culture.
In fact, many believed God lived on hilltops and would send a whirlwind to bring up the good people (to heaven), or cast them down (to hell), if they transgressed.
It was also believed ancestral spirits resided within sacred forests.
Hence, people were barred from entering, cutting trees, gathering fuel or causing bush fires and otherwise, destroying or desecrating the sacred forest.
Only the elder guardians of the land could enter these sacred woods to consult with the departed.
Anyone who ventured in was expected to revere the forests.
The edicts still apply; curses are believed to follow those who desecrate such spaces.
People avoided straying into forests because they were sacred.
The fear of retribution and the many mysteries alleged to occur in the forests kept them at bay.
Only the elders were permitted to frequent sacred spaces such as mountains, prominent rockscapes and large iconic trees to communicate with the ancestors.
There were many trees designated for these purposes in the forest, but the muhacha/muchakata tree was the most widely-used tree for spiritual rituals.
Around these trees, indigenous people would erect the rushanga enclosure or shrine, where they made offerings to the ancestral spirits of meat, beer and corn-meal.
There, the svikiro (spirit medium), made blessings on the seeds before distributing them to the people.
Each tree in the forest had its purpose, season and specific laws of conservation.
Together with other species, trees like the muhacha and game species such as the pangolin, leopard, ant-bear, bateleur eagle and python were also considered sacred and the penalty for hunting them was severe.
A great body of indigenous mythology and orature dealt with the origins of the behaviour of species.
Folktales about birds and animals that had spiritual attributes and transcended the boundaries of their animal characteristics abound in indigenous Zimbabwean folklore.
Here, the boundaries between human and non-human were conflated.
Avians, flora and fauna spoke their own language just like humans and that of the animal kingdom had its own distinct moral behavioural codes and cultures.
The resultant human and environmental communication technology was unquestionable.
Folklore, age-old customs and indigenous knowledge of botany governed the exploitation of the flora.
For example, the musosawafa, a thorny shrub with white leaves and rough bark, was reserved for the covering of a deceased’s fresh grave and not used for firewood under any circumstances.
Other trees were believed to cause hail storms or equally adverse drought.
Our Shona and Ndebele totems and totemic-praise aphorisms are derived from the inter-dependency of man and animal.
Humans purposefully created associations with certain animals, birds and insects.
Hence, the creatures of the forest were not estranged from human habitation, but were viewed as familiar participants in daily village life.
Animals and birds were often said to intercede between the complex meteorological occurrences in the skies, deep mysterious waters, fertility of the land and the people inhabiting it.
Sango rinoyera — the forest is sacred and generous, especially for those who persevere in the hunt, hence the Shona proverb: Sango rinopa waneta — the forest rewards the one who is tired.
However, if its laws are violated and the proscribed edicts are not adhered to, the forest becomes angry.
Periods of drought, plagues, pestilence and unexplained migration of game and birdlife have been known to occur in areas believed to have resulted from unwarranted disrespect of the sacred spaces.
When culture is divorced of spirituality, beauty, function, ethics and beneficiation from traditional indigenous knowledge systems of our botany, we tend to inherit a materialistic, mechanistic and wasteful attitude inherited from Western faiths, science, technology and urbanisation.
It becomes difficult to accept the close connection and inter-dependency between plant life and other domains of life common in indigenous knowledge and belief systems.
Medicinal plants also play a critical role in the healthcare delivery system in Zimbabwe today, but most of the commonly used ones are endangered.
We need to be environmentally conscious to the extent that we all know the importance of planting trees and plants.
Let us always remember that forests are sacred.

Dr Michelina Rudo Andreucci is a Zimbabwean-Italian researcher, industrial design consultant and specialist hospitality interior decorator. She is a published author in her field.
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