Secret Tree In The Land Of Fairies Fantasy

Title

Secret Tree In The Land Of Fairies Fantasy

Artist

Michele Avanti

Medium

Painting - Acrylics

Description

Secret Tree In The Land of Fairies, acrylic painting by Michele Avanti

Not all worlds can be seen by the human eye. Only when we are half awake do we get a glimpse of the secret worlds around us. Here is a moment in time when the world of fairies opened and what appeared to be a normal tree transformed into a living being, an Ent as Tolkien might call it, though this one is also a fairy home. The green door is slightly ajar and we can only imagine who dwells within. A little light pours out onto the shallow steps where potted flowers greet guests. In the distance we see a portal in a translucent wall, huge waterfalls thunder and we get a glimpse of distant lands with water and pastures.

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A fairy (also fay, fae; from faery, faerie, "realm of the fays") is a type of mythical being or legendary creature in European folklore, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.

Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term fairy offers many definitions. Sometimes the term describes any magical creature, including goblins or gnomes: at other times, the term only describes a specific type of more ethereal creature or sprite.[1] Various folkloristic traditions refer to them euphemistically, by names such as wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair folk (Welsh tylwyth teg), etc.[2]
Much of the folklore about fairies revolves around protection from their malice. Although in modern culture they are often depicted as young, sometimes winged, humanoids of small stature, they originally[clarification needed] were depicted quite differently: tall, radiant, angelic beings or short, wizened trolls being two of the commonly mentioned forms.
One common theme found among the Celtic nations describes a race of diminutive people who had been driven into hiding by invading humans. When considered as beings that a person might actually encounter, fairies were noted for their mischief and malice.
Fairies are generally described as human in appearance and having magical powers. Their origins are less clear in the folklore, being variously dead, or some form of demon, or a species completely independent of humans or angels.[3]
The concept of "fairy" in the narrow sense is unique to English folklore, conflating Germanic elves with influences from Celtic and Romance (French) folklores, and later made "diminutive" according to the tastes of Victorian era "fairy tales" for children. The English term "fairy" can be applied to comparable beings in any of these cultures, more generally to similar beliefs in other European folklores ("Slavic fairies"), or in comparative studies even worldwide.
Fairies have their historical origin in the conflation of Celtic (Breton, Welsh) traditions in the Middle French medieval romances, e.g. as one of the beings that a knight errant might encounter. Fairie was in origin used adjectivally, meaning "enchanted" (as in fairie knight, fairie queene), but was used as a name for "enchanted" creatures from as early as the Late Middle English period.
Fairies as the term is now understood were shaped in the literature of Romanticism during the Victorian era. Writers such as Walter Scott and James Hogg were inspired by folklore which featured fairies, such as the Border ballads.
Folklorists have suggested that their origin may lie partially in a conquered race living in hiding,[clarification needed][4] or in religious beliefs that lost currency with the advent of Christianity.

Have a drink inside the world's only bar inside a tree.

Some people will go to any lengths for a pint - even if it involves supping in a tree.

This bar in the trunk of a Baobab has punters travelling from miles around for a brew. It has been created in a huge 72 foot high tree in this garden in Limpopo, South Africa, to keep thirsty locals happy.

But tourists flock to see the amazing bar inside the hollow 155ft circumference of the trunk. The tree even has its own cellar, with natural ventilation to keep the beer cool. The huge tree, in the grounds of Sunland Farm, is so wide it takes 40 adults with outstretched arms to encircle it.

Carbon-dating, which can determine the age of organic materials, has shown the anicent tree is about 6,000 years old. "This tree is likely to be older than the Giza Pyramids of Egypt," said Heather van Heerden, owner of Sunland Farm.
"It is phenomenal to have such a magnificent tree in your back garden. It is possibly the biggest living thing on earth."

More than 7,000 visitors from all over the world come to see the majestic Baobab each year and have a drink in its bar, which has four metre high ceilings and comfortably seats up to 15 people.

Even though the tree trunk is hollow, it walls are up to two metres thick.
"One year we had a party and squashed 54 people inside, but I wouldn't recommend that," said Mrs van Heerden. She and her husband Doug came up with the idea of setting up a pub when they found a natural hollow inside the Baobabb shortly after they bought the farm in the late 1980's. "When Baobabs are more than 1,000 years old, they hollow naturally," said Mrs van Heerden

While clearing out the hollow centre of the tree trunk, the van Heerdens found historical evidence of Bushmen, indigenous people of the Kalahari desert, who may have once lived in the tree. They also found artefacts belonging to the Voortrekkers, the Dutch pioneers who travelled through South Africa in the mid-1800s. "We found the remains of a Bushmen bed made from rocks, possibly in the 1700s," says van Heerden. "We could also gather that a Voortrekker once lived here who repaired ox wagons for the Great Trek because we found tools and wagon pieces."

The Bushmen of the Kalahari always had a special relationship with the strange-looking tree, which stands leafless for most of the year, with its branches resembling a mass of roots pointing in the sky.

The Baobab is also called the Tree of Life because it is capable of providing shelter, food and water for the animal and human inhabitants of the African savannah.

Hundreds of birds, insects and small mammals live in the tree whose fruit, called "monkey bread", is an important source of vitamin C for many animals.
Many myths and legends are told about this king of all trees. "The Baobab is a sacred tree in African culture. If a baby drinks a mixture of its bark and water, it is said to grow up mighty and powerful," van Heerden explained. Africans also believe that anyone who dares to pick a Baobab flower will be eaten by a lion. But if a person drinks water in which the tree's seeds have been soaked, he will be safe from a crocodile attack

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October 21st, 2014

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