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FM
Former Member

Guardian mystery – If someone is to tell you that there is a tree in the middle of a road in Guyana, that will somehow kill anyone who tries to cut it down, what would you say?

Utter nonsense, farce, rubbish, foolishness, mythical crap, untrue, unbelievable, and all of the other words that would amount to rejection or disagreement with such a claim.

But whether you would want to accept it or not, there is a tree in the middle of the road at Mahaicony, on the East Coast of Demerara that has been credited for supposedly killing more people in Guyana than rattlesnake bites.

Widely claimed to be a tree where slaves had once encamped after being bought from Dutch plantations in neighboring Suriname, it is claimed that African incantations were made by slaves who were killed there, and who transcend their spirits to the tree.

While there are hardly any historical documents to back this claim, – during a brief research that I had conducted for a book in 2015 at the Centre for the Study of International Slavery – University of Liverpool (in England), I stumbled upon a diary entry that was made by an English Slave Master who had mentioned “an unexplained loss of lives by slave drivers who were attempting to clear a group of trees on a pathway leading to Berbice on the Coast of the then British Guiana, – circa 1758.

Other remnants of the notes seem to suggest that slaves became visibly afraid of the trees when they were instructed to cut them, and would rather die by the barrel of the slave master’s gun, rather than even attempting to clear the trees.

There is no other known historical record that can point to the cluster of trees often referred to as “the tree” at the middle of the road at Mahaicony.

What we do know, is that from between 1975 to now, every person who had attempted to cut down that tree has died under gruesome and sometimes unexplained circumstances, while others were either crippled or in one case, was suddenly unable to speak; – and dying years later without ever communicating with anyone.

From former President LFS Burham right through to Janet Jagan, at least four governments made attempts to remove the tree. But in each case, almost all of the men who operated the machinery to cut it down has died or had been seriously injured at the site under mysterious circumstances.

In the end, the government under former President Bharrat Jagdeo made a decree to leave the tree alone, since there might probably be some sort of spiritual annotations to the tree, compounded by the fact that no one in modern Guyana was willing to undertake a contract to cut it down.

Today, after more than two centuries, the tree is still standing in the middle of the road with several warning signs and traffic directives along with a split roadway directing road users to go around on either side of the tree.

Some people are so afraid of the tree that they refuse to even take a photo of it, while others refuse to look at it.

Tourists who have come to Guyana to see the “Tree in the Middle of the Road” in the past, have posted pictures on Trip Advisor of the eerie tourist attraction while indicating that they took the pictures several hundred yards away from it.

In another posting, dozens of potential tourists were actually asking if there were guided tours to the site of the tree. But checks with sources at the Guyana Tourism Authority revealed that there was none.

Nonetheless, the tree seems to serve as a mystery to some, but as a risky spiritual piece of nature for others.

In our case, this publication’s photographer refused to take a picture of the tree, forcing another staff to stand more than three hundred yards away before taking a pic.

It now begs one to wonder whether this is just an overreaction to a myth or a case where the spirits of slaves are actually embalmed into the life of that tree.

But whatever it is, Guyanese seems to accept the fact that the tree ought to be left alone.

https://www.guyanaguardian.com...afraid-of-this-tree/

Replies sorted oldest to newest

skeldon_man posted:

Is that the silk cotton tree in the middle of the road? Dem seh dutch man ah live in dem tree. Don't trouble dem.

So you believe in jumbie too? No wonder you does believe PPP nancy story. BTW, good afternoon, Skeldom _man. 

FM
cain posted:

Isnt that the tree that Gerhard was taking care of? There was even a white picket fence around it.

Not even close. Gerhard was taking care of Conversation Tree, one stop east of Sheriff Street at the junction of the East Coast Highway and Conversation Tree Road. A good way from Mahaicony.

A
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:

Contact George Noorie with this story.  He would do a show on it if he finds it interesting. 

How bout Stephen King or we own GNI Banna.....?

cain
Last edited by cain
cain posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:

Contact George Noorie with this story.  He would do a show on it if he finds it interesting. 

How bout Stephen King?

I don't know if there is enough mystery in this story to interest Stephen King who loves to write long. George Noorie would more likely do a show on it.

Billy Ram Balgobin

Pusser-pusser about that tree for many years caused many pickny to shit in them pants. People does wait for night time or dead house to talk jumby story about the silk cotton tree. I shit meh self too. Meh nah lie. When I look back at the superstitious ignorance that Guyanese grew up with, I happy I run fuh me life. Lol 

FM
Last edited by Former Member

At Albion Estate in the late 1950s when they built the air-strip, there was a large cotton tree on the path of the planes taking off.

So they wanted to knock it down, but the first try broke the tractor grader- blade  and I was told blood ran out from the place on the tree, that the blade damaged.

Every time someone tried to cut down the tree,  dem Dutch man would shake the branches and people would run away in fear.

After living overseas for number of years, I returned to Albion and saw the tree removed.

I was told they had to kill a bull under the tree and have a party with lots of rum, before they could cut down the tree.

This tree reminds me of the evening  I was walking with Danish Inger in Vancouver Stanley park.[Danes are sweet too]. 

I saw the moon thru the  trees and wanting to be romantic, I said, 'What a beautiful moon out tonight'.   After a slight pause she replied,  'Tola, that is the street light thru the trees'.

After a couple more dates to ease the separation, she later married a German guy.

Have a good day, Y'hear.       

Tola
cain posted:

Isnt that the tree that Gerhard was taking care of? There was even a white picket fence around it.

I believe Gerhard gave up on the Conversation Tree, after people keep knocking it down.  He replanted it with a fence and concrete blocks, but people don't seem to appreciate his efforts.  

Tola

U guys need to stop frightening yourselves with this nonsense. If they really wanted to chop that tree down they would. I've seen this tree. Drove past a few times on my way to and from Fouls.( Sp) in berbice. Didnt scare me.

Sheik101
Sheik101 posted:

U guys need to stop frightening yourselves with this nonsense. If they really wanted to chop that tree down they would. I've seen this tree. Drove past a few times on my way to and from Fouls.( Sp) in berbice. Didnt scare me.

 Did you stop and take a piss , may be you would have tell us what happen.

anyhow, this tree is the son. The original tree ( father ) fell down. 

FM
Dave posted:
Sheik101 posted:

U guys need to stop frightening yourselves with this nonsense. If they really wanted to chop that tree down they would. I've seen this tree. Drove past a few times on my way to and from Fouls.( Sp) in berbice. Didnt scare me.

 Did you stop and take a piss , may be you would have tell us what happen.

anyhow, this tree is the son. The original tree ( father ) fell down. 

How do you know the gender?  Did you take a peek?

Baseman
Dave posted:
Sheik101 posted:

U guys need to stop frightening yourselves with this nonsense. If they really wanted to chop that tree down they would. I've seen this tree. Drove past a few times on my way to and from Fouls.( Sp) in berbice. Didnt scare me.

 Did you stop and take a piss , may be you would have tell us what happen.

anyhow, this tree is the son. The original tree ( father ) fell down. 

I dont engage in indecent exposure, but apparently u have. So tell us what happen seeing that u might have had a personal experience.

Sheik101
Dave posted:
Sheik101 posted:

U guys need to stop frightening yourselves with this nonsense. If they really wanted to chop that tree down they would. I've seen this tree. Drove past a few times on my way to and from Fouls.( Sp) in berbice. Didnt scare me.

 Did you stop and take a piss , may be you would have tell us what happen.

anyhow, this tree is the son. The original tree ( father ) fell down. 

LOL! 

Mitwah
Sheik101 posted:
Dave posted:
Sheik101 posted:

U guys need to stop frightening yourselves with this nonsense. If they really wanted to chop that tree down they would. I've seen this tree. Drove past a few times on my way to and from Fouls.( Sp) in berbice. Didnt scare me.

 Did you stop and take a piss , may be you would have tell us what happen.

anyhow, this tree is the son. The original tree ( father ) fell down. 

I dont engage in indecent exposure, but apparently u have. So tell us what happen seeing that u might have had a personal experience.

I had a peeing experience near this tree.

After a few beers in GT and on the way to Berbice, we stopped at the tree for a closer look.

While others were taking pictures, I headed to the nearest bush for a pee. As the water started to flow, I felt a strong tingling sensation on my  water spout, that almost stopped the flow.

For a while I became afraid, because it had nothing to do with my gorgeous female companion from Haida Gwaii.

  

Tola
Prince posted:
skeldon_man posted:

Is that the silk cotton tree in the middle of the road? Dem seh dutch man ah live in dem tree. Don't trouble dem.

So you believe in jumbie too? No wonder you does believe PPP nancy story. BTW, good afternoon, Skeldom _man. 

I did not believe in jumbie before. After I saw you, I stopped walking outside after dark. It was a traumatic experience. Had to check in the Kali Mai puja church. 

FM
Tola posted:

At Albion Estate in the late 1950s when they built the air-strip, there was a large cotton tree on the path of the planes taking off.

So they wanted to knock it down, but the first try broke the tractor grader- blade  and I was told blood ran out from the place on the tree, that the blade damaged.

Every time someone tried to cut down the tree,  dem Dutch man would shake the branches and people would run away in fear.

After living overseas for number of years, I returned to Albion and saw the tree removed.

I was told they had to kill a bull under the tree and have a party with lots of rum, before they could cut down the tree.

This tree reminds me of the evening  I was walking with Danish Inger in Vancouver Stanley park.[Danes are sweet too]. 

I saw the moon thru the  trees and wanting to be romantic, I said, 'What a beautiful moon out tonight'.   After a slight pause she replied,  'Tola, that is the street light thru the trees'.

After a couple more dates to ease the separation, she later married a German guy.

Have a good day, Y'hear.       

I heard the same story about on two trees in Skeldon Estate. One was behind Skeldon factory and was in the way when a tractor would bring the punts to the factory. The other was farther away from the factory but was also in the middle of the dam. People said that the first time the man went to bulldoze the tree, a voice came out and said "no Hackey, no". Hackey was the bulldozer operator. Those trees eventually died. Lots of nancy stories.

FM

In 1976, a Berbice store owner who was a fast driver, went to Queenstown, G/T and picked up his daughter, Nazarene Reverend son-in-law and their newborn daughter, then headed back to the village to remove a pastor from our church who they didn't approve of. The driver was going so fast that he couldn't stop in time when he reached that tree, crashed, his daughter died on the spot but everyone else including the little baby survived. The pastor who they were going to remove performed the funeral rites, and it was one of the most memorable funerals I ever attended.     

FM
Last edited by Former Member

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