Tamarind tree in co-op society premises, a good or a bad Omen?

[Decklander]

In some parts of Karnataka, I have seen Neem trees planted in the vicinity of the house. People say that, Neem tree keeps harmful insects away.

Yes, but In our part of the world, we say that it keeps diseases away and provides lots of medicines for many ailments. nearly every part of this tree is used in some form of traditional medicine. Nearly every house will have one big neem tree.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Under the tamarind tree

Soon after my arrival in Sri Lanka many years ago, I learnt much about mundane superstition from my assistant, and how his life was determined by unseen evil forces and the manifestation of particular events. Within barely minutes of starting his employment, while cleaning my bedroom, he ran to me, shouting: 'Bed is facing where the sun rises! That is very bad fortune! When people die, the body is placed that way.' Later, having shifted the bed 90 degrees despite my protestations, he began to sweep the lawn, but then looked up and saw a tamarind tree. 'Siyambala [tamarind] is bad tree to have in garden!' he told me. 'It is the home of the chief of the yakkas – do not go near it!' He explained further that 'poison water', actually weak carbonic acid exhaled from the tree, 'falls and kills people sleeping below.'

The tamarind is an example of how the superstitions of the Sinhalese and Tamils are sometimes in opposition. Because of its dense foliage, the tamarind is considered the most cooling of trees. Thus, in the past, the Tamils of the Jaffna peninsula always tried to locate their houses underneath such a tree. With the innocence of a griffin (also a newcomer to the Subcontinent), I decided that, rather than relate the Jaffna story, it would be appropriate to try to undermine my assistant's superstitious faith through direct experience, to enlighten him concerning causal determinism.

 

[Decklander]

Under the tamarind tree

I wud like to correct you here a bit. At night avoid sleeping under big trees as at night they give out CO2 while during daytime they give out O2. It is for this reason that sleeping under these trees at night and excess of CO2 released by them causes halucinations and big trees came to be known as places where evil spirits lived.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

I wud like to correct you here a bit. At night avoid sleeping under big trees as at night they give out CO2 while during daytime they give out O2. It is for this reason that sleeping under these trees at night and excess of CO2 released by them causes halucinations and big trees came to be known as places where evil spirits lived.

Possibly. As far as I know higher levels of carbon dioxide cause increased respiration rate in humans.

Hypercapnia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Decklander]

Possibly. As far as I know higher levels of carbon dioxide cause increased respiration rate in humans.

Hypercapnia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hypercapnia symptons shud tell you what people in third world countries call being,"Possesed by evil spirits". Lack of oxygen causing head to be flipped from side to side, flapping hands, breathlessness giving a feeling of feeling chocked as if somebody is squeezing your neck etc is what most village folk will tell you are the sysmptoms of being attacked by an evil spirit at night.