In my studies of the Gond tribal art , I was always enamored about the beautiful tree of life images. During my interactions with the artists , I was told the inspiration of the paintings come from a song being sung by the Bana musicians . Bana is a special instrument played by the priests of the Gond tribe. These bards sing songs of Gond cosmology. I made two trips to the village Garakamatta , and it was during my second trip that i got to hear the song of tree of life . The lyrics are like this
Satpurush vriksha Bhaoyo
Kal niranjan dar
Brahma vishnu mahesh sab sakha
Pata jhar sansar
English :
True spirit of the world is a giant tree
The central trunk of the tree is time
creator sustainer and destroyer are the three branches of this tree
The world we feel is like the falling leaves of this tree
Amazingly in the Norse cosmology and tradition is the concept of Yggdrassil , of the tree of life , which is saying the same thing
Below is the song and its translation
Lyrics: ( Old Norse and English ).
Ask veit ek standa,
heitir Yggdrasill
hár baðmr, ausinn
hvíta auri;
þaðan koma döggvar
þærs í dala falla;
stendr æ yfir grœnn
Urðar brunni.
Þaðan koma meyjar
margs vitandi
þrjár, ór þeim sal
er und þolli stendr;
Urð hétu eina,
aðra Verðandi,
skáru á skíði,
Skuld ina þriðju;
þær lög lögðu,
þær líf kuru
alda börnum,
örlög seggja.
An ash I know it stands-
It is named Yggdrasill.
High tree, sprinkled,
With white mud;
There from come the dews-
That fall on the dale!
It stands always green, above-
The source of Urdhr.
There from come the maids,
Much knowing;
Three, their dwelling,
Stands under the tree;
Urdh is named one,
The other Verdhandi,
- They notched (scored) wood -
Skuld is the third.
They set up the laws,
They decided on the lives,
Of the children of time ('the children of man').
They promulgate fate.
I feel all of us need to nurture and connect to this tree of life and understand the unity of all time and experience , this is what will create universal peace and bliss for all .
Best wishes
Dr Sunny Sandhu
www.atelierom.guru