Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

The word coconut comes from the word 'coco' which means 'monkey face'. In Northern India it is sometimes referred to as " the Tree of Life". They are kept my priest an given to women who wish to conceive as a fertility symbol. In Bali women are forbidden to touch coconut palms for fear of draining the fertility of the tree into the women. In New Guinea it was believed that coconuts sprouted fro the first man to die. Hindus use coconuts as offering to the gods during festivals. The Dyaks of Borneo believe that they can transfer the souls of newborns into coconuts shells to protects then during their first year of life. Fijians plant a new coconut tree when a child is born because they believe the fate of the child is tied to a coconut tree. According to Chinese legend the coconut came the head of a prince who was killed when he was intoxicated. His head was then hung in a tree.