MANGO TREE & SUPERSTITIONS

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

23/IX/2025

There is an old man who comes to our colony to wash cars early in the morning. He and I exchange good mornings of the loudest kinds. I am sure the people still asleep must be getting irritated at the tone and tenor rather his volume and pitch of his greetings.

As he was washing our neighbours car (mine is cleaned by a different person), he got in a conversation with the owner. The owner had just cut down his sweet lime tree. In that context this old man told him that if he was planning to replace the tree, not to plant a Mango tree as it brings death, he said.

My ears popped up. So many questions started churning in my head. Is it true or is it a myth? Has this got any evidence or correlation? Is it just a coincidence, or superstition/local folklore? Or, is it a hearsay without a proof?

Death could occur, not by planting a mango tree. Instead, the reasons could be. One, a huge mango tree falls on you and you get crushed under it. Two, you are standing under a mango tree and lightning strikes it and you become a victim. Three, you are standing under a mango tree admiring its fruit. A venomous snake/insect/reptile is resting underneath and you inadvertently step on the bloke & it bit you. You died from panic or late evacuation.

What about the people who plant mango orchards? Their whole family should be wiped out. For me I should have died the day I was born as my dad planted the best ‘Kalmi’ mango sapling that day.

This also got me thinking because I had been distributing mango saplings over the years, besides planting the same infront of our house. I carried mango saplings given by my uncle all the way from Ajmer to the Sun City. Instead of me kicking the bucket, the plants did as they could not adjust to the heat wave.

Did I stop making mango saplings and distributing them in the colony? Did anyone die? NO.

Mango is not a native plant of Rajasthan. Jealousy amongst neighbours could be one reason to spread such falsehoods, if the neighbours tree give fruit and yours did not survive.

I know that it’s wood is used in ‘havans’ or ‘torans/hangings on the doors. They are used to sprinkle water around during poojas. Mango is supposed to be a fruit of prosperity, happiness, spreading goodness, shade, firewood, fruit, nestling birds, attractors of insects, reptiles & bees. It cannot take a life.

The interesting part is that this morning I met a lady doctor. She stopped to chat with me during her walk and asked me straight. Uncle, I have heard that if one plants a mango tree in the house, someone dies? I was shocked that the misinformation had reached and influenced people who are scientists and MBBS doctors and they got carried away, even momentarily.

Once a doubt is planted in the mind it is very difficult to remove it.

I told her I should have been dead before I was born, if that is the case. I did not believe in myths and superstitions. She further went to say in jest, if I die, you would be blamed. I said, please do. I hope, out of the three mango trees she has planted, at least one grows to fruit.

It was time to check google, grok, and chat GPT and ask them about the ‘bad omen’ on planting mango trees. None could dig out any reason to cause death by planting any type of tree, rather they brought out the advantages of planting trees.

Yes, if planted too close to the boundary, the roots could damage the walls/foundations. Falling leaves are a menace. Bird droppings could be an issue. Besides that, they found nothing related to religion, superstitions, folklore, or myths.

Mango trees are rather auspicious, sacred, and beneficial traditionally. Local folklore may call it unlucky, but not a cause of death. Planting a mango tree is actually ‘Punya’ to the environment.

Traditional stories may have contexts of trees being inhabited by ‘evil spirits’ or ‘bhoot-prait’. Which reminded me of the book ‘Man Eaters of Kumaon’. Villagers started avoiding a particular route as they heard strange sounds of witches, scaring them even causing death.

People ran in panic and broke a few bones, till Jim Corbett found out that two trees were rubbing against each other producing that mysterious sound. There was no ‘chudail/bhoot’ but friction responsible for their fear.

I look forward to concrete evidence stating planting a mango tree is unsuspicious or a ‘harbinger of death’ or a myth or superstition. Can someone enlighten me? I wonder!!!!!!

JAI HIND

©® NOEL ELLIS