A History of Agriculture in India v1.c33.s8.3

v1.c33.s8.3

'Girls and young women are regarded as human embodiments of the maternal energy of nature', observes Zimmer. They are diminutive doubles of the great Mother of all life, vessels of fertility, life in full sap, potential sources of new offspring. By touching and kicking the tree they transfer into it their potency, and enable it to bring forth blossom and fruit. Hence, the goddess who represents the life energy and fertility of the tree is herself most aptly visualized in this magic posture of fertilization.⁷