The Lost Blessings of the Sacred Juniper Tree
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I am 70 years old and a native Shina speaker. Above our village Doro there is Shella and below us, there is Sermik, whereby in both villages Balti is also spoken. Since I know a bit of Balti and you also understand it, I will tell this tale in Balti for your convenience.
I heard from my parents and grandparents that in our village, on the edge near the grazing area, there used to be a large juniper tree. Before the wheat harvest, the whole village would go to that tree with offerings. All the men would worship the tree, play drums, and dance around it. They believed that doing this would bring blessings and a good harvest that year. People continued this tradition for centuries. After many centuries, the young people said that worshipping the tree was of no benefit and decided to cut it down, even though the elders of the village were against it. But they still cut the tree down. They saw that when they cut it, blood came out of the tree. To this day, the elders in our village say that all blessings ended because of cutting that tree, and from that day to on, there has never been a good harvest again.
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2.7.2.2
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