THE COTTONWOOD TREE
Riverdave's Journal
September 6, 2009
Early this summer I was captivated by the presence of a double
trunk cottonwood tree that I found towering one hundred feet over my
head along Ellerbe Creek in North Durham. I had never come across a
cottonwood in Durham before. I turned in all directions to see if it
was alone, and quickly spotted another giant just fifty yards away.
It had been several years since I walked through Northgate
Park along the Ellerbe Creek Greenway. I suppose that one cannot see
anything until one is finally ready to “see” and make a profound
discovery. Or perhaps the real truth of the matter is that the
cottonwood tree finally “saw” me ...
A double trunk tree of any species is very special indeed.
Indigenous people who live close to the land are often drawn to
celebrate anomalous formations and events that manifest in nature.
Such occurrences are considered power spots or moments - like an oddly
shaped rock, an unusual cloud formation, a solar eclipse, a hidden
waterfall, or perhaps a giant double trunk tree. My wife and I
exchanged wedding bands under a double trunk silk-cotton tree on an a
far away tropical isle.
Along with the elm in the Eastern United State, the
cottonwood is considered a cosmic tree among Native Americans in our
Western regions. Like the elm, it is often a riverbank tree and
strongly dichotomous, branching into progressively symmetrical upper
limps. In recent years I had trained my eyes to recognize the
cottonwood while hiking the lovely Paseo del Bosque trail along the Rio
Grande River in New Mexico.
The Hopi, Pueblo and Navaho of that region make use of
cottonwood branches in creating their prayer sticks. To these they
attach feathers along with various sacred bundles for ceremonial use.
An individual’s prayer stick may even follow one to the grave.
Cottonwood was also chosen as the sacred center pole in the well know
Sun Dance ceremony of the Plains Indians.
Another example of the cottonwood’s function as a mediator
between the natural and spirit worlds is its use as the tree of choice
by Native Americans in the West for making drums. I was gifted a large
cottonwood drum by a friend some years ago. Now, when my grandchildren
are visiting my home, the cottonwood drum is lowered from its resting
place on the top shelf. It then becomes the focus of attention on our
living room floor as the kids are drawn to it like a mystical magnet.
In the opposite corner of our continent I also discovered
immense cottonwood trees while walking up the winding trail in the Parc
du Mont Royal above the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. There I learned
that early French trappers and traders used hollowed out cottonwood
trunks to fashion their wooden river boats know as pirogues.
So through my travels I had framed this tree as being very
grand and special. Then to my surprise, I discovered a wild and free,
double trunk cottonwood tree in my hometown’s Northgate Park. In that
moment of great elation, I felt like I was the explorer Jacque Cartier,
marching along Ellerbe Creek in our “Parc du Porte Nord!”
Another example of the cottonwood’s inspiration comes from
the life of the well known animation specialist Walt Disney As a child
growing up in the Midwest, he and his sister Ruth used to play under a
large cottonwood tree that grew next to a spring on their family farm.
As he observed the interplay of animals in nature, he first
daydreamed and envisioned what were to became his animated characters
of Mickey Mouse, Jiminy Cricket and the whole gang. As an adult he
would later return to his childhood dreaming tree for further
contemplation and inspiration. Disney’s cottonwood still stands today
and can be visited in the town of Marceline, Missouri.
You too can discover the cottonwood. Our two giants are
located along West Lavender Avenue on the east side of Ellerbe Creek in
Durham’s pleasant Parc du Porte Nord (Northgate Park!).
While sitting under these cottonwoods, some of you may be
visited by aboriginal inspirations that will draw you deeper into the
arms of Mother Nature. Others of you, like Walt Disney, may find
yourselves inspired to greater heights of artistic or even creative
business ventures. Still others may simply find the gift of peace that
comes from listening to the wind in the shade of this marvelous tree ...
