Basic Knowledge in Agriculture #47

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What do you know about cultural Beliefs in Agriculture

Cultural belief in farming is something I always find deep, because it not just about soil and seed, it also about how people see the land with heart. Some elders in my village use to say Terra mater, mother earth, and they mean it, they speak like the land is alive and she listen when you treat her right or wrong. I remember one time old farmer refuse to start planting until he watch the moon shape, he said the moon pull the water inside ground and decide if seed go grow fast or slow, and I was laughing but later I notice he respect the land more than I did. In some places they even sing before yam or maize planting, the voice go up in the sky and they say the song make the soil happy.

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French people had a word, terre vivante, living earth, and I like how it sound because it show they believe the ground breath same way human does. In some culture you no cut sacred tree near the farm or hunt animals around, because spirit that protect harvest may be angry and spoil the work. Few times I saw people pour wine or water small on the soil before harvesting cassava, they say it like a gift to thank land for food.

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When I think of these things, it show me farming is more than science and tools, it is a mix of story, heritage, and prayer. Agriculture carry identity, respect, memory from past into today. Soil not just dirt, it a living history that keep human connection strong with nature, and that is something I never want to forget.

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Discuss the Agricultural beliefs in your Community or region

In my village people don’t see farming like only digging ground, it’s something that breathe with us. They always say land got spirit, spiritus terrae, and before anyone drop seed they greet it first. Some old men will pour palm wine on soil, some women just sprinkle water and whisper words soft, like saying bonjour to earth. It may sound simple, but to them it’s not just ritual, it’s respect.

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Grandma used to watch the moon before planting, she believe crops listen to sky. When the luna plena shine bright, she swear yam vines run faster and maize grow taller. I once thought it was joke but many farmers still follow that. They say science explain things with numbers, but tradition explain with heart.

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In farms people avoid quarreling, they believe crops can hear, “yam get ear,” grandma always laugh while telling. Angry words, she say, dry the ground, but gentle voice make cassava fat. Some folks call that la voix de la nature, the voice of nature. It make you careful about what you speak around plants, like they children.

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Also there are days we don’t farm at all. Elders mark some days as resting for soil, no hoe touch ground, no seed go inside. It’s taboo if someone break it, and they believe harvest from that day spoil easy. Iron tools sometimes not allowed in certain sacred land, because ancestors spirit guard that place.

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I notice even young farmers who use machine or fertilizer still keep those customs. It look like tree with old root and new branch. Technology may change hand work, but belief still guide heart. For me these stories show farming is not only food, it’s culture stitched in soil, carried by wind, passed by tongues of elders.

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Discuss on the Taboos and restrictions in farming in your community

In my community farming is not just soil and seed, there are rules people still follow even when they look small or old. The land is never seen as ordinary, it is like it has a spirit living inside. I remember elders saying terra sacra, sacred earth, and they always speak with a voice that sound serious. If you treat farm land careless they warn you harvest will fail.

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One strong taboo is farming on some days. Nobody is allowed to dig or plant when that day is marked. They call it dies prohibitus, which means forbidden day. People fear if you touch the ground then the gods of the soil will be angry, sometimes they even blame sickness on that. I once saw neighbors wait one full week just because the day they want fall on a sacred one.

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Women also face restriction. If a woman is in her monthly time, she cannot step inside the farm. The belief is that blood and earth must not meet, it brings bad luck to the soil. Old women often whisper about terre sacrée, meaning "holy ground" in French. I never really argue with them, because in my place, rules from ancestors are not easily broken.

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There is also another funny one, you cannot whistle while farming. Elders will quickly stop you, they say whistling calls snakes and it also drives away the spirit that guards crops. Even carrying charms from other gods into the farm is not allowed, they think the soil spirit will be confused and punish the farmer.

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Harvest has its own law too. The first fruits of yam or maize or anything cannot be eaten directly. Some part must be offered as primitiae, the first offering. Either it goes to elders or to shrine, then only after that the family can enjoy the rest. Without this, they believe the next season might bring nothing.

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Bush burning is another thing guided by rules. You cannot just set fire anytime you want. It must be on the day declared by the community. If you burn bush carelessly, you will be fined, and people also believe the spirits of forest get offended.

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Sometimes I feel all these taboos look like superstition, but in real way they protect land and crops. They stop people from overusing soil or disrespecting nature. They act like lex agricola, the law of farmers, written not on paper but inside memory of the people. That is how we still keep farming tied to culture in my community.

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I invite @promisezella @etoro @kwinberry to participate in this contest

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Cc,
@hive-118902

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