A Patriarch Named for Kongi
High in the mountains of Lebanon, in
a UNESCO World Heritage site is a cedar tree named after Africa’s first Nobel
Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, and an impressive sculpture made from the
ancient tree
“Come over; this here is named for Prof
Soyinka. He came to the grove in 2014 but it was in the winter, and the ground
was covered with a fine layer of snow. It was slippery and treacherous for an
older man. He couldn’t go further, so he just got here, hugged this tree and
turned back,” our lecturer who doubled as the tour guide, Professor Joseph
Rahme, explained as we began our tour of the Cedars of God grove high in the
mountains of Lebanon.
The “we” were the 10 Nigerian
participants in the 2018 edition of Study Abroad in Lebanon (SAIL), alongside
our Lebanese classmate, Rachid, Prof Rahme’s nephew, who had set out earlier
that morning from the Notre Dame University (NDU) Louaize, our main base.
SAIL is a programme of the NDU’s
Benedict XVI Endowed Chair of Religious, Cultural, and Philosophical Studies in
collaboration with The Cedars Institute and the Wole Soyinka Foundation (WSF).
Its grand objective is to teach Nigerians world history through the eyes of
Lebanon but with emphasis on Lebanese-Nigerian cultural relations. Two previous
editions of SAIL had occurred in which Nigerian students had participated in
the programme. We were the third.
We had set out early in the morning
and had travelled some scary bends and turns beside deep gorges the likes of
which a number of us had only seen in movies on our way to the quiet, beautiful
village nestled over 6,000 feet above sea level and also named Cedars where we
spent the next three days. Though most, except the lawyer, Aseobong
Larry-Ettah, who had a phobia for heights, pretended not to be scared during
the trip, we later voiced our concerns to each other after our arrival in the
community first settled in the 1920s.
We had had lunch on the way and
briefly stopped at the Natural Cedar Reserve of Tannourine but our
ever-reliable chaperone, Honoree Claris Eid had disclosed that a better sight
awaited us at our destination. “The cedar trees here are nothing compared with
what we have at the Cedars of God,” she said while explaining why we wouldn’t
go inside the Tannourine Reserve.
We headed promptly for the Cedars of
God grove, one of the five UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Lebanon after we had
refreshed, with Prof. Rahme, one of the main course instructors, giving us a
detailed history of the reserve where pop star, Shakira, had a big concert
earlier this year during the Cedars International Festival. The other faculties
were Professor Edward Alam and Drs Chady Rahme and Tony Nasrallah, all of the NDU
and Judge Mohamad Abou Zaid, President of Saida Islamic Sunni Court.
Occupying over 35 acres of land, the
Cedars of God is enclosed by a wall built in 1883 to protect it. Queen Victoria
of England provided funding for the wall. It was a timely move to save the
trees, as persistent deforestation had significantly reduced their numbers.
It was a slow afternoon with only a
few tourists around so we took our time on the tour that also doubled as a
lecture with Prof Rahme, though a historian, displaying an incredible knowledge
of botany and the cedar tree that he cares so deeply about and for which he and
other like-minded persons established The Cedars Institute.
Rahme’s love for the trees mentioned
over 50 times in the Bible is so profound that he knows all about their height
and circumference and has christened them based on this. The largest is
the Pope followed by the patriarchs –one is named for Soyinka–bishops, priests,
deacons, sub-deacons, and lay-people. To further underscore the importance of
the cedar tree to Lebanon, it’s the symbol on the country’s flag, currency and
postage stamps.
Explaining why the tree, with which
King Solomon built his famous temple, is so valuable, our teacher said “they
are straight and tall, between 40-50 metres high. They are ideal for building
ships, palaces and temples. Cedars have natural bug repellent. They are heavy
when freshly cut but light when dry and easy to work.” The Phoenicians,
Israelites, Egyptians, Assyrians, Persians, Romans and Turks all exploited
cedars from Lebanon and are responsible for its near extinction.
Rahme further disclosed that there
are three species of Cedars with the trio found together in only one location
in the world. They are Cedrus Libani (found in Lebanon); Cedars of the Himalayas
and Cedar of the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Luckily, Nigeria also has a
cedar tree. There’s one at the University of Ibadan, planted by the late Father
(Prof) Joseph Kenny of the Department of Religious Studies to whom it was
gifted by Prof. Rahme.
The Professor also touched on the
relationship between the African slave trade and the Cedar trees in Britain. He
explained that some British colonialists and traders used proceeds of slavery
to build gigantic mansions and estates and neo-classical gardens adorned with
cedar trees but some of the trees didn’t last. They grew old and some fell
during storms because their roots didn’t go deep into the ground enough.
Sadly, Lebanon is not exempt from
the effects of global warming that has started affecting the health of the
cedar trees. The trees wither after bugs unknown to the parts previously lay
eggs on them. Those that can be saved are treated once identified while other
uses are found for those beyond redemption or are very old like Rudy Rahme’s
giant sculpture, ‘Christ on the Cross’. The impressive artwork from a cedar
trunk has over eight figures sculpted from it. There are also the Two
Hermits, so named because two hermits were believed to have lived in them in
the 18th century.
Within the heritage site is also the
Church of the Transfiguration of Jesus built in the 19th century and completely
furnished with cedar wood. We all ensured we registered our names in the guest
list inside the small church that was refurbished in the 20th century.
Cedar trees are known to live very
long, with some said to be over 2,500 years old. The oldest tree in the
grove is one Rahme named ‘The Pope’. Unlike the other cedar trees that are
straight, the Pope is crooked. The Professor explained that this accounts for
its survival. “The oldest trees are crooked, and that’s why they survived.
Straight trees were cut to build ships and temples. It’s not good to be
straight, you survive when you are crooked,” he said tongue-in-cheek.
We were all enriched by the visit to
the Cedars of God, but the tour appeared to have had the most profound effect
impact on Lanre Fakeye, one of us known as Shakomended in music circles. He
took up Professor’s Rahme’s suggestion to read the Epic of Gilgamesh and
composed a beautiful song, ‘Cedars of Lebanon’ lamenting the persistent
deforestation that had robbed the Mediterranean country of its precious trees.
https://goldentonesng.com/index.php/2019/03/09/a-patriarch-named-for-kongi/
