14302: Florestal: 14297: Cleo714: Pye Sabliye (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Jean-Marie Florestal <sonice1953@yahoo.com>

<<From: Cleo714@aol.com

<PRE>Does any one on the list have any information
concerning what family and
friends refer to as "going under the Pye Sabliye?"
when we leave Haiti.  I
understood it as meaning a sort of tree of
forgetfulness...But is there an
actual tree by that name?  Or is it all mythical?
Thanks.>>

There is an actual tree in Haiti called "Pie Sabliye."
Unfortunately, I cannot give you any of the scientific
names and related botanical references for your
research. It is only because I recall it from
childhood memory when the only interest to us was
entertainment and the shade they provided to us while
kicking soccer balls during school recess. They
produce no edible fruits, but some kind of a round nut
about 2 inches of diameter  with a hard shell and a
hook. Children used the hooks to play rooster fights.
The trees on the school ground were about 50 feet tall
and spread their branches and leaves around the trunk
to about the same length in diameter. There were
several of these trees in the catholic brothers'
school yard in Jeremie, Ecole Frere Paulain, in the
60's.

My best guess of the reference of the tree to the act
of forgetfulness is because of the tree name. "Bliye"
in Sabliye means "forget" in creole, at least
phonetically. It may be both a sarcastic and humorous
way to tell people that they will forget something.


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