Fouquieria columnaris

  

 Fouquieria columnaris (boojum trees) (cirio)

Fouquieriaceae

  • The firs man and woman had children and eventually a number of giants inhabited the land. The land was flat, without mountains or even sand dunes, so it was natural that floods should occur. Floods were accompanied by fire, smoke, and earthquakes. After one such disaster, Hant Caai (land maker) saw that because the land was flat, the people had little chance to escape the destruction. So he sang a song, causing mountains, hills, and dunes to form. These were to provide protection for the people during floods. In one such flood a group of giants from the south fled northward to the mountains south of Puerto Libertad. There the flood overtook them and changed them into boojum trees, which still occur there. The boojum is one of the most unusual plants in the world, looking like an upturned carrot 5 to 10 m tall, with scraggly little secondary branches. It occurs in Baja California and there is an isolated population on Angel de la Guarda Island; in Sonora it is found in the granitic coastal mountains between El Desemboque and Puerto Libertad In Sonora the boojum tree "forests"are mostly on north-facing slopes. The Seri did not know that boojum trees occur in Baja California or Angel de la Guarda Island. Oral Tradition: in order to escape a great flood, a group of giants from the south fled northward to the mountains between El Desemboque and Puerto Libertad. There, the flood overtook them, and they were changed into boojum trees. The tall ones were men and the short fat ones were pregnant women. In another version, those who were turned into boojum trees were people from the Tasiota Region, and there was no mention of whether or not they were Giants. Some say the flood overtook them just as they passed the crest of the mountains and were descending, and that is why the boojum trees are on the north sides of the mountains. The Supernatural: these plants have much power from the spirit icor and, if touched or harmed, will cause strong winds and rains. The branches were thrown into the sea to attract fish, but there was fear that this could result in bringing strong wind. “People of the Desert and Sea, Ethnobotany of the Seri Indians. Richard Stephen Felger and Mary Beck Moser”

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