Few instances of veneration of trees by Pashtuns in medieval period

By Barmazid Khan

The author of Asrar al-Afaghina (completed in 1604 A.D) reports that in late 16th century a tree became a shrine for the Pashtuns of Swat and Peshawar. Thousands of men and women used to visit the tree and made offerings. An officer of Mirza Hakim (the Mughal ruler of Kabulistan) cut the tree to discourage the practice.

The veneration of a tree was leftover of the pre-Islamic religion of Pashtuns. According to the "Ajaib al-Makhluqat" of Muhammad al-Tusi (written in 1160-1167 AD), there was a large tree with circumference of seventeen arsh (?) in a Tamarisk forest of the Pashtun country. That particular tree was known as 'the tree of Brahman' (درخت برهمن) and Pashtuns would prostrate before it.