Tag:place_of_worship=sacred_tree
 place_of_worship = sacred_tree
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| Description |
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| A tree or bush considered sacred in one or more religions. |
| Group: religion |
| Used on these elements |
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| Requires |
| Useful combination |
| See also |
| Status: in use |
| Tools for this tag |
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With sacred tree, we can tag trees or bushes that are considered sacred in one or more religions or cults in its area (i.e. Christian + Neopagan, for example). They are known in the local folklore as such trees, are decorated with votive offerings or even signposted. Some are also part of government heritage databases[1]. Some are associated with neolithic sites, others have only been used for rituals in recent years.
They might be referred to as clootie tree, cloughtie tree, rag tree, raggedy bush, fairy tree, wishing tree, prayer tree or magic tree (and maybe other names) in the locality. Do not use this tag for "fairy trees" which are only called fairy trees because someone recently put a gimmicky fairy door onto it.
How to map
Add a node at the location with the basic tag natural=tree and add the tag place_of_worship=sacred_tree. In addition, the following tags are useful for providing useful information:
- name=*, if the tree has a name other than "Rag Tree"/ "Clootie Tree"/ "Sacred Tree"
- religion=* to mark the religion(s) which use this tree in their ritual
- sacred_tree:offerings=* to describe what type of offerings/ decorations can be found on/ at the tree
- genus=* or genus:en=* with its related genus:wikidata=* or species=*, if you know it.
- heritage=* with its classes, if it is recorded in an official heritage database
- reference to the heritage database
- wikimedia_commons=* linking to either one file or a whole category for that tree
- wikidata=* for the rare case that this specific tree has its own wikidata entry
- survey:date=*
- image=* link to image file other than Wikimedia
- mapillary=* mapillary ID
Subcategories
In countries with a Celtic heritage, trees with rags or ribbons tied to it (clootie/ cloughtie tree in Scotland, rag tee or raggedy bush in Ireland) are common. These can be sub-categorised using sacred_tree=rag_tree[2].
Other sub-categories for other cultures are possible. See the Wikidata entry for clootie tree to see translations.
These trees are often associated with a sacred water body, so don't forget to map that!
Gallery
Rags on the Yew Tree at Knowlton Henge
The cloutie tree near Madron Well
![Rag tree at St Brigid's Well, Brallistown, Co. Kildare, Ireland[3]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Kildare_Brallistown_Little_St_Brigid%27s_Well_Rag_Tree_2013_09_04.jpg/120px-Kildare_Brallistown_Little_St_Brigid%27s_Well_Rag_Tree_2013_09_04.jpg)
Rag tree at St Brigid's Well, Brallistown, Co. Kildare, Ireland[3]
Rag tree at St Laserian's Well, Old Leighlin, Co. Carlow, Ireland
Fairy door at the foot of a tree. Do not use the tag for this case!
![Rag tree at St Brigid's Well, Brallistown, Co. Kildare, Ireland[3]](/wiki/File:Kildare_Brallistown_Little_St_Brigid%27s_Well_Rag_Tree_2013_09_04.jpg)
See also
References
- ↑ 106 are listed on the Historic Environment Viewer for the Republic of Ireland (https://heritagedata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0c9eb9575b544081b0d296436d8f60f8) on March 7th 2024.
- ↑ To avoid the different spellings in Scotland, it is suggested to use the Hiberno-English word instead
- ↑ Tourists have developed a habit of leaving traces of their visit without any "real" worship ritual involved, but it's still folklore in its own right.