Huaping Specialty— A Legend of Kapok in Panzhihua (the second version)

华坪特色菜—攀枝花-木棉传说（版本二）

In Zhuang culture, there exists the worship for several kinds of trees: camphor, maple, kapok, and banyan tree. In Zhuang myths, camphor trees were the first trees that appeared after the creation of the world, being the pillars supporting the sky. Maple trees were the origin where people got the seed of fire from, being meritorious for offering fire. kapok trees were the warriors of Bu Luo Tuo, the first ancestor of Zhuang ethnic group, fighting against the enemies bravely with torches in hand. Even when being killed, they still stood straight, finally transformed into kapok trees full of red flowers. The banyan tree, flourishing with luxuriant foliage, symbolizes the blessing of many descendants. Consequently, all of these trees are planted around the Zhuang villages, particularly around the shrines of their tutelary gods.

在壮族民间中就普遍存在着崇拜几种树木，即樟树、枫树、木棉树、榕树。在他们的神话传说中，樟树是宇宙开辟时最早出现的树木，有顶天之功；人们从枫树身上找到了火种，它有献火之功；木棉是壮族始祖神布洛陀的战士，在与敌人战斗时，它们手执火把，英勇顽强，就连牺牲时也都站立着，变成了满身红花的木棉树；榕树则枝繁叶茂，象征子孙昌盛。因此, 在壮族的村寨边都种有这些树木，各村寨所建立的社亭（敬奉村寨保护神之地）周围，也要种植这些树木。