ABSTRACT
Just as animal worship has a purely animistic origin, so the worship of plants is intimately connected with the belief in souls animating trees and plants. In essence, this plant soul seems to be the same as the soul or spirit animating man. Frequently the belief even appears that the souls of deceased persons transmigrate into certain trees. The primitive theory of reincarnation refers, therefore, not only to animals, but also to trees and plants. Plant worship, moreover, was a characteristic feature of the religion of the Finno-Ugrian tribes. For the most part trees were worshipped in sacred groves. Among the Russian tribes these were always enclosed with a fence, while among the Siberian tribes they were not clearly distinguishable from surrounding trees. Plants, although vaguely endowed with a spirit or psyche, were not all, however, looked upon and worshipped as divine beings.
