LEAFY CULTURE

• BY GABRIELLE ANCTIL

What does the forest look like in the mind of Quebecers? Just close your eyes and imagine the boreal expanse where a few iconic species stand out: a pine over here, some cedars over there. These softwoods mix in with white-trunked birches to add a touch of yellow in the fall. These images are part of the identity of many Quebecers.

What about other cultures? How do they imagine the forest?

IN THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN

The Japanese are fond of taking hikes in the forest, to which some add hobbies such as mushroom and wild plant picking. "Going to the forest is almost synonymous with going to the mountains," explains Sonia Dandaneau, cultural officer at the Japanese Garden and Pavilion. It's no wonder: mountains occupy nearly three quarters of the Japanese territory! "In the Shinto religion, the gods can be found in remarkable natural environments, such as a particularly dense forest," adds the cultural officer. This place will be referred to with the term 森 mori, which evokes a dense, lush, almost inaccessible forest, as distinguished from the ordinary forest, referred to as 林hayashi.

Even today, certain trees and plant motifs have a particular symbolic meaning. A pine tree, an emblem of longevity, is sometimes seen on a tray used to bestow a monetary gift at a wedding.

THE MIDDLE KINGDOM

More than 60% of the Chinese population lives in the city. As a result, "people experience the forest less," says Fei Gao, cultural officer at the Chinese Garden. The relationship with nature has become more a matter of imagination—or vacation. "The cities are surrounded by mountains, and people go hiking there. It's a very popular pastime for young people."

Just as in Japan, forests figure prominently in Chinese religion. Tao Yuan-Ming, one of the greatest poets inspired by Taoism, is known for his famous work "Account of the Peach Blossom Spring", in which a fisherman accidentally discovers a village surrounded by trees with fragrant flowers, delicate and lovely to the eye, where people take refuge from the political life of the time. The work started a trend among intellectuals to move to the countryside to seek inspiration and get away from the political constraints of the city, a choice admired by their peers.

FIRST PEOPLES

Even in Quebec, different people have different views of the forest. "Quebecers say they go to the woods, as if it were a place outside of them. Several indigenous peoples consider instead that they are part of the forest," explains Myriam Landry, cultural agent at the First Nations Garden. She cites the Atikamekw language where the word notcimik means "in the woods" but also "where I come from".

In her work, Innu poet Joséphine Bacon notes that certain terms are being lost today, as her people visit the interior of the territory much less—the nutshimit, a term for "in the woods". She describes this place eloquently in her collection Message Sticks:

My sisters the four winds caress an earth of lichen and moss of rivers and lakes, where the white spruce spoke to my father.* The forest is not a separate place," explains Myriam Landry. It represents everything we need in order to live. It is the supermarket, the pharmacy. In fact, the health of this ecosystem is closely linked to the health of the people who live in it. "If the forest is sick, we too are sick.” Conversely, nature is also a place of healing.

For these and many other cultures, the presence of the forest, even if remote, is an important marker of identity. Whether it is sacred or dedicated to leisure, the forest is a place we wish to preserve and enhance.

You will hear the words of Joséphine Bacon when you visit the First Nations Garden during the Gardens of Light event in the fall of 2022. An immersive journey will take you to the heart of the spiritual principles shared by most First Peoples. With Gardens of Light, you will also get to admire the illuminated lanterns of the Chinese Garden and to cross the Japanese Garden under night lighting.

Photo: Espace pour la vie/Claude Lafond