The tree plays an important part in the mythologies of pre-ColumbianMesoamerican cultures. In addition, several Amazonian tribes of eastern Peru believe deities live in Ceiba tree species throughout the jungle. The Ceiba, or ya’axché (in the Mopan Mayan language), symbolised to the Maya civilization an axis mundi which connects the planes of the Underworld (Xibalba) and the sky with that of the terrestrial realm. This concept of a central world tree is often depicted as a Ceiba trunk. The unmistakable thick conical thorns in clusters on the trunk were reproduced by the southern lowland Maya of the Classical Period on cylindrical ceramic burial urns or incense holders.
Modern Maya still often respectfully leave the tree standing when harvesting forest timber.[6] The Ceiba tree is represented by a cross and serves as an important architectural motif in the Temple of the Cross Complex at Palenque.[7]
Ceiba Tree Park is located in San Antón, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Its centerpiece is the historic Ceiba de Ponce, a 500-year-old Ceiba pentandra tree associated with the founding of the city.[8][9] In the surroundings of the legendary Ceiba de Ponce, broken pieces of indigenous pottery, shells, and stones were found to confirm the presence of Taino Indians long before the Spaniards that later settled in the area.[10] In 1525, Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés ordered the hanging of Aztec emperor Cuauhtemoc from a Ceiba tree after overtaking his empire.[11] The town of Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico was founded in 1528 by the Spanish around La Pochota, Ceiba pentandra, according to tradition. Founded in 1838, the Puerto Rican town of Ceiba is also named after this tree. The Honduran city of La Ceiba founded in 1877 was named after a particular Ceiba tree that grew down by the old docks. In 1898, the Spanish Army in Cuba surrendered to the United States under a Ceiba, which was named the Santiago Surrender Tree, outside of Santiago de Cuba.
Ceiba is also the national tree of Guatemala. The most important Ceiba in Guatemala is known as La Ceiba de Palín Escuintla which is over 400 years old. In Caracas, Venezuela there is a 100-year-old ceiba tree in front of the San Francisco Church known as La Ceiba de San Francisco and is an important element in the history of the city. The towering specimen near the town of Sabalito, Costa Rica, is a relict tree called "la ceiba" by residents and a survivor of one of the highest terrestrial rates of tropical deforestation.[12]
Ceiba pentandra produces a light and strong fiber (kapok) used throughout history to fill mattresses, pillows, tapestries, and dolls. Kapok has recently been replaced in commercial use by synthetic fibers. The Ceiba tree seed is used to extract oils used to make soap and fertilizers. The Ceiba continues to be commercialized in Asia, especially in Java, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
^"Ceiba Mill". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2003-06-05. Archived from the original on 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2009-10-13.
^ ab"Ceiba Mill.". Plants of the World Online, Kew Science. Accessed 20 January 2024. [1]
^María Elena Gutiérrez L. "En Recursos Biológicos" (in Spanish). Escuela de Ingeniería de Antioquía, Colombia. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
^Houston, Stephen D. (June 1996). "Symbolic Sweatbaths of the Maya: Architectural Meaning in the Cross Group at Palenque, Mexico". Latin American Antiquity. 7 (2): 132–151. doi:10.2307/971614. JSTOR971614.
