Laura-- There is a film called DAUGHTER'S OF THE DUST, which talks about the IGBO people who were sold into slavery and brought over the atlantic to the islands off of the Carolinas. The film contains many of the customs, rituals and beliefs of these people, including an explanation of why they dress trees with bottles. Though the explanation is similar to Wendy's about attracting spirits away from the human dwellings, there may be more detailed explanation which my memory at the moment cannot provide. Regards, J. Cuasay [log in to unmask] ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ museum-l.html. You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).