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In India, in 1730, Maharaja Ajit Singh sends woodcutters accompanied by soldiers to cut down khejri trees in the Rajasthan region to make furniture for his palace in Jodhpur.

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But the Bishnoi, who live there, are passionate defenders of all forms of life, including living trees. As they see it, the trees are inhabited by the souls of saints.

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An old woman, Amrita Devi, thus stands up to the arriving party, refusing to allow the trees to be cut down. In response, the soldiers cut off her head. One by one, her daughters take her place to continue the defense, and they all meet with the same fate. The third daughter, Baghu Bai, is the mother of baby Oninao.

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Other Bishnoi follow the example of these women. The trees are cut down and 363 Bishnoi are decapitated before news of this massacre reaches the ears of the Maharaja, who orders it to stop.

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At the scene, the blood of the Bishnoi mingles with the blood of the trees. 

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The largest ecological rebellion of our civilization was sealed with a terrifying bloodbath.

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Before standing up to the soldiers in her turn, Baghu Bai sang one last song to her infant. They say that she called for her young son to follow and pass on the principles of the Bishnoi. She also wept tears of blood over the painful separation from her son. 

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And so the story begins. These tears of blood will forever mark the boy’s feet. This boy, they say, had very white skin and blue eyes... signs of his divine origin.

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