Long before Limu(黎母山）Mountain was known for its forests and fragrant wood,
it was spoken of as a living presence —
a mountain with a breath of its own.

Elders on Hainan Island tell a quiet legend:
that Limu was once the resting place of an ancient mother spirit,
the “Limu Goddess,”
who guarded the land with patience rather than power.

The Mother of the Mountain

According to the old tales,
the goddess did not rule the mountain —
she became it.

Her breath became the wind,
her tears became the rivers,
and her voice sank into the roots of the Aquilaria trees.

The people believed she was not a deity to worship,
but a presence to listen to —
a reminder that stillness protects more than strength does.

The Wounded Tree

One story tells of a violent storm that broke parts of the forest.
The Aquilaria trees split and bled resin,
their trunks darkening from within.

People feared the wounds were signs of sorrow from the goddess.
But in the months that followed,
the broken trees released a scent so soft and deep
that the forest seemed to hum with calm.

The elders understood:
what is wounded can still become fragrant.
What breaks can create beauty.

And they believed this transformation
was the mountain’s way of healing itself.

This is how they explained the birth of agarwood —
as a gift of resilience from Limu herself.

The Mist That Never Leaves

Travelers noticed that the mountain was always wrapped in mist,
even on clear days.

The legend says the mist is the goddess’s breath —
warm, patient,
protecting the wood from harshness
and giving it its quiet, layered scent.

In this belief,
the fragrance of agarwood was not only from the tree,
but from the mountain’s breath resting inside the wood.

The Circle of Return

Villagers once carried small pieces of agarwood
when they traveled far from home.
Not for luck,
not for worship,
but for remembrance.

They believed the scent carried the mountain’s calm —
a circle that always brought them back
to themselves.

That quiet belief still lingers in Hainan today:
that to hold agarwood
is to hold a piece of Limu Mountain’s patience.

The Legend Today

The villagers no longer speak of goddesses as they once did,
but the essence of the story remains:

That Limu Mountain teaches us
that calm can be cultivated,
that wounds can become fragrance,
and that beauty is not created through force
but through time, breath, and stillness.

And in every strand of agarwood beads,
in every quiet fragrance released by warmth,
there is a subtle reminder
of the mountain that once learned to breathe.