Under the name sijou (alternative spelling sijwu) the plant, known formerly as Euphorbia splendens, is considered to be sacred in the Bathouist religion of the Bodo people of Assam, West Bengal, Nagaland and Nepal, in which it symbolizes the supreme deity, Bathoubwrai (Master of the Five Elements).

This cultivation of the sijou tree for ritual purposes was particularly strong among the Bodo people (known also as Mech) of the Goalpara region.

Families that follow Bathouism plant a sijou shrub at the northeast corner of their courtyard in an altar referred to as the sijousali.

Bodo communities that follow Bathouism generally plant a sijou shrub or small tree in a piece of communally-owned land, which they fence with eighteen pairs of bamboo strips with five fastenings.

The milestones on the path of life represented by the bottom three fastenings are those that one cannot escape; whereas those symbolized by the top two are not necessarily attained by all.