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- VOL. 8.6
Spirited Trees
By
Banyan trees, members of the ficus family that drop
long aerial roots to ground, are almost revered in many places for their
unusual and often beautiful forms. In India there are trees that are
centuries old which cover huge areas and have become major tourist
attractions. In China, where they grow mainly in the sub tropical south,
local tour groups come by the busload to view the long, hanging roots that
develop into secondary trunks.
But here in Thailand where the ficus family is extraordinarily plentiful,
the locals are more likely to cut down banyan trees than propagate them. The
reason for the difference in attitude? Spirits. Many Thais believe that
these trees, which often form dark, spooky worlds with a mesh of dangling
roots, are the favoured haunts of a host of different spirits, some of which
are potentially malevolent. Thus banyan trees around Thailand are often seen
with colourful shrines and offerings planted in the nether regions amongst
their roots in an effort to ensure that the spirits within remain fat and
happy.