The name of the tree caught my attention quickly.
‘Devil Tree’ was printed on the name card with the Malayalam name in bigger
letters. Maggie and I were sauntering along the footpath by the river in
Thommankuthu, a place in central Kerala. The river has elegant cascades in
monsoon though it was a much feebler version now in summer.
Maggie’s attention was drawn to the
tree when I captured a pic of it with the intention of bringing it over here on
my blog. Maggie knew that the tree was believed to be home to yakshis,
female bloodsucking ghosts, in Kerala’s numerous legends and folklores. Her
instinctive response was a recoil from the tree.
Not all yakshis are evil, I
recollected. Kerala’s most reverberant poet, Kadammanitta Ramakrishnan,
describes yakshis as the vital energy of nature in one of his poems.
On
the perfumed path of Pala (Devil’s Tree) flowers,
cool dewdrops lie scattered;
In the rainbow's teardrops,
her ghostly choir sings.
In the Malayalam original:
à´ªാലപ്à´ªൂà´µിൻ മണപ്à´ªാതയിൽ,
à´šിതറി à´µീà´£ à´•ുà´³ിർ à´•à´£ികൾ;
à´®േഘവിà´²്à´²ിà´¨്à´±െ à´•à´£്à´£ീà´°ിൽ,
à´ªാà´Ÿും അവളുà´Ÿെ à´…à´•à´®്പടി
While many yakshis in Kerala’s literature are
vindictive spirits because they were originally women who were used by men to
sate their lust before being dumped, some are even demigoddesses. In the poem
cited above, the yakshis sway passionately under the trees celebrating the
rain. Dancing along with them are serpents in their hidden groves. The
mountains are humming their ancient tunes. The entire earth is vibrant with nature’s
music.
Yakshis emerged out of the seductive charms
and mysteries of nature in the olden days when science hadn’t given humans
answers to the dark music of the nights. Strange sounds echoed through fields
and rivers. People thought there were spirits all around them, spirits that
came alive in the dead of the dark nights. Yakshis were of particular interest
because they were both beautiful and deadly.
Yakshis represented the feminine energy in
nature: creation, beauty, and sensuality. A Yakshi represented both desire and
danger. The world has a lot to offer, but it is man’s duty to control his
desires. Yakshis were a way to respect, fear, and understand the deep forces of
life, nature, death, beauty, and mystery.
Thommankuthu, with its forests and river and
massive boulders, has much to offer: seductive beauty to murderous pitfalls.
Tread carefully.
This is one of the many gigantic baheda trees in the forest of Thommankuthu. This tree is generally avoided by Hindus in North India as it is believed by them to be inhabited by demons. We visited this place first in 2009 and the picture below is from that visit.
PS. Today being Sunday, I’m taking a break from the A2Z series. You can get back to A2Z here.
Thank you for the knowledge, and the photographs are a feast for the eyes.
ReplyDeleteGlad the pics delighted you.
DeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteI love your 'ussies' - and those giant trees are so venerable, so reassuring. Forests are fantastic places which lend themselves well to fantisizing!!! YAM xx
Those giant trees, mighty and gentle at the same time, reassuring indeed.
DeleteThe way Yakshis embody both beauty and mystery, desire and danger, adds such a fascinating angle to Kerala's legends, is it not? Nice pics of giant trees!
ReplyDeleteThommankuthu is a charming place, especially in or after the monsoon. You'll get a lot more than Yakshis and the giant trees.
DeleteFirst of all, Cufos to both you and Maggie, for making time and space to relax.... Relax together in the lap of Nature.... Yakshi is the Symbol.of the Sensuousness of Nature. Her Bewitching nature. And Yakshipala is a poiinter to that sensuous Seductiveness.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
DeleteYakshipala flowers are particularly seductive! Unfortunately, Pala trees are disappearing, maybe due to people's superstitions and fears.
Beautiful area.
ReplyDeleteIt is. Come and visit.
Delete