If you are ever stranded on a desert island, pray that somewhere on that island there is a banana plant. After consuming the energy-boosting fruit, you can use the leaves and stalk to build a shelter and a raft. Back on dry land, the plant has even more uses.
In the West the banana is an icon symbolizing healthy eating, comedy, and even sex. For decades the banana skin has entertained TV audiences, as cartoon characters slip on its skin, the ubiquitous hazardous fruit prop.
In Thailand, the banana is much more than a Looney Tunes punch line. Aside from being a staple in local diet, the plant is highly symbolic in traditional Thai culture. Almost every ceremony and festival incorporates elements of the banana plant, and every part is utilised, from the roots to the flower.
Often mistaken as a tree, the banana plant is actually a large herbaceous perennial, with a compact watery stalk, like a giant celery stick. There are around 30 different species in Thailand, and the fruit can be split into two varieties: the sweet dessert banana, and the cooking type.
Throughout Thailand bananas can be found in many forms: fresh, battered, grilled, baked, steamed, and sun dried; they can also be used to make jam and wine.
The teardrop-shaped banana blossom is also on the menu, and tastes similar to artichoke, another edible bud. This purple inflorescence is often served as an accompaniment to pad thai, nam prik and kanom jeen, while the plant’s tender inner stalk is used to make gaeng som, a pungent southern Thai curry.
After nutrition, the banana plant’s other major contribution to every day life is packaging and presentation. The broad waxy leaves are strong and waterproof, and make ideal wrappers for a long list of snacks, sweet meats and desserts.
Arrays of neatly folded packages containing of a myriad of tempting delights can be found in every Thai market. The leaf’s fragrant juices protect the food from burning while it is grilled, and add a subtle hint of flavour to the snack.
Despite its ubiquity, the banana plant is considered sacred. At the funeral of Princess Galayani Vadhana, the crematorium was decorated with dozens of intricately carved banana stalks, and her body was laid on a mat of banana leaves.
The beautiful flotilla of illuminated rafts which characterises the annual Loy Krathong Festival also incorporates the plant. Most krathongs are made from a cross-section of the plant’s stalk, and adorned with elaborately folded banana leaves.
A lot of superstitions and beliefs shroud the plant. A species known as ‘gluay tanee’, produces the best quality leaves but is never grown near a home, as it is believed that an evil and seductive female spirit (Tanee) resides in the tree.
In recent years a banana plant in a remote village shot to fame after it was rumoured that the plant could predict winning lottery numbers. Visitors flocked to the site to rub powder and water on the stalk in hope of deciphering lucky numbers as the solution dried.
The Thai idiom, ‘It’s like peeling a banana’, describing simple tasks, is similar to the English equivalent, ‘It’s a piece of cake’. It’s also a good indication of which nation enjoys a healthier lifestyle.
It seems the banana plant’s uses are as diverse as the plant itself.
Northern hill tribes still use the outer stalk as pig fodder, while the roots are ground into an organic fertiliser. The fibres inside the stalk can be dried to form a strong thread, and the sap can be used as a fabric dye.
In the past Thai boxers attacked the stalk as part of their training, and parents crafted traditional toys.
Some of these traditions are withering due to modernisation; however, the banana’s popularity remains unblemished. Much more than just a pretty fruit, the banana is deeply rooted in Thai culture and tradition.
