Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand) Tourist Guide


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Fig trees
in lore and life and all around you in Buddhist Chiang Mai

Text & Images : Sjon Hauser

Ficus with supports

At the core of western lore is the familiar story of a young woman who once felt attracted to a certain kind of fruit. She picked it and ate of it. Then she offered it to her mate, who also tasted it. As if reflected by a hallucinogen, 'The eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked.' So they hastened to pick the leaves from this same fruit tree and made coverings for themselves.

Thus started a long history of prudery, sexual frustration, and related misery as a basic ingredient of western culture. The fruit tree, as we all know, was the common fig (Ficus carica), the first plant mentioned in the Bible (where it occurs 57 times). This fig tree is a native of Southwest Asia but is also commonly naturalized in the Mediterranean, where it has been an important food source since time immemorial. Besides 'introducing' the Christians to shame, it is said to have come to the rescue when Mary and the child Jesus were fleeing from Herod's soldiers. The tree opened its trunk so that mother and child could hide inside until their pursurers abandoned the search.

A related species, Ficus ruminalis, was decisive for the foundation of Rome, when the floating cradle of Romulus and Remus became entangled in its roots. It was worshipped by the ancient Romans until, after many centuries, their civilization became pervaded by Christianity, leading, according to historian Edward Gibbon, to its rapid decline and fall.

Rooty specimen on the moat

Even earlier, the wood of an African fig tree (Ficus sycomorus) was used in the Egypt of the Pharaohs to make the coffins placed inside the sarcophaguses entombing the mummies.

Most members of the extraordinary large genus of Ficus (comprising over 1000 species) are poorly adapted to the temperate, and even subtropical, climates. They are typical natives of the tropical belt, especially in monsoon Asia. It is therefore not surprising that a number of them are as prominent in Hindu and Buddhist lore as is the 'common fig' in the Christian tradition. Two species in particular, the pipal and the banyan, are regarded as sacred by hundreds of millions of Asians.

Thailand is home to a few hundred species of fig trees. Despite not being a native, the venerated pipal is one of the most common trees in the country, and at least one giant 'strangler fig' (as they are also known) has become a major tourist attraction.

Ficus as art

In India, both the pipal (Ficus religiosa) and banyan (Ficus benghalensis) have been venerated since ancient times. Tree-worship is possibly one of the earliest and most prevalent forms of religion. Among the seals of the ancient Indus civilization of Mohenjodaro, one depicts a stylised pipal tree with two heads of unicorns emerging from its stem. The pipal, as well as some other Ficus-species, are important in supplying moderately hard wood for making yokes, cheap furniture, packing cases, etc. In India, the pipal is also called `horse-stand' because of the convenience of stabling horses in its shade. The importance of fig trees, and a taboo against cutting them down, is suggested in the famous Hindu epic The Ramayana, as Ravana exclaims: `I have not cut down any fig tree…Why then does this calamity befall me?'

In Buddhism both the pipal and the banyan rose to further prominence. It was at Bodhgaya, in northern India, that Prince Siddhartha, while meditating under a pipal tree, attained enlightenment. The prince, who had renounced the world, thereby became the Buddha, with the pipal thereafter referred to as the bodhi or bo (enlightenment) tree. Buddhism's affinity with trees is also suggested by Siddhartha's previous births: 43 times (out of 550) he was the deva (`angel' - or resident spirit) of a tree. Before departing from this world forever, the Buddha directed his favourite disciple Ananda to obtain a branch of the original pipal at Bodhgaya and plant it at Sravasti. The words, 'He who worships the bodhi will receive the same reward as if he worshipped me in person,' are attributed to the Buddha himself - although they seem to contradict the Great Teacher's general aloofness towards worship. The bodhi was King Ashoke's favourite object of reverence. During his reign (third century B.C.), Buddhism firmly established itself in most parts of India, where the sacred bodhi was often depicted in temples through sculptural reliefs.

In Thailand, the pipal (or bodhi) is called ton pho. One or more of these trees, sometimes of considerable size, can be found in or near most Buddhist monasteries. The tree can be easily recognized by its heart-shaped, long pointed leaves. Its slender petioles cause the leaves to tremble readily in a breeze, making a characteristic fluttering sound. Intimidated by the permanently shaking leaves, South Indian Christians named it the `Devil's Tree'. Besides its whispering leaves and its greyish bark, the pipal has little in common with the unrelated European poplar, despite the fact that both names may have their origin in Sanskrit pippala.

Just before the rainy season, the almost evergreen pipal suddenly sheds all its leaves, but within less than two weeks it produces fresh new, gleaming foliage - making it the symbol for reincarnation par excellence.

Beautiful, huge bodhi trees are in the compounds of many of Chiang Mai's temples, as for example, Wat Phra Singh and Wat Faham. As an expression of veneration, a yellow or orange piece of cloth is frequently tied around its trunk, and often Buddha images are placed under the tree.

The region's most famous bodhi tree, however, stands twenty kilometres southwest of Lampang at Wat Phrathat Lampang Luang, one of the country's oldest and most impressive temples. The branches of this gnarled, old giant are propped up by poles decorated with strips of silver and gold paper. This tree is said to have grown from a slip of the famous bodhi in Anaradhapura in Sri Lanka. The latter is likely the most venerated and oldest bodhi in the world. It was grown from a twig of the original Bodhgaya-bodhi taken to Sri Lanka in the third century B.C. Bodhgaya's Tree of Wisdom was cut down around 600 A.D., during the golden age of Hinduism

In Thailand, many bodhi trees can be spotted outside temple compounds as well. Old trees are regarded as the abode of spirits, and gauze sashes in assorted bright colours are often tied around the trunk as an offering. Damaged sacred objects, like Chinese shrines, Thai concrete spirit houses, or headless Buddha images are sometimes placed under such trees. It is believed they bring misfortune if left in improper places. An example in Chiang Mai is a bodhi alongside the moat on Mun Muang Road.

Many fig trees start life above the ground level, in walls, rocks, or the trunks of other trees, there taking advantage of a relative abundance of sunlight. In such cases, they do not need to invest in a strong trunk to grow upwards

The banyan in particular exhibits a confusing growth pattern by developing numerous trunks! From its horizontal branches it drops many soft aerial roots. After anchoring themselves in the soil, some of them will thicken and grow wooden, and become a trunk-like supporting structure allowing the other branches to extend further horizontally. This process may result in one individual tree consisting of hundreds of interconnected secondary trunks covering an area of over an acre. A chronicler of Alexander the Great's campaigns (about 325 B.C.) mentions a banyan near the Indus so extensive that an army could bivouac in its shade. A 250-years old banyan in the botanical gardens of Calcutta now covers an area nearly 400 metres in circumference. However, its fungus-infected central trunk was removed in 1925. A banyan claimed to have an even larger canopy is in a remote part of Andhra Pradesh.

According to Buddhist lore, Prince Siddhartha was seated under a banyan near Bodhgaya when the young milkmaid Sujata offered him some cooked rice - some versions say that she used the cream of a thousand cows and offered it to him in a golden bowl. After this meal, he moved to the base of the Tree of Wisdom to attain enlightenment. Some weeks later, when seated under a banyan once again, the Buddha was visited by the God Brahma, who pleaded with him to teach his newly-discovered truths to mankind.

The banyan is not a native of Thailand, but the related Ficus benjamina (in Thai called ton sai) can reach similar proportions. The kingdom's largest stands just a couple of kilometres from the famous Khmer ruins of Prasat Hin Phimai in Khorat province, where it attracts scores of tourists. A somewhat smaller but much healthier specimen, situated in the picturesque countryside of nearby Chakkaret district, hardly ever gets any visitor.

As far as I know, no such spectacular Ficus-specimen exists in or around Chiang Mai. There are however many beauties of smaller size. Besides the already mentioned bodhis, there are several impressive specimens of Ficus elestica within the wiang (old city), e.g., one near the Chiang Mai gate. This species was grown for its latex until around 1900, when it was displaced by the more productive Hevea from South America (not related to the fig tree).

To catch the atmosphere of the Buddha meditating under a huge fig tree, Wat Fai Hin likely offers the best ambience. This temple is beautifully situated on the forested slope of Doi Suthep. Near the temple's entrance, a superb Ficus stretches its enormous branches, covered with ferns and orchids, towards the sky. In the shade of its dense foliage, three almost life-size, gilded images of the Buddha are placed, two in the position of meditation, the other subduing Mara. Except for the songs of cicadas and birds, it is absolutely quiet - an inspired blending of an asthetic expression of spiritual aspiration within a natural setting. It's well worth visiting.