Figure 20 A strangler Fig in Borneo (top) and the Thimmamma Marrimanu (bottom). Source: Creative Commons

Figure 21 The Strangler Fig in scene 5 at Edinburgh Fringe. Source: Shaky Crown

3.4.j The Strangler Fig


In order to engage with the kinds of spaces and forests which have been used for humans in a spiritual nature, rather than to profit from, I searched for more unique forest spaces than rainforest or plantation. I wanted to find something that would still be reflective of the highly competitive nature of trees, and display ways in which they are not just helpful or supportive towards each other. Eventually I came across the strangler fig.

 

In my exploration of famous trees around the world I came across the Thimmamma Marrimanu. This is a strangler fig which is also in the Guinness Book of World Records (2020) for being the largest single tree canopy at over 5 acres of area and a circumference of 846m, is at least 550 years old. Strangler figs are banyan trees which start life as a sticky seed left on a host tree by a bird or another creature (Richard & Halkin, 2017: 153). They then send their roots down from the host tree’s branches to the soil, and wrap some roots and branches around the host tree. Often they will end up killing the host tree by suffocating it. The Thimmamma Marrimanu has overtaken the area of a small forest and is large enough to encompass a whole temple at its centre. It is worshipped by Buddhists and Hindus as a symbol of fertility, life and resurrection. Across southeast Asia banyans such as strangler figs have a spiritual significance to Buddhists, Hindus and other religious communities, and people will often place shrines near them or tie bands around their branches. The religious significance of such trees means that they may be protected and conserved in regions which would otherwise be undergoing stresses from deforestation or overuse. The Thimmamma Marrimanu is one such example26. This is referenced in the Strangler Figs text (p. 16, line 367): ‘They make their yearly pilgrimage / Tie bands around my branches’.

 

Strangler figs, however, are a highly competitive and deadly species to other trees in the forest. The hollow cavities they create once the host tree has perished and rotted away leave valuable habitats for many animals. In the libretto this is reflected in the Strangler Fig’s proud declaration about its above ground successes (p. 14, lines 330-333):


Strangler fig:

               Many creatures come to feed above,

               Living together in the air.

               A skeleton made from sunlight

               Brings shelter and food.


It is immediately followed up by Lipote’s acknowledgement of the root system of the dead trees of the original forest (p. 15, lines 334-338):


Lipote:

Empty tunnels, forgotten pathways

There were friends here

Not dug away.

Their networks rotten,

Their threads decayed.


I wanted to use this plant as a further metaphor for the effect of the deforestation for palm oil on the rainforest. Just as the strangler fig slowly cuts off resources for the host trees, and in some extreme cases such as the Thimmamma Marrimanu can lead to a protected area of monoculture, the palm plantations are isolating patches of rainforest which are becoming depleted of nutrients, diversity and a supportive ecosystem. In this moment we see the Strangler Fig entrap and begin to strangle the Lipote, whilst also psychopathically declaring the close relationship this will create between them (see timecode 00:49:04) (p. 16, lines 375-377):


Strangler Fig:

Come closer. Let us hug. 

Let us heal each other’s loss. 

Stay with me – you will not live or die alone.


They go on to describe the lives of the friends they have already trapped and killed saying(p. 16, lines 385-392):


In my sun made skeleton,

In my sheltering walls,

Many creatures made their homes

 

They stay then rot into the soil.

Now still inside these hallowed halls

Abiding, residing memories

 

Written upon 

My sun made skeleton.


I felt it was important to include this scene, not as a pivotal development in the narrative, but as a way of exposing the highly brutal and competitive reality of living in a natural environment such as a rainforest, and the ways in which human interference can make that even harder, not only through deforestation, logging and agricultural practices. The strangulation of the other trees in the forest by this one plant is a metaphor for the strangled rainforest encircled by plantation. The Strangler Fig is only acting in its most natural manner, but in doing so it has caused the destruction of other trees, but due to its cultural prowess, this has also led to the preservation of this area of forest.