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| A digital touch to the 'flower of the dead' by MOOD |
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Kemboja (Malay)
Plumeria obtusa |
With more than 10,000 species of flowering plants in Malaysia and a potpourri of cultures, we are bound to have different and contrasting attitudes towards flowers in this country. The Great Frangipani is called 'Kemboja' by the Malays. Both the Malays and Chinese consider this flower as 'flower of the dead', though it is an extremely fragrant flower. There is so much unresolved mystery as to why children and even adults suddenly fear ghosts and conjure members of the spiritual world in their rich imagination once they smell the scent of the Great Fangipani, especially at night. Thus to be on the safe side just be careful to use this flower. Do not present it to anyone less they feel grievously insulted. Your kindness and meaningfulness may be interpreted by your girlfriend or wife that you cannot wait to see her die by sending her funeral flowers ahead of time!. But I guess attitudes can change with time, travel and new idioms. For instance many Chinese and Malays now like to plant the newer varieties and colours of the plumeria than its original pure white colour. This is probably to show off to their neighbours that they can afford travel abroad to Indonesia or Bali where plumerias are extensively used in contemporary garden design and spa therapy. For today's post I would like to share a picture of the
Plumeria obtusa which I took at the park and use simple digital software to manipulate the image. Enjoy the digital touch!
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Plumeria obtusa
Family: Apocynaceae - Periwinkle family
Location : Botanic Walk, Zone C |
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