The Plantain.
The plantain is also sacred, probably on account of the value of its fruit. The leaves are hung on the marriage booth, and a branch is placed near the pole or sacred fire round which the bride and bridegroom revolve. In Madras, when premature delivery takes place, the child is laid on a plantain leaf smeared with oil, the leaf is changed daily, and the baby is thus treated for the period which is less than the normal time of delivery. In Bengal, in consecrating an image of Durgâ, a plantain tree is brought in and bathed. It is clothed as a woman with Bel apples representing the breasts; nine sorts of leaves smeared with red paint are hung round the breast and it is worshipped.[54] The leaves are also used as a remedy for wounds and ulcers, a practice which prevailed in the time of Shakespeare. In “Romeo and Juliet” Benvolio says:—
“Take thou some new infection to thine eye,
And the rank poison of the old will die.”
To which Romeo answers:—
“Your plantain leaf is excellent for that.”
“For what, I pray thee?”
“For your broken skin.”
In the folk-tales the deserted wife sweeps the ground round a plantain tree and it gives her a blessing.[55]