India: Bamboo surprise

In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Indian Ocean, an ancient myth exalts the humble bamboo, as the giver of life for it is believed that the first people came forth from the stem of a bamboo plant. Similar creation stories abound in the Malaysian peninsula, the Philippines, the North-Eastern region of India and several Far Eastern cultures. The bamboo, it seems, enjoys great reverence in cultures where the plant is in abundance and where it is an integral part of local tradition.