Bamboo is our day to day plant. Bamboos are one of the fastest-growing plants in the world. Bamboos have been part of our life from primitive times. The bamboo shoot has been a favorite ingredient in many Asian cuisines. Bamboo is used in making of Houses, Musial instruments, writing surface and also in making of primitive weapons. In Feng – Shui Bamboo is considered a plant of luck and prosperity. The bonding between humans and bamboo is so intense that the first man was also said to be born inside a bamboo.
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| Last surviving Member of Bo Tribe |
The Bo tribe of Andaman Islands has a legend which says that the first man was born inside a bamboo, the same way as we see the world egg creation stories across many cultures such as Vedic, Egyptian, Greek, Norse, and many more.
The Creation
The Bo tribe of the Andaman Islands called the first man Jutpu. This primordial man Jutpu was born inside the joint of a huge bamboo. Just as we have world egg stories, where primordial man is born inside an egg and the creation takes places through the hatching of that egg. The same way bamboo then split (hatched) into half and Jutpu came out. He was a little child when he appeared. The time it rained he used bamboos and made a hut for himself to live in. He also made little bows and arrows. As Jutpu grew older he made bigger huts and bigger bows and arrows.
One day while he was wandering in the forests he found a lump of quartz and with it, he sacrificed himself, this may be considered as the time when Jutpu crossed the threshold and stepped into adulthood. Now Jutpu was feeling lonely, as he was an adult now and needed a companion. He took some clay from the nest of white ants and molded it into a shape of a woman and brought the figurine to life. The woman became alive and Jutpu took her as his wife. She was called Kot. Jutpu and Kot lived together at Teraut-buliu. Jutpu then made many people out of the clay just as he made his wife and populated the place. This became the ancestors of Bo people. Jutpu taught men how to make canoes and bows and arrows, and how to hunt and fish. His wife Kot taught the women how to make baskets and nets and mats and belts, and how to use clay for making patterns on the body.” Thus the creation of mankind and civilization took place.