I was doing some research the other day and discovered to my amazement that there is actually a World Coconut Day celebrated on September 2, every year! It was established in 2009 by the Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC), now known as the International Coconut Community (ICC). The day was meant to honour this “tree of life” and recognise that coconuts play a vital role not only as a food source but also as a means of livelihood for millions of farmers, especially in Asia and the Pacific.
The coconut tree, in all probability, was first cultivated by people of India or Southeast Asia. From here, it was introduced to other tropical countries all over the world. The tree is believed to be of great value everywhere in the tropics because it provides all the essential elements needed to sustain life. Besides food and drink, it offers possibilities of housing, thatching, clothing, containers, oil, brooms, ornaments, and furniture, to name just a few. The botanical name for the coconut is Cocos nucifera. The word ‘cocos’ is of Spanish origin and means monkey-faced or eerie-faced. 'Nucifera' comes from Latin, meaning nut-bearing plant. So useful is the plant that legends about it abound throughout the tropics. It has in many parts of the world a sacred function and a vital meaning.
In India, a coconut has great symbolic meaning, and its use is interwoven with many of our customs and traditions. When something is so intertwined with life, it also finds its way into games and play.
The whole coconut with its outer shell is often used in place of a ball and strangely resembles the American football in shape and size. In some South Indian weddings, after the ceremonies are over, there is a custom where the couple rolls coconuts between them. The slightly irregular shape of the coconut and the tuft result in it rolling unpredictably. This leads to much amusement and laughter meant to dissipate the tensions that have built up during the ceremonies.
The used coconut shell itself is put to numerous uses in the household. One interesting use in games is to use it as a container to shake the dice before throwing them. Sometimes these shells are gaily decorated, and the dice are stored in them until needed. Young children clap the shells together to imitate the clip-clop sound of a horse’s hooves, leading to much amusement during play sessions. Another fascinating toy is made with a baby coconut and a couple of sticks. One stick is looped around the other and stuck into the baby coconut. It is then whirled around by hand, making a satisfying spinning motion and a tik-tik sound much like a baby’s rattle. The holes in the coconut also give it great versatility as a toy. Children would thread a rope through the hole of two coconuts and then, holding them at a distance away from each other, pretend to imitate the old landline telephones by having long imaginary conversations.
My personal favourite is the coconut shell walk, which allows you to thread a rope through a pair of shells and then walk on stilts on them.
Throughout the world, the tree is often depicted as possessing magical powers and serving as a link between people and their origins. It is also believed to offer a pathway to another world — a link between earth and heaven. The coconut can be many things to many people, but to the child in each of us, it is a source of fun and play.