There wasn't as much frangipani as I had expected to see in Malaysia...there were plenty, but I felt in the lovely warm and humid coastal environment that I'd have seen more. And certainly they weren't easy to get at with a camera - the plants around our accommodation were really large and the blooms reaching skyward, definitely being kissed by the sun...
...when I began reading about the plumeria or frangipani in relation to different cultures, it does rather make sense. In a resort setting, which is far more Westernised an environment, yes, planting some frangipani would be ok. But, for the Malay people, folklore has it that the scent of the frangipani is associated with a vampire-like creature!!!
...in neighbouring Philippines and Indonesia, the frangipani is thought to give shelter to ghosts and demons and is also planted in cemetary grounds!
...in Bengali culture frangipani is associated with funerals and death...
...yet in Southern India in the region of Karnataka, the bride and groom exchange plumeria garlands at their wedding (cream, not red, though)...
...and in Eastern Africa, the flower is common in Swahili love poems...
...in the Pacific Islands which ear the flower is placed behind determines for a man whether a woman is available or already in a relationship!...
...and Nicaragua and Laos feel so strongly about the frangipani that it is national flower of these countries...
...personally, I think I would be in flower heaven if I had a garden with even one frangipani tree showering me seasonally with those luscious blooms - for me frangipani radiates happiness and the perfume sends me giddy - and I don't mind that a bit!
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