FICUS BENJAMINA - A HERITAGE OVER 1000 YEARS OLD

Ficus Benjamina – A heritage over 1000 years old located on the territory of Ke Mui village, Giai Xuan commune, Tan Ky district, Nghe An province, is recognized as a Vietnamese heritage tree. In the middle of the vast mountains and forests, ancient tree (Ficus Benjamina) with thousands of years old standing tall make the spectators admire.

According to observations, this tree has a height of nearly 30m, a canopy of about 60m2. The large tree trunk shines on two overlapping gems. The upper stone block has a circular shape surrounded by hundreds of tree roots, while the square stone below is cracked in half, 4 tree roots are dropped from the branches to the ground like the image of 4 bases of the throne holding the trunk. stand for thousands of years. Around the sides of the stump are roots creating many unique shapes.

Overall, this tree is very similar to the image of a rooster using his legs to embrace a plate of sticky rice placed on a tray. The special thing is, the tree roots and stones cling to each other like a dragon holding a pearl, the roots drop from the tree around the shape like a phoenix dancing dragon flying, very beautiful.

It is known that the stone block that this tree covering is granite, the rock below weighs about 160 tons and the stone above is like a big pearl weighing about 25 tons. Even the people who have lived here for a long time cannot explain why, these two rocks can be stacked so firmly. Surely, no one could carry tens of tons of rocks on top of each other in this desolate forest. The elders in the village believe that these two rocks are symbols of heaven and earth. According to the concept of the ancient Vietnamese, the round stone above represents heaven and the square stone below is the symbol of the earth.

The people here do not know when that ancient tree existed, only knowing that since childhood, they have seen such a tall tree in the middle of the mountains. Village elders in Ke Mui village said that from generation to generation, the old people in the village always remind their children and grandchildren that this ancient tree is associated with the legend of Mrs. "Da Kheet", a sacred character who always blesses the people.

The land around the precious tree has long been known as the "Đáu" land by the villagers, ie the sacred land where Mrs. Da Kheet lived. Today, people here still keep that respect for this ancient tree. This is shown in the fact that, every time the villagers start the crop production season, they go to this tree to worship, pray Mrs. Da Kheet to bless an abundant crops, and every time they harvest, they also don't forget to bring gifts to give thanks. The location of the "century-old" tree was located right on the southern marching path, which made Le Loi's “split bamboo and fly ash” victory and King Quang Trung's swift march to the north. In the 18^th  century, this was the stronghold of the Le Duy Mat insurgent army and also a logistical base for the resistance wars during the anti-French and anti-American wars of Military Zone 4.

With those historical and cultural values, the ancient tree is increasingly sought by people inside and outside the district to contemplate, learn and discover. Believe that, if it is exploited and linked with other points in the area and the surrounding area, this ancient tree (Ficus Benjamina ) will be an interesting tourist destination, attracting tourists inside and outside the province.