The Chain Tree of Kerala- myths and mysteries

Amidst the lush green meadows of Wayanad is a very old Ficus tree, standing tall with a chain hanging around its trunk. It is the ever mysterious Chain Tree, a major tourist attraction of Wayanad in Kerala.

The chain tree has an interesting myth associated with it. The local people claim that the tree is haunted by a ghost. The ghost of Karinthandan. Karinthandan was the heir of a tribal community of Wayanad. He was the man who literally paved a way to connect Calicut to Wayanad. The Serpent road linking Wayanad and Calicut was built by him and it is for this reason that he was shot dead. His untimely death brought about a lot of accidents on the serpent road; and the death toll increased, or so the myth says.

To resolve this issue and to bring about peace to the people, a monk was called upon to bind the ghost of Karinthandan to the Ficus tree. And to this day it is believed that this tree, the Chain tree, is the host of Karinthadan’s ghost. As a tourist attraction, people who visit Wayanad, never fail to visit this tree to seek blessings before proceeding to the rest of their journey.  

Research and Interview: Akhila CK

Camera: Habeeb Rahman YP

Archives: Jaihind TV

Editing: Akhila CK

Akhila CK

1st M.A. Mass Communication