Changi Pulai tree investigation


Pulai tree standing alone in Changi.  Click here to see a panoramic view of the tree.

1. News clip by Straits Times; 2. The lower part of the tree; 3 & 4. You see how the two trees tangled together

From the news reported, obviously, we can see that there are in fact two trees - a Pulai and a fig, being blended together.  That has explained the strange structure of the Pulai tree.  Blame is currently put on the bushy fig tree for thwarting the growth of the Pulai; and the authority is taking actions to save the Pulai at the expense of the fig tree.

Out of two trees, one has to die...  It is interesting or actually a sad fact that even trees, not only for human, will receive different treatments according to their values.  The authority is trying to rescue the Pulai tree that has more historical value than the fig.

As a part of our research endeavor on this Pulai tree, we wrote to NPark hoping to find out more about this distinctive tree.

Checking carefully, we noticed that the main tree trunk certainly belongs to the Pulai tree.  However it is covered with roots of the fig tree.  One obviously can see the fig tree is younger and shorter than the Pulai tree as though it started growing half-way of the lifespan of the Pulai tree.  More importantly, the fig is growing strong by seizing over all the necessary nutrients and water from the soil, leaving the Pulai tree almost if not all dried up.

As a rescue operation for the Pulai tree that has been nominated as a Heritage Tree by NPark, the branches of the fig tree were cut.  Metal scaffolds, used as ladders, were found on the tree.  We believed that workers climbed up to cut the upper branches in order to thwart the growth of green leaves, as well as those near the roots.  Sounds cruel, but indeed it is one of the most effective ways to end the growth of fig without the need of forcibly separating them out.  As you can see in the pictures the roots of the fig tree are so much and they tightly coupled with the main tree trunk of Pulai.  On the open cut of the fig tree, we counted the number of the rings to be about 20.  However we believe that the Pulai tree should be older than 20 years judging from its height.

1 & 2. Workers climbed up to chop the branches; 3 & 4. Most tree trunks were saw off at the bottom.


1 & 4. Dead branches were piled aside; 2. Some branch even got smashed - is it necessary? 3. Many roots and trunks were chopped.

In the days to come, as we would expect, the fig tree will result a slow death.  As for now, its branches are ripped off from top.  The fallen dead leaves and branches are swept in piles around the area.  In some subsequent visits we found that the leaves of the fig tree grew brown, and more dead branches were collected on the ground.  Workers from NPark must have come from time to time to maintain the situation within the land.

Nevertheless it is strange enough on how two trees fated to grow at the same spot; it was likely that the Pulai grew here first then the fig come in later, or they began at the same time?  We cannot confirm.  But it reminds us of some popular urban legend of how a loving couple escaped out from the village, against all odds, eventually come to the edge of the land, then hugging each other till forever...  Till death do they part... As time drifted and era changed they turned into an united tree, that was when the two become one.  A tightly coupled formation that would never separate.

(Coincidentally when I was writing the above paragraph, my stereo was playing a song called 'The Memory of Trees' by Enya.  It was a new CD that just I bought and I were not intentionally playing that song for inspiring this write-up.  I am telling you the truth.)

Now their fate is finalized, when a rational decision is made.  One tree has to sacrifice for the survival of another.  But would it work?  Nobody knows what would be the results.  We are yet to see...


Pulai tree is a sacred tree?

SPI then decided to make a field trip going to take a close check on that ancient heritage tree.

On the 3/3/03 (nice number?) SPI Agent Abductboy was working at a construction site so happened to be next to the Pulai tree.  Under his escort, Kenny with his camera equipment was led through a road construction area to a vast grass land where the Somapah kampong used to be.  As expected, from a far distance the Pulai tree is visible to eyes standing high up on the skirt  of the grass land.

Looking around, the modern development of this area is amazing.  With the high-tech design of Singapore Expo and its MRT just close by, and rows of modern industrial buildings being built around, this estate has remarkably transformed itself from an old village to a contemporary industrial district.  You would notice a few technology giants like IBM, Honeywell and Sony are setting their foot here.

1. Pulai tree is next to a road construction site; 2. Entrance gate to the site; 3 & 4. Crossing the road construction site.


1. The tree is only 20 meters away; 2. Changi business district is on the left hand side; 3 & 4. To reach the tree we had to cross a drain.

After passing a road construction site that possibly the government was building new highways, the Pulai tree was standing just about 20 meters away.  The grasses were tall and the land was muddy.  Finally we had to cross a small drain of about 1 meter wide, and trekked up a small hill before we reached the tree.

Changi airport was just nearby so we could see airplanes regularly land and take off in front of us.  Looking up the sky was so open; we saw two condors flying around this area.  They may be the trained condors by the airport authority for chasing off birds away from the airport district.  They patrolled the sky in circular motions, and sometimes they would rest on the highest branch of the Pulai tree.

A condor was seen circulating around, then finally landed and rested on the Pulai tree.  Does it reside in the Pulai tree?  Click here.

Whoosh.. We exclaimed when we eventually can take a close look at the tree.  Its trunk is much bigger and more complex than we thought.  We estimated the tree got to be at least six-storey tall standing alone on this vacant land.  We measured the diameter of the tree to be 2 meters.  The most notable sight of it was the yellow cloth wrapping around the tree trunk.  Usually this could not be seen from a distance.

1. A yellow cloth is wrapping around the tree; 2 & 3 Ritual apparatus were found on the ground near the tree
4. By using an ultrasonic measuring device we found that the width of the Pulai tree is 1.97 meters

By inspecting the tree and its surrounding, we found there were traces of evidence of some rituals that used to be held at the tree.  In addition to the big yellow cloth wrapping the tree, there were small knots of yellow cloth tying up the roots of the tree everywhere.  Some were in the same yellow color as the big cloth.  Some were even in gold embossed material.  Without a second thought, we immediately identified this Pulai tree as a sacred tree honored by some people.

On the ground, ritual utensils can be seen near the tree.  Red plastic dishes for holding offerings, metal cups and holders, and copper incense burner were scattered around.  Left over Joss stick butts are seen inserted tight on the sandy ground.  These traces of religious ritual of some kind to the sacred Pulai tree, however, look quite fresh.  The oranges on the offering dish, bottled water, and the yellow ritual candles look as fresh as they get.  In contrast, candle waxes and burnt ashes that stained some solid ground and rocks mark ages for this sacred tree.  It is apparent that somebody or group of people have come regularly to do their worship at this sacred tree.  But who are they?  This area is supposed to be fenced and made inaccessible to the public.

With much curiosity, we walked to the back of this tree and found a small shrine.  Without any special man-built structure, one can see that the orientation resembling an altar as there is a plane of stone laid at the center.  Ritual candles of both Buddhism and Hindu styles were placed on it, though only half-burnt.  A dish of oranges was put beside as offering, and a rock with a flat and burnt surface was in front.  Ritual burnings must have done many times on that rock before.  A lot of candle wax and burnt were found on it.  Not far from it, on the right hand side, a metal incense burning urn was positioned on the ground.  Deeply rooted in the soil with its stand, the urn was already badly rusted that showed it may have been there perhaps as long as the tree.

A strange thing is that when you look higher up from the altar, there was a separate towel of yellow cloth hanging across over the altar.  The separate yellow towel seemed to serve only one purpose: for a sacred ornament to hang on it.  The ornament looked like a necklace decorated with flowers (that were already dead and dried).  At the middle of necklace it dangled a strange object - a rotten flower bud of size of a plum.  It was a string of flowers.  With a little imagination, it used to be a dazzling string of fresh flowers dispersing fragrance and looking beautiful.  To the best of our knowledge, only Indian or Thai would dress up a sacred tree with flower necklaces, usually in white, amethyst or yellow colors that reflect holiness.  At the first thought, we had mistaken the ornament as the idol of their worship.  But it seemed like the ornament was also a part of the offering to the sacred tree - like a beautiful pendent used to glorify the spirit of the tree.

1 - 3. A simple shrine was setup at the foot of Pulai tree; 4. Stain of yellow paints and an empty incense box


1. A ritual necklace and pendant; 2. Close up of the pendant that is a dried flower bud
3. Knots of yellow cloths can be found around the tree; 4. Some worshippers left a bag. Inside we found some remaining paper offerings

Lucky enough, we found some remaining paper offering deserted on the ground.  By consulting with some Buddhism friend, the paper offerings serve as a ritual tool through which one pray for their wishes to be granted.  Different types of paper offerings signify different types of requests that a worshipper asked from god or spirit.  The type that we found near the tree was asking for wealth.  That showed the people who came to worship the tree were requesting blessing for wealth, from the tree spirit.

1. Paper container for incense; 2. "Heavenly King Bless You Safe - Heavenly King Offer You Wealth"
3. A large Chinese word 'Wealth' delivered by two dragons; 4. Paper wrapper for joss sticks

Uncovering the history

Despite the fact that the Pulai tree has a unique look, it has also a unique history.  From the reply by NPark, the Pulai tree used to stand in the midst of a kampong called Somapah Village.  By searching through the records in National Archive, we found some interesting photos.

Can anyone imagine how it was like 60+ years ago or even earlier during pre-war time for the Pulai tree?  The area was a fishing kampong called Somapah situated along Changi road as shown in the Singapore map of 1851.  Nowadays the PIE and Upper Changi road are parts of the Changi road when there was only four main road in Singapore in 1870 (see map).  There wasn't any reclaimed land, so the village was quite close to the water.

Location of Pulai Tree in Year 1965
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As for today, Pulai Tree is now standing in the new estate between Simei and Changi.  The nearby surrounding has undergone major changes.  From the two maps above, as you can see, Upper Changi Road, Jalan Tiga Ratus, Changkat secondary school, even the Community Centre retained their own names at the same sites through decades of times.  The most distinguishable changes perhaps are the perish of the Somapah village (now becomes Tropicana Condo) and the new development of Changi Business Park just right next to the Pulai tree.  Many roads such as Jalan Somapah, Somapha Road, Lorong Nobat, etc have closed.  Even the Somapah Road and Changi South Avenue 1 that intersect near the Pulai tree were closed recently to give way to the MRT new airport line.  Nevertheless the government is now building better and boarder roads in return to meet the anticipated traffic demand for the new Business Park.

1. A hexagon mark on the the ground near the Pulai tree;  2 & 3. Traces of ruins; 4. Current view of Pulai tree in front of modern buildings

By analyzing our photographic evidence, long ago there we speculated the Pulai tree was part of a temple.  We found traces and marks on the ground.  For example, there is an old stone stair leading from a slightly higher ground to the tree.  The Pulai tree is actually planted in the middle of a concave like alcove before a slope.  On the ground near the foot of the stair, there was a pressed marking of hexagon shape.  We of course could never be sure of what it exactly was.  Hexagon is a common auspicious shape in Chinese religion.  This gave a clue of the place was once a part of a temple, probably Chinese temple.  A large and heavy incense burner used to stand there for worshippers to incinerate their offering.  The base where the mark was imprinted was a patch of crude concrete.

Several feet further from the hexagon mark there was a rectangular mark that sank several inches deeper into the soil.  Its size was about 4x7 feet.  That could be a small shrine sheltering certain deity idols in the old days.  Other things we found at this alcove ground were litters, possibly, from the workers who come for maintaining the area.  An old broken chair left alone on the ground, and an Indian rug placed at the tree should provide a comfortable resting facility.

1 - 3. Ruins of an old drain that were built with stones; 4. Checking up an underground drainage system

Checking out on the higher ground, we have reasons to believe that certain buildings used to exist there.  Although now what we can see is only a vast grass land, ruins of old water drainage systems still can be spotted.  The drain was made of lime stones, granite and loose concrete that was typical in the old kampong days.  Drains nowadays are manufactured by pre-cast concrete that look quite different.  From the size and depth of the ruined drains we estimate the village had about no more than a hundred residents covering the whole area.  The old drain however marked three rectangular divisions of similar size on the plain.  We guess that there were a handful of shop houses situated on those divisions while the residents' huts were built even further away from mainland near the waterfront.

All the speculated buildings and structures have already vanished in time.  The villagers who used to live here have moved out.  The land is now being abandoned, awaiting future development of high-tech office estate on it.  How many lives, births, deaths, happy and sad stories passed by, we wonder, over this vacant land.  The Pulai tree has witnessed them all.
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