Banana Cultural roles

Coconut, banana and banana leaves used while worshiping River Kaveri at
Tiruchirappalli, India.
Banana flowers and leaves for sale in the Thanin market in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Arts

The song "Yes! We Have No Bananas" was written by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn
and originally released in 1923; for many decades, it was the best-selling sheet
music in history. Since then the song has been rerecorded several times and has
been particularly popular during banana shortages.[112][113]
A person slipping on a banana peel has been a staple of physical comedy for
generations. An American comedy recording from 1910 features a popular character of
the time, "Uncle Josh", claiming to describe his own such incident:[114]

Now I don't think much of the man that throws a banana peelin' on the
sidewalk, and I don't think much of the banana peel that throws a man on the
sidewalk neither ... my foot hit the bananer peelin' and I went up in the air, and
I come down ker-plunk, jist as I was pickin' myself up a little boy come runnin'
across the street ... he says, "Oh mister, won't you please do that agin? My little
brother didn't see you do it."

The poet Bashō is named after the Japanese word for a banana plant. The "bashō"
planted in his garden by a grateful student became a source of inspiration to his
poetry, as well as a symbol of his life and home.[115]
The cover artwork for the debut album of The Velvet Underground features a
banana made by Andy Warhol. On the original vinyl LP version, the design allowed
the listener to "peel" this banana to find a pink, peeled phallic banana on the
inside.[116]

Religion and popular beliefs

Nang Tani, the female ghost of Thai folklore that haunts banana plants

In all the important festivals and occasions of Hindus, the serving of bananas
plays a prominent part.

In Thailand, it is believed that a certain type of banana plants may be inhabited

by a spirit, Nang Tani, a type of ghost related to trees and similar plants that
manifests itself as a young woman.[117] Often people tie a length of colored satin
cloth around the pseudostem of the banana plants.[118]

In Malay folklore, the ghost known as Pontianak is associated with banana plants
(pokok pisang), and its spirit is said to reside in them during the day.[119]