“it ascends me into the brain, dries me there all the foolish, and dull, and crudy vapours which environ it; makes it apprehensive, quick, forgetive, full of nimble, fiery, and delectable shapes, which, delivered over to the voice (the tongue), which is the birth, becomes excellent wit.”——sir john falstaff.
“in burmah,” says howard malcolm, “almost every one, male and female, chews the singular mixture called coon, and the lacquered or gilded box containing the ingredients is borne about on all occasions. the quid consists of a slice of areca nut, a small piece of cutch, and some tobacco rolled up in a leaf of betel pepper, on which has been smeared a little tempered quicklime. it creates profuse saliva, and so fills up the mouth that they seem to be chewing food. it colours the mouth deep red, and the teeth, if not previously blackened, assume the same colour. from the combination of the three ingredients this colour seems to proceed, since the leaf and nut, without the lime, fail to produce it. this hue, communicated to the mouth and lips, is esteemed ornamental, and an agreeable odour is imparted to the breath. the juice is usually, though not always, swallowed. a curious circumstance connected with the expectoration of the red juice is278 related at manilla, where it is narrated with strong protestations and firm belief in its veracity.
some years ago a ship from spain arrived in the port of manilla. among the passengers was a young doctor from madrid, who had gone to the philippines with the design of settling in the colony and pushing his fortune by means of his profession. on the morning after he had landed, our doctor sallied forth for a walk on the pasco. he had not proceeded far when his attention was attracted to a young girl, a native, who was walking a few paces ahead of him. he observed that every now and then the girl stooped her head towards the pavement which was straightway spotted with blood. alarmed on the girl’s account, our doctor walked rapidly after her, observing that she still continued to expectorate blood at intervals as she went. before he could come up with her the girl had reached her home, a humble cottage in the suburbs, into which she entered. the doctor followed close upon her heels, and summoning her father and mother, directed them to send immediately for the priest as their daughter had not many hours to live. the distracted parents, having learned the profession of their visitor, immediately acceded to his request. the child was put to bed in extreme affright, having been told what was about to befal her. the nearest padre was brought, and everything was arranged to smooth the journey of her soul through the passes of purgatory. the doctor plied his skill to the utmost, but in vain. in less than twenty-four hours the girl was dead.
as up to that time the young indian had always enjoyed excellent health, the doctor’s prognostication was regarded as an evidence of great and mysterious skill. the fame of it soon spread279 through manilla, and in a few hours the newly-arrived physician was beleagured with patients, and in a fair way of accumulating a fortune. in the midst of all this, some one had the curiosity to ask the doctor how he could possibly have predicted the death of the girl, seeing that she had been in perfect health a few hours before. “predict it,” replied the doctor, “why, sir, i saw her spit blood enough to have killed her half a dozen times.”
“blood! how did you know it was blood?”
“how! from the colour, how else?”
“but every one spits red in manilla.”
the doctor, who had already observed this fact, and was labouring under some uneasiness in regard to it, refused to make any further confession at the time, but he had said enough to elucidate the mystery. the thing soon spread throughout the city, and it became clear to every one that what the new medico had taken for blood, was nothing else than the red juice of the buyo, and that the poor girl had died from the fear of death caused by his prediction. his patients now fled from him as speedily as they had congregated; and to avoid the ridicule that awaited him, as well as the indignation of the friends of the deceased girl, our doctor was fain to escape from manilla, and return to spain in the same ship that had brought him out.
the ladies who work in the government cigar factory at manilla, all, more or less, chew the betel nut, and any one daring enough to disregard the warning not to touch anything, when passing as a visitor through the rooms, must stand the assault from the mouths of a hundred or two of these dames, in the shape of a deluge of the decoction of this nut. the captain of an american vessel at manilla, although warned of the280 consequences, with american impudence, infringed the rule, and paid the penalty. he was compelled to beat a retreat, and being dressed in the white garb of the east, resembled a spotted leopard, in the room of a free and enlightened citizen of the great republic.
the mastication of the betel is considered very wholesome by those who are in the habit of using it, and it may be so, but the black appearance it gives to the teeth, although it is said to be an excellent preserver of them, together with the brick red lips and mouth, cause anything but an agreeable appearance. its use certainly does not impart additional beauty to the native females, who habituate themselves to an extent equal to that of the opposite sex.
the custom, marsden states, is universal among the sumatrans, who carry the ingredients constantly about them, and serve them to their guests on all occasions; the prince in a gold stand, and the poor man in a brass box or mat bag. the betel-stands of the better ranks of people are usually of silver, embossed with rude figures. the sultan of moco-moco was presented with one by the india company with their arms upon it, and he possesses another besides, of gold filagree. the form of the stand is the frustum of an hexagonal pyramid, reversed, about six or eight inches in diameter. it contains many smaller vessels, fitted to the angles, for holding the nut, leaf, and chunam, with places for the instruments employed in cutting the first, and spatulas for spreading the last.
captain wilkes also describes that of the sultan of sooloo.281 “on the left hand of the sultan sat his two sons, on the right his councillors, while immediately behind him sate the carrier of his betelnut casket. the casket was made of filagree silver, about the size of a small tea-caddy, of oblong shape, and rounded at the top. it had three divisions, one for the nut, another for the leaf, and a third for the lime. next to this official was the pipe-bearer, who did not appear to be held in equal estimation.”
a circumstance is also narrated in connection with the son of this same sultan, which exhibits the use of betel in another phase. this son, shortly after taking a few whiffs from the opium-pipe was overcome, and became stupid and listless. when partially recovered, he called for his betel nut to revive him by its exciting effects, and counteract the influence of the opium. the pinang or buyo was carefully chewed by his attendant to a proper consistency, moulded into a ball, and then slipped into his mouth. hence we may learn two things. first, that chewing the betel counteracts the ill effects of an over-dose of opium. secondly, that it is extremely convenient to have an attendant with a good set of teeth, since he could not only masticate betel nut for you, and relieve you from a large amount of labour; but in the event of your joint not being so tender as it should be, the amount of milling to be expended at dinner could be divided between you, the attendant masticating the tough dishes, and yourself the tender, and thus, by division of labour, a good dinner could be procured with little expenditure of your own muscular strength.
in sumatra, when the first salutation is over, which consists in bending the body, and the inferior putting his joined hands between those of the superior, and then lifting them to his forehead, the betel is presented as a token of hospitality and an act of politeness. to omit it on the one hand, or to reject it on the other would be an affront, as it would be, likewise, in a man of282 subordinate rank to address a great man without the precaution of chewing it before he spoke.
the tagali maidens, says meyen, regard it as a proof of the uprightness of the intentions of a lover, and of the strength of his affection, if he takes the buyo from his mouth. in lu?on, a little box or dish is kept in every house, in which are kept the betel rolls prepared for the day’s consumption, and there a buyo, or betel roll, is offered to every one who enters, just as a pinch of snuff or a pipe might be with us. making the buyo is a part of the occupation of the females, who may be seen in the forenoon stretched on the ground rolling them. enough for the day’s consumption is generally carried, in a siri box of metal or japanned ware, by those whose occupations call them from home; every one who can afford the expense, puts a fresh roll in his mouth every hour, which he continues to chew and suck for about half an hour or more.
betel holds an important place in the marriage ceremonies of the tagals. when once a young man has informed his father and mother that he has a predilection for a young indian girl, his parents pay a visit to the young girl’s parents upon some fine evening, and after some very ordinary chat, the mamma of the young man offers a piastre to the mamma of the young lady. should the future mother-in-law accept, the young lover is admitted, and then his future mother-in-law is sure to go and spend the very same piastre in betel and cocoa wine. during the greater portion of the night, the whole company assembled upon the occasion, chews betel, drinks cocoa wine, and discusses upon all other subjects but marriage. the young men never make their appearance till the piastre has been accepted, because in that case they look upon it as being the avant-courrier, that283 is, the first and most essential step towards their marriage.
during the fast of ramadan, the mahometans abstain from the use of the betel while the sun continues above the horizon, but, except at this time, it is the constant luxury of both sexes from an early period of childhood till old age, when, becoming toothless, they are unable to masticate the nut, and are reduced to the alternative of having all the ingredients previously reduced to the form of a paste for them, so that, without effort, they may dissolve in the mouth.
when lady raffles had reached merambung in sumatra, being much fatigued with walking, and the rest of the party having dispersed in various directions, she lay down under the shade of a tree, when a malay girl approached, with great grace of manner, and on being asked if she wanted anything, replied, “no! but as you were quite alone, i thought you might like to have a little talk, so i came to offer you some siri (betel), and sit beside you.”
the darker the teeth the more beautiful is a siamese belle considered; and in order that their gums should be of a brilliant red, to form a pleasant contrast to the black lips and teeth, they resort to the pastime of chewing betel from morning till night. the constituents of the betel being rolled up into something very much like a sailor’s quid, it is then thrust into the lady’s cheek, and is munched, and crunched, and chewed so long as the slightest flavour is to be extracted, and, as they never swallow the juice, the results are very detrimental to the cleanliness of the floors of the houses, and of themselves generally. they commonly make use of two such quids during the day, and this mixture has the effect of dyeing their gums and the whole of the palate and tongue of a284 blood-red colour. old crones, and very ancient chronoses (for both men and women use the betel), who have no longer any teeth to masticate the mixture with, are attended by servants, who have a species of small pestle and mortar always about them, wherein they reduce the betel into a proper form for the delicate gums of their aged patrons.30
the betel pepper is cultivated at zanzibar, where the use of betel prevails, as it does at the comoro islands and at bombay. but the custom is not in vogue in arabia. the betel palm is also grown for the sake of its fruits in the island of zanzibar.
the habit of masticating betel nut in combination with hemp has of late come into vogue in the united states of america, and doubtless brother jonathan will soon eclipse malaya in his predilection for the “buyo.”
