Chewing betel and areca has been a traditional custom that appeared in Asia and Oceania especially in South East Asia for a long time.
No one knows when betel came to the Vietnamese life and became popular. Chewing betel leaf with areca nut are like enjoying good food. The Vietnamse legend said that the custom had appeared in Hung Kings period and associated with a famous legend “The legend of betel and areca”.
In the Vietnamese mind, chewing betel is not only a habit or a custom but also an element that build traditional cultural value. Betel along with areca is a symbol of the Vietnamese style and the national emotion. Chewing betel leaves with lime, barks of trees and areca nuts cut into 8 or 4 pieces is the beginning of communication, opening a story that the Vietnamese people said: “Betelnut is a conversation starter” that help people to build good relationships with others.
A plate of betel and areca formed the pheonix body
Betel becomes an unique culture of the Vietnamese people that appeared in many fields of social life: wedding, worship, funeral, ect. In the Vietnamese literature, it became an element to count the time that Poet Nguyen Binh once wrote:
The neibour has not turn on the light yet
Waiting for you when the betel is chewed sofly, you’ll come to meet
For male and female youth in the early time, betel was the beginning of love and the starter of a song that led them to the village festival. They borrowed an “inviting betel” song to show their feelings. Betel leaves and areca nuts are indispensable wedding presents in each traditional engagement of the Vietnamese people. So people said: “Yellow betel leaves are chewed with green areca nuts/ As you and I walk together forever”.
Not only appear in weddings, betel and areca nuts also join in the Vietnamese villages’ events as spring and tet holiday. In a poem of Nguyen Khuyen, there are some verses:
Prepare a box of betel and areca to present the elderly
Ask for parallel sentences to welcome you
Betel and areca are also used for worship to remember the ancestors.
Therefore, the betel and areca culture is a charm of the Vietnamese people, the symbol of love and other relationships between husband and wife, brothers and other members in a happy family.
“Vietnamese betel and areca culture” banner
With the target to protect traditional charm of the Vietnamese national culture, the Vietnam National Museum of History, in coordination with the Ethnology Museum and the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, held a special exhibition “Vietnamese betel and areca culture”. The exhibition focuses on 3 topics:
Topic 1: Chewing betel custom and the value of betel and areca culture in Vietnam with the following contents:
The origin of chewing betel custom in Vietnam; the kit used for chewing betel; How to prepare a pice of betelnut and how to chew them; the beauty of the Vietnamese betel and areca culture; Inviting betel.
Following the faithful and strong relationships between husband and wife, between brothers in the legend of betel and areca in the time of Hung Kings, there were remains of tool kits used for chewing betel that dated from Ly – Tran Dynasties. The kit includes: lime pots, lime-cylinders, chains, lime spoons, knives (used to cut areca nuts); tray, box, bowl, basket, bag, scarf, ect., to put betel and little tools. In the kit, a lime pot is an indispensable tool and it took a very important role in chewing betel custom. There are many kinds of lime pot, such as: lime pots used at home, lime pots brought out, lime pots for nobles or popular classes.
Lime pot with handle in the form of a bunch of areca
Topic 2: Chewing betel custom of some Vietnamese ethnic groups
Not only the Viet (Kinh) ethnic group has the chewing betel custom, there are also other ethnic groups that have the custom, such as: ethnic groups in Northern mountains, in Truong Son mountains, ethnic groups in the Central Highlands like Kho Mu, Bru, Ede and Cham; Khmer ethnic groups in the South of the Central area. The custom of chewing betel is different in some area but has the same features, too.
Topic 3: Conservation of Vietnamese betel and areca culture
Today, chewing betel custom is fading gradually caused by the influence of the Western culture. The habit of chewing betel is only alive in the elderly’s lives and only in the countryside. Although the modern people don’t chew betel and areca anymore, they are still indispensable offerings in traditional ceremonies including betrothals, weddings and funerals. And the charm of Vietnamese betel and areca culture still remains in Vietnamese Folklore, poems, music and movies. The value of betel and areca culture need to be conserved and developed for each Vietnamese generation.
The “Vietnamese betel and areca culture” exhibition space is opened on October 24th 2012 at The Vietnam National Museum of History, no. 1 Trang Tien street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi.
Domestic and foreign visitors are welcome to visit!
Mai An (translated)