14-May-2011, 2017
Almost two weeks ago, when I first came to Papua New Guinea, I hitched a ride with a taxi cab from Crowne Plaza Hotel since the person from FHI who was supposed to pick me up was late. Imagine the panic and anxiety that overwhelmed me intensely that morning! One of the first eye-opener I immediately noticed was the red stained teeth and lips of the driver. In an instant, the thought of many differential diagnoses involving this clinical feature came to mind, from Vitamin B12 deficiency, Vincent’s angina, severe gingivitis with resulting hyperplasia, oral cancer, to dengue hemorrhagic fever. Ok, so these might all be the worst case scenario, but I really could not help myself but to notice the deep maroon clay red color of this guy’s teeth, gums, and lips. As he drove, I also noticed that the sidewalks, roads, and light posts (basically everywhere), were festooned with spit of the same color. In addition, I also noted the ubiquitous little sidewalk vendors with their items for sale, as well as the people clamoring around as if some item really went on major clearance sale and everyone was after it. I immediately thought that Papua New Guinea must be a major exporter of limes (the citrus kind, cousin to the lemon) because ALL of the sidewalk vendors were selling these fruits. Alas, the driver pointed out that these vendors are selling betel nut or buai’ (boo-ayeh) in the common tongue. I did not dare ask any further than what he was offering to tell me. In my mind, I just remembered that this person was a total stranger and it might provoke him if I asked something that was rather unconsciously offensive! I didn’t want to get dropped off in the ghettos and slums of PNG on my very first day! Instead, I figured that obtaining more information through therapeutic communication strategy would be best. I thought that short, succinct, yet exploratory in nature kind of replies, such as “Hmmmmm, interesting”, “What do you think of this?”, and “Tell me more about that”, could be construed as harmless, even though there were at least twenty different glaring questions I wanted to ask already formulated in my head at that time.
I could not even remember his name because I was that nervous! But, in his words, the chewing of betel nut has been part of daily life for every Papua New Guineans and it has been used extensively since antiquity. Natives chew the nut as early as 4 or 5 years old and continue until the rest of their lives. Betel nut (Areca catechu) is of the palm tree family palmeacea and is cultivated and grown in warm and tropical climates of Southeast Asia and Melanesia. People from Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and the Philippines are known to chew betel nuts. I am actually surprised that some Filipinos, at least according to literature, are supposed to have chewed betel nut because I have never seen one person chew, let alone have red stained teeth and gums in the early 15 years that I have lived in the country. Maybe folks from the deep provinces of the central and southern parts of the country are known to do this, but I don’t think the practice is ever founded in Metro Manila. I am not sure if this is somewhat similar to the nga-nga that the very old Filipino folks in the deep provinces chew. I remember it had a very distinctive (and gross!) smell to it as well as a dark green color, but not red! Betel nut is also chewed in New Zealand and Australia by immigrants from India and Papua New Guinea who are now dwelling in these countries.
Most, if not all, of you are probably asking the same exact question that I have been asking all along, and that is ‘why in human reasoning do they chew betel nut’? What is it about chewing that Papuans start early and continue for the rest of their lives? Is there a strong tendency for it to be habit forming and addictive? What are the similarities and differences of betel nut chewing to cigarettes, marijuana, or alcohol? Is it an expensive habit? What are the desired effects? Are there any undesired and untoward physiological effects, other than the red stained teeth, gums, and spit? What is with the white, cocaine like powder that they use it with? What about that green mustard sticks, what is it for? What makes it red? Do they swallow the fibrous concoction? Are there systemic effects? Will it make the urine, bowel movement, and the alimentary canal also red? And most importantly, are there health implications at all?
Mark,
ReplyDeleteon Beetlenut or nga-nga in Tagalog. When you were about two years old, my grandma (nanay munding's mom) passed away. She used to chew nga-nga a lot. Your tita Nancy was the one buying for her the ingridients, i.e., lime, beetle leaves, etc. Her teeth turns like reddish and she feels like spewing hot fire like a dragon. The aroma is good and I like it very much. When she smiles she looks like all her teeth were painted red and brown. If she runs out of nga-nga she calls nancy "buningning" to buy the stuff for her.