Once a betel nut bag is worn
Once an elder wears a betel nut bag
What do you find inside?
Betel nut and betel leaf
And what can you do with these?
The elders use them to brush their teeth.
-Traditional song, Amis tribe
Taiwan's indigenous peoples have been chewing betel nuts for thousands of years. Archaeologists have excavated human teeth at 4,000-year-old dig sites near Kenting (at the southern tip of Taiwan) that were found to contain trace deposits of betel nut; the way the teeth were damaged is consistent with abrasion caused by modern betel nut chewing. Furthermore, ancient relics associated with indigenous tribes confirm the acorn-sized betel nut played an important cultural role for almost as long as people have inhabited Taiwan. Lavaus, a member of the Paiwan tribe, is unequivocal about the betel nut's place in modern Paiwan society. "Betel nuts are the most important things in our lives," she says.
But the betel nut's role is threatened by a government campaign to slash the cultivation and use of the green fruit in Taiwan, mainly because of strong evidence that suggests chewing it causes oral cancer. A project sponsored by the Council of Indigenous Peoples, a Cabinet-level government agency, aims to transform the way betel nuts are used and viewed by indigenous people and society at large.
Betel Nut Traditions
Betel nut chewing is a particularly important part of the lives of indigenous people in the southern and eastern parts of Taiwan. Users get hooked on betel nuts because of the tobacco-like buzz and hot sensation they bring, effects that keep users warm in cold weather and alert so long as they are chewing.
Betel nuts are the fruit of the betel palm. They grow in clusters of 200 to 300 just under the palm canopy. They are chewed throughout Asia, but the way they are prepared varies by region. In Taiwan, betel nuts are slit open and filled with a lime paste; then a betel leaf (from an unrelated plant, the evergreen Piper betle) is wrapped around the nut. They are usually purchased at roadside stalls in bags or boxes of 20.
In former times, indigenous elders could often be seen chatting around a table with a bamboo basket filled with betel nuts, betel leaves and lime paste as the centerpiece. In mid-conversation, whoever felt like having a chew would pick up a betel nut, slit it, fill it with lime paste, wrap it and enjoy. Although these days most betel nuts are pre-wrapped and prepackaged, elders can still occasionally be seen engaging in this ritual.
Traditionally, indigenous women were bigger users of betel nuts than men. In addition to its stimulant effects, women were lured to chew betel nuts because the juice would stain their lips a pretty red hue.
A woman from the Paiwan tribe enjoys a chew. (Photo by Chang Su-ching)
For indigenous people, an offering of betel nuts expresses welcome and acceptance. It is usually the first thing they present or exchange at a gathering. At weddings for many of Taiwan's tribes, betel nuts are seen as an auspicious symbol of union and fertility. Presenting them to the parents of the prospective bride is considered mandatory. According to Yami tradition, once a woman becomes pregnant, if her husband dreams of betel nuts, the newborn will be a girl. If he dreams of a betel plant, it will be a boy.
Among Puyuma tribespeople, many of whom continue to take part in traditional rituals, betel nuts are seen as powerful medicine if blessed by shamans and lethal poison if cursed by them. Other parts of the betel palm also play a role in indigenous culture and beliefs. For instance, the juice derived from betel hearts--the core of a betel palm located in the upper third of the tree--is considered to be an effective home remedy.
Growth and Decline
Before the late 1960s, the economic value of betel nuts in Taiwan was marginal. But both production and consumption grew rapidly through the 1970s until 1998, when overall production reached a peak value of NT$141.5 billion (US$4.2 billion). In 1990, it became the second largest cash crop in Taiwan after rice. Despite a recent falloff in production, it retains second spot.
According to research conducted in the 1990s at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST), as demand increased, farmers rushed to supply the burgeoning market. Bosses handed out the stimulant freely to blue-collar workers in the 1970s to increase productivity as Taiwan's labor-intensive economy gained momentum. As demand increased, rice farmers found betel nuts to be easier to cultivate than rice, and they began converting rice paddies into betel nut plantations. During the 1980s democracy movement, betel nut chewing became a symbol of Taiwanese identity and more people took up the habit.
As evidence mounted identifying betel nut chewing as the single largest cause of oral cancer in Taiwan, the government launched its first national anti-betel nut chewing campaign in 1994. Nevertheless, consumption continued to climb even as successive campaigns raised awareness of the problem. But cumulative efforts have gained traction. By 2006, betel nut production had declined 30 percent from the 1998 peak.
Unwholesome, Unhealthy
As early as in 1985, The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) found betel quid (the combination of betel nut and lime paste wrapped in betel leaf) to have carcinogenic properties, just like tobacco. And like tobacco, betel nut is seen to be habit-forming thanks to the presence of arecoline. Similar in structure to nicotine, arecoline is believed to be the source of betel nuts' stimulating effect. The IARC in 2004 further identified arecoline as a possible cause of oral submucous fibrosis, a precancerous condition.
Clinical observation confirms the scientific analysis. "About 88 percent of those who suffer from oral cancer in Taiwan are betel nut chewers," says Wu Chien-yuan, a Department of Health (DOH) division chief. She estimates that at least 1.5 million Taiwanese chew betel nuts on a regular basis, putting themselves at a much higher cancer risk than nonusers.
Betel nuts are typically sold by young women in roadside cubicles to passing motorists. (Photo by Larry Hsieh)
The link between betel nut chewing and cancer is only one of the negatives associated with "Taiwanese chewing gum." As betel nut use rose, so did the unsightly splatters of bright red juice accompanied by a fibrous residue spat out by users on streets throughout Taiwan. To increase consumption of betel nuts, sellers learned to package them with titillation, ensconcing scantily clad women--affectionately called "betel nut beauties"--in clear glass booths, where they prepare the product and from which they emerge to dispense it to motorists. This successful marketing practice has been reviled as indecent by some and demeaning to the usually very young betel nut beauties by others.
Furthermore, betel palms have earned a bad reputation in mountainous areas. Their shallow roots fail to stabilize steep hillsides, which are prone to landslides.
Adapted from the World Health Organization's Quit and Win international smoking cessation competition, the DOH anti-betel nut campaigns offer prizes to people who kick the habit. In the most recent campaign, celebrity spokespersons have made appearances at public events to share how they successfully quit chewing betel nuts.
Dyeing with Dignity
"Indigenous children and youths no longer follow the custom of betel nut chewing," says Lai Sang-song, chairman of the Department of Apparel at NPUST. Lai conducted interviews with 16 leading indigenous elders over the course of six months last year, after he undertook a five-year project to develop a new betel nut cultural industry for indigenous communities. This project, sponsored by the Council of Indigenous Peoples, immediately set off alarm bells at the DOH, but Lai thinks his objective is more pragmatic than simply eradicating betel nut plantations. "I am not promoting betel nut chewing or planting more betel palms, since we all know [chewing the nuts] is harmful to health," he stresses. "Rather, I am trying to guide the indigenous people to maximize the residual value of the betel nuts."
Peng Ke-chung, chairman of NPUST's agribusiness management institute, agrees with Lai. "The plant itself is not evil," he says. "It really depends on how you make use of it." Based on Lai and Peng's reasoning, cutting down all the betel palms at once would deprive indigenous peoples of an important cultural symbol. Lai says, "Creating new opportunities from their existing tradition is the only way to get them to willingly reduce [their reliance on] betel nut plantations." Lai says once the transformation is complete, similar economic benefits could be achieved with fewer betel palms. "The alternative uses of betel palms can bring in bigger profits than producing betel nuts for chewing," he adds.
Lai and Peng began their project by exploring potential new applications for betel nuts. They have shared their ideas on transformation with indigenous communities during their interviews with elders and in seminars. An expert in the area of natural dyes extracted from plants, Lai turned his attention to betel nut pigments. While visiting dyers, he came across Lavaus, also known by her Chinese name, Chen Yu-fang, who has operated a family dyeing workshop for about a decade. After learning of Lai's project, Lavaus agreed to use betel nut pigments in her business. She believes that in developing this new use for betel nuts, she is helping to preserve an important part of her Paiwan tribal culture. "My grandmother was a tribal princess," Lavaus says. "I feel obligated to pass our customs and values on to the coming generations."
NPUST students model clothes dyed with betel nut pigment. (Photo by Chang Su-ching)
Lavaus is proud that while participating in this transformative process, she is also helping to protect the environment by using fewer chemicals in her workshop. The same pigment that is reminiscent of spilled blood after it is spat out onto the pavement is a brownish mauve when applied to fabrics in Lavaus' workshop. By combining her betel nut extract with catalysts, she can bring out other hues, extending into the blue range.
Betel Nut Boutique
More restaurants are adding betel hearts and betel flowers into their cuisine. Betel hearts are literally called "half sky bamboo shoots" in Mandarin for their similarity in flavor and texture to bamboo shoots, though they are sweeter and more tender.
Handicrafts made using betel nuts have also begun appearing on the market as more betel nut production regions join the program. The thin thread-like fibers in betel nuts are woven and braided to make small dolls, for example. Other household decorations are pieced together using palm bark and leaves as materials.
Umass Zignrur, an elder of the Rukai tribe, was one of the elders who shared his cultural knowledge of betel nuts and betel palms with Lai and Peng. He welcomes the change. "We indigenous people have a long tradition of relying on nature for living," he says. "I hope to see our people once again become self-sufficient through the development of this new industry."
Peng hopes to impart more than fabric-dyeing and craft-making techniques to indigenous people. For him, strategic planning and marketing are essential to the project's success. Peng thinks the key to marketing indigenous handicrafts lies in legends and folktales. "Just like with an LV [Louis Vuitton] handbag, what turns a product into something you don't really need but must have is the brand--and the story behind it," he says.
Another promising opportunity lies under the betel palms. Coffee, banana, loquat and other plants have been fruitful growing in the shade of betel palms. Peng says coffee plants and betel palms are a particularly good match. "Neither of the plants need to be fertilized," he says. "And the two plants have similar environmental requirements in terms of level of acidity and alkalinity in the soil." Lai hopes the understory crop plants can gradually replace betel palms as more farmers join the program. "Betel palms may very well be cut down when the right time comes," Lai says. "The farmers will no longer need them if they have something else to rely on."
Peng, the agricultural management specialist, has a somewhat different agenda. "The complementary plants grow much better under the cover of betel palms, especially when they are planted on a plain like in Pingtung," he explains. Although Peng and Lai differ on the ultimate objective, they are united in their desire to see indigenous people becoming more economically independent while remaining proud of their unique betel nut culture.
Write to Audrey Wang at awang@mail.gio.gov.tw