Quynh Yen - Betel chewing village

(Baonghean) -Although my hometown An Hoa is only one field away from the betel chewing village of Quynh Yen (Quynh Luu). Although I have heard people talk a lot about the betel chewing custom of Quynh villagers a few times. But if I had not visited my hometown that time, and had not been guided by Mr. Ho Xuan Luong, the cultural and information officer of the commune, I probably would not have known that my hometown has weddings with a thousand areca nuts and betel chewing champions...

Chewing betel has become a habit of the people of Quynh Yen (Quynh Luu).

I met and talked with Mr. Luong through the introduction of a friend. The first time I met him, I found him to be quite a funny person. Looking at his teeth that had started to turn yellow, I could guess that he was also a betel nut addict. When asked about the custom of chewing betel in his village, Mr. Luong affirmed: "In our village, betel and areca nuts are not only present in ceremonies such as weddings, engagements, death anniversaries, funerals, or full moon and new year's days..."

Our first stop was the family of Ho Thi Khoa, 102 years old. Ms. Khoa got married at the age of 19, her husband went to teach far away from home. She had her first child at the age of 35. But when her daughter was not yet a year old, her husband became seriously ill and passed away, leaving her a widow. Betel and areca nuts have been part of her life since those difficult days. In her memories, which are still very clear, Ms. Khoa will never forget the days when she had to pick betel leaves instead of betel, pick areca nuts instead of areca nuts, remove areca buds, and use areca bark instead of roots to ease her craving for betel. And even now, at over a hundred years old, with not a single tooth left, she still chews betel.

Teacher Tran Thi Cuong, Mr. Khoa's daughter, now 67 years old, is also a betel chewer. She admits that her betel chewing is nothing compared to her mother's. While helping her mother pound betel in a small mortar, she confided: "My mother has to chew 50 to 60 pieces of betel every day. Except for when she eats, drinks water, or goes to bed, she chews betel no matter what she does. Many nights she has trouble sleeping, she just lies there chewing betel, one piece after another, I don't know how many pieces she eats before she falls asleep." Mr. Khoa chews betel toothlessly, her white skin clearly showing her pink lips biting a thread, she told me: "I can endure not eating, but not going without betel, my child!"

Knowing that Mrs. Ho Thi Thuyet's family in hamlet 2 had just had a wedding, Mr. Luong led me in. As soon as we reached the yard, we saw Mrs. Ho Thi Phuong (Mrs. Thuyet's mother-in-law) busily placing tobacco. Mr. Luong quickly said:

- Did you order that medicine?

- Yes!

Stopping his work, Mr. Phuong looked up and squinted his eyes:

- Who is like Uncle Luong? The old man is addicted to betel, old man! Now chewing betel without tobacco, the mouth feels so bland!

Mr. Luong turned to me and said, a betel with a bit of chay root or a pinch of tobacco is like adding a bit of salt to a bland pot of soup. Betel addicts often chew betel with tobacco, meaning that in addition to areca nut, betel leaves, lime, and tobacco, a betel has no taste. These people cannot bear to go without betel for a day and it is also very rare to see people spitting out the betel juice.

Seeing Mrs. Thuyet picking betel leaves in the garden, Mr. Luong called out:

- There is a wedding. This girl needs to buy some betel leaves, do you sell them?

Mrs. Thuyet stopped picking, took the betel leaves and went inside the house to pour water for the guests. She leisurely said:

- Enough for home use, not for sale. I recently had my son's wedding, luckily his aunt brought some down too.

- The house does not grow areca nuts, so you must go buy some?

- I had to go buy areca nuts. That day, I had to go to three or four markets to collect 2,000 areca nuts for my son's wedding.

Mrs. Thuyet also added that in this region, there is a custom that before, during and after the wedding, betel and areca are needed. Betel and areca are used to pay for the wedding, to invite friends and neighbors to come and give their blessings. If a friend or relative lives far away and cannot come, the host will send them as a small gift. Mr. Luong, on behalf of the host, hummed the song of the betel invitation in the festival: “Meeting here! Meeting here! Eat a piece of betel. If you don’t eat, take it to show your satisfaction…” Then, he turned to say goodbye to the host:

- If you don't sell betel, I will take her to another house to buy it!

Mrs. Thuyet saw us off to the gate:

- To tell you the truth, who would ever go back to the village to buy betel? It's difficult, uncle!

Leaving Mrs. Thuyet’s house, we went to Mr. Le Van Buong’s house in Hamlet 1, Quynh Yen. On the road leading to the teacher’s house, Mr. Luong confided: “Mr. Buong and I are soul mates. In the past, when his wife was still alive, we were very affectionate. His wife had weak teeth, so every time he chewed betel, Mr. Buong would use his mouth to bite the betel leaves before feeding them to her.”

Looking at his appearance, Buong still looks very young compared to his 82 years of age. The house he lives in still has an ancient beauty. The rustic space with the betel trellis connecting the rooms and the green areca trees running in front of the house, makes the minh duong part of the old house more spacious and airy. "My house has a total of 22 areca trees, of which 14 have borne fruit and 7 areca trees," the teacher shared.

- You have so many betel leaves in your house, do you want to sell them?

- Just for eating, if you can't finish it, give it away. We have areca and betel leaves at home, when you need them, just go to the garden and pick them.

While serving the betel, the head of the Quynh Yen Commune Elderly Club, teacher Le Van Buong, sang enthusiastically: "This betel is betel of love/ Eat it to make your lips red, eat it to make your lips red...". It is still just a small areca nut and a green betel leaf, but Quynh Village betel and areca do not need to be elaborately wrapped in phoenix wings like those in the North. The host only needs to split the areca into 4, sometimes 5 or 6 pieces, and peel the bark lightly. The betel only needs to be cut along the ribs into medium-sized pieces, smeared with a little lime, and placed on a plate, and then it can be offered. It is so simple, but with the host's way of inviting and charming way of speaking, even the most difficult guests will find it hard to refuse!

Leaving Quynh village, I still felt intoxicated by the betel-chewing ritual, intoxicated by the strong fragrance of betel. The warm, friendly faces, radiant with pink lips biting the thread of the people here, seemed to hold me back, to urge me to come back one more time. Perhaps, in life, priceless spiritual values ​​are contained in those seemingly simple things!

Nguyen Thi Hoe

Quynh Luu