Re: Betel Leaves?
Posted by Jewel on February 10, 2000 at 16:54:56:
In Reply to: Betel Leaves? posted by Natalie on February 10, 2000 at 03:18:50:
My late grandma (and perhaps most of her girlfriends) chewed on betel
leaves on a daily basis. It was offered to guests who came to
our house, served on a platter. She'd take a few leaves, smeared it
with a kind of lime and added some other stuff (pardon me, but I only
know their names in Malay), probably betel nut, before folding it into
a small piece and popping it into her mouth. She'd chewed on it for
hours, staining her lips red and spitting out the juice into an
antique spitton. Her grandchildren would all grimace painfully at the
sight of it at the end of the day. She told us that it tasted bitter
but still enjoyed the experience nonetheless.
Here in Singapore, they are sold almost everywhere. If you can find a
small Indian store, you'd find them there. I can see that the
popularity of this little snack has declined over the years. Nowadays,
betel leaves are used mainly for weddings. Betel leaves filled with
fragrant rose petals and other flowers are offered to guests at a
wedding. I believe that at one time, the guests were supposed to chew
them, but now it's only done as a preservation of our culture.
Not too sure if I could ship some to you there. After reading Carrie's
post, there's probably some kind of a restriction there for it.
And no, I wouldn't put betel juice into my henna. My grandma did not
practise that either.
Peace
~Jewel~