Beetle Nut

Beetle Nut is like a local chewing tobacco. I don't know how else to describe it. I think people in various parts of Asia chew Beetle Nut. It's a mild narcotic - giving people a "buzz" when they chew it. And it's addictive. In the local villages you see people chewing Beetle Nut all the time. Sadly, you sometimes see very young children chewing this stuff as well. The local people believe that it makes their teeth very strong. Strong enough to open a bottle of soda with their teeth, for example. I'm quite sure that it rots the teeth into complete decay. However the most distinctive trait of chewing Beetle Nut is how it turns the chewer's mouth, teeth and lips, BRIGHT red.

At the village where I went with Russ on Canada Day, we were offered to chew some, as is often the case when visiting people in their homes. It's their way of showing respect to you. At the house we were at, this beautiful lady was diligently preparing Beetle Nut throughout the whole meeting!

This is a close-up shot of what it is. The little bundles on the white dish are what you pop into your mouth and chew. In the larger basket, you see the leaves that are used as a shell. Between those large leaves and the white dish is a small little bowl with white paste in it. This is lime. Yes. You heard me correctly - Lime. She spreads the lime on the leaf, adds another sort of dried leaf (not pictured here), folds it up into a tiny pouch and adds the nut.

Then, when you chew, this is kinda what it looks like:

(This is Loriani with Russ. She is our Community Mobilizer. She's a local Nias person and does amazing work.)

(This is Kathleen. She's one of our Dutch colleagues. She's awesome. Russ and I really like Dutchies now.)

So there you have the Beetle Nut story. I still haven't had the nerve to try it. It looks and smells disgusting to me when people are chewing it and can't do that to my teeth. :) By now, most local people understand that Westerners don't like Beetle Nut, so they don't really take offense when you politely decline. Especially when you accept their nice, sweet coffee instead.

This is a picture of a boy sporting the Canadian Flag. I somehow missed him in my last post and thought he was too cute to omit.


I had to take a phone call during the meeting, so I left the house and found a shady spot nearby. Kathleen took a picture of all the kids who joined me. Honestly. They weren't there when I first planted myself in that spot!!