Sirih Pinang
Sirih-Pinang or in India Paan ( Hindi पान ; Bengali পান ) denotes the chewing of a " betel bite " and is an old tradition in India and Southeast Asia. Betel chewing is not only a luxury and intoxicant, it also promotes the flow of saliva and colors the palate and gums red and teeth black. In honor of a guest, betel bites were offered as a tribute, depending on social status, simple to expensive.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that betel chewing is regularly practiced by 600 million people and is a serious public health problem. Since the end of the 20th century, the WHO and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have warned that chewing betel nuts carries an increased risk of developing oral cancer. The risk is higher by several factors, especially after adding tobacco.
Components
The basic components of betel bites are:
- fresh sirih leaves (leaves of betel pepper : Piper betle )
- Pinang, mostly dried betel nuts (fruits of the betel nut palm : Areca catechu , also: areca nuts) in thin slices or fresh betel nuts in slices
- slaked lime
As a condiment come Gambir (thickened leaf extract of Uncaria gambir ), chewing tobacco, spices ( cloves ( Syzygium aromaticum ), cardamom ( Elettaria cardamomum ), coriander, cinnamon ( Cinnamomum verum ) or anise) added (see also use of betel nut ). A betel set is used to store the ingredients and to prepare the betel bite.
History of Betel Chewing
The tradition of chewing betel is several thousand years old. Archaeological finds on skeletons from the Duyang Cave in the Philippines showed traces of betel chewing, characteristic discoloration of teeth to around 3,000 BC. Dated. From the Phimaen Cave In northwestern Thailand remains of Areca catechu were found . These are said to come from cultivated betel nut palms and are about 10,000 years old.
The first impressions of a European from Sirih-Pinang come from the world traveler Marco Polo and later other East Indiaman such as Georg Franz Müller , Ernst Christoph Barchewitz and Johann Gottlieb Worm .
In his trip to Batavia, Georg Franz Müller described the Sirih Pinang tradition in rhyme and picture
“As soon as you wake up in the morning
and you are there until late at night
And if you want to honor you,
So you give in such a pinang vill,
The same also tobacco darbey,
Who is also wrapped in blädder frey,
Dan all smokes here, Frauw and you ,
Ya little children all too Sam ... "
On the Indonesian island of Leti , Ernst Christoph Barchewitz was honored with a particularly beautiful betel set at a local celebration with Sirih Pinang custom. The deceased also got a betel bite in the grave on Leti and with the Chinese on Java. James Cook wrote about meeting Johan Christopher Lange in his diary on September 21, 1770 during a three-day stay on his first South Sea voyage to the island of Sawu . Long was a German by birth and in the service of the Dutch East India Company . He informed Cook that children, men and women, young and old, chew betel bites on Sawu.
Cultural
The ceremony and tradition of Sirih Pinang are different in many countries in Southeast Asia. Often times, the red saliva is spat out on streets and sidewalks, creating red spots. In Southeast Asia, the Sirih Pinang custom is still celebrated at certain ceremonies , but the betel bite is rarely consumed.
South East Asia
Sirih-Pinang is an old cultural tradition in Southeast Asia and is associated with different rituals that are comparable to the tea ceremony in China and Japan. Although betel is hardly chewed any more, the Sirih Pinang ceremony is still celebrated today.
Regardless of religion or ethnicity, the Sirih Pinang tradition was practiced as part of the ceremony at the engagement and wedding. Since Sirih and Pinang belong together, it is a symbol of togetherness or inseparability. This custom stands for the inseparable bond between man and woman. As a wedding rite the in-laws were kneeling before the bride presented a betel bite. To do this, the bride first had to partially scrape off the middle nerve of the Sirih leaves without damaging the leaf surface. This allowed the leaf to be better shaped for the preparation of the betel bite and also made it easier to chew. The back of the Sirihblatt was thinly smeared with slaked lime and betel nut slices and other ingredients were added. Then the sheet was artfully rolled or wrapped. During this ceremony, emphasis was placed on the preparation, appearance and taste of the betel bite. Sometimes at funeral ceremonies the deceased were given a betel bite to take with them to the grave.
The Sirih Pinang ceremony is called bersirih or menginang in Indonesian , an activity word from Sirih or Pinang. The cult status of Sirih-Pinang is reflected in everyday language in everyday language. In Indonesian, menginang means not only chewing betel bites, but also "proposing marriage", "applying for", "courting" or "carefully weighing up".
Other countries
In India , the legal sale and daily chewing of the mildly narcotic drug under the name Paan is widespread. The mixtures are also used in Nepal, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines.
Sirihbox or betel container
A Sirihbox (betel container) is used at the Sirih Pinang ceremony. The sirih box contains small vessels for the ingredients of the betel bite, a tray or bowl for the sirih leaves and sometimes a special cutter for cutting the betel nuts. The small vessels for lime, betel nut, gambir or the other ingredients are kept together in a box or container. Betel containers were mostly made of metal and the Sirihbox more of vegetable materials. Betel containers or Sirihboxes were seen as paraphernalia . By accepting a Sirihbox, parents consent to their daughter becoming the bride of the giver.
The Betelcontainer on Java as "Binangh Basin" and Leti as "beautiful lacquered box" that were taken on the go, or were used in ceremonies impressed Barchewitz . The materials used depend on the social status, simple to ostentatious. There are sirih boxes made of wood, coconut shells and palm leaves. Luxurious betel containers made of precious metal can be rented for the ceremony today.
photos
In the Tropenmuseum , Amsterdam you can see a collection of Sirihboxes made from different materials and eras.
Brass, before 1925
Brass, before 1942
Brass, before 1929
Brass, before 1942
Tobacco or Sirihbox, before 1922
Wood with silver fittings, before 1918
Pandan leaves, before 1900
Pandan leaves, before 1900
Pandan leaves, before 1900
Lontar leaves, before 1889
Bambu, before 1887
Wood, before 1941
Silver with a gold lid and three precious stones, before 1947
literature
- DF Rooney: Betel Chewing Traditions in South-East Asia. Oxford University Press, Oxford / Singapore / New York 1993, pp. 11, 22-28, 44 and 52.
- Ingrid Grendel, Jeanne Dericks-Tan: From Annone to Cinnamon. Notes of the world traveler Georg Franz Müller 1646-1723 in rhyme and picture. In: Kulturbotanische Notes. No. 3, ISSN 2364-3048, Abadi Verlag. Alzenau 2015, p. 24.
Web links
Heike Zimmermann: History of the betel bite. ( Memento of June 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) 2011, accessed on January 29, 2019.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Verena Hölzl: Chewing tobacco: Carcinogenic betel nuts endanger Burma's reputation. In: Welt.de. May 26, 2015, accessed January 29, 2019.
- ^ World Health Organization , International Agency for Research on Cancer: IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenis Risks to Humans. Volume 86: Betel-quid and Areca-nut Chewing and Some Areca-nut-derived Nitrosamines. Lyon 2004, pp. 80–112 (English; PDF: 7.4 MB, 349 pages on monographs.iarc.fr).
- ↑ Anwar Merchant, Syed S. M. Husain u. a .: Paan without tobacco: An independent risk factor for oral cancer. In: IJC. Volume 86, No. 1, April 1, 2000, pp. 128–131 (English; doi : 10.1002 / (SICI) 1097-0215 (20000401) 86: 1 <128 :: AID-IJC20> 3.0.CO; 2- M ).
- ↑ a b Heike Zimmermann: History of the betel bite. ( Memento of June 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) 2011, accessed on January 29, 2019.
- ↑ Chester F. Gorman: Excatvations at Spirit Cave, North Thailand. Some interim interpretations. In: Asian Perspectives. Volume 13, 1970, pp. 79-107.
- ↑ From the Betel and Areck to Batavia. Johann Gottlieb Worms from Döbeln, East Indian and Persian journeys or ten-year-olds on Gross Java, Bengala, and in the wake of Mr. Joann Josuae Koetelär, Dutch envoy to the Sophi in Persia, performed military services ..., Crispin Weise (ed.) Dresden, Leipzig 1737, pp. 135-137.
- ↑ Georg Franz Müller: Journey to Batavia 1683, Cod.Sang 1311, p. 322
- ↑ a b c d Ernst Christoph Barchewitz : travel description , Chemnitz 1730.
- ↑ James Cook diary. http://southseas.nla.gov.au/journals/cook/17700921.html
- ↑ Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam: https://tropenmuseum.nl