Part 8 - Java

An early description of chewing is that given by François Leguat^[1] in 1697:

“Every one knows what the Betel Leaves, and Arequa Nuts are, which all the natives of this Island, both Men, Women, and Children chew incessantly...,”

and he proceeds to give the usual account of the process.

Tavernier^[2] (1643-1649) gives an amusing description of the King of Bantam chewing betel:

“On his right side there was an old black woman, who held in her hands a small mortar and a pestle of gold, in which she crushed the betel leaves, with which she mixed areca-nuts and dissolved seed pearls. When she saw that the whole was well pounded, she placed her hand on the King’s back, who at once opened his mouth, and she put the betel in with her fingers as women do when they give pap to their infants, because the king had no teeth, for he had eaten so much betel, and smoked so much tobacco, that his teeth had fallen out.”

Modern accounts^[3] tell us little fresh. Campbell (vol. ii, p. 1001) says that if the labourer cannot afford a siri- box, a small supply of betel and nuts will usually be found in the corner of his handkerchief. Every petty chief and his wife have their siri -box, that of the man being termed epok and that of the woman chepuri. As in the case of the Sultan of Jogjakerta, these sm-boxes are sometimes of solid gold and bejewelled with rare workmanship; they are then considered as family heirlooms. Cardamoms and cloves make up part of the articles in the siri -box of a person of condition and quality.