Friendly Lao hilltribe market vendor with Betel nut stained teeth Ban Houei Xai Laos
Lao hilltribe market vendor with betel nut stained teeth Ban Houei Xai Laos In Southeast Asia it is not unusual to meet people whose teeth are stained black and gums red by continuous chewing of the betel nut In actual fact the betel nut is not chewed at all the 3 crucial ingredients that make up a betel wad are the nut of the areca palm the leaf of the betel vine and lime When these 3 ingredients are combined with saliva they act as a mild stimulant The habit although common in SE Asia and parts of China appears to have evolved in SE Asia and is noted in early chronicles The lacquerware boxes of neighbouring Burma illustrate the importance of indulging in betel nut in social intercourse Galvao in his 1544 journal noted it s use Among Westernised Southeast Asians the habit is frowned upon the disfigurement and ageing it causes the addicted and the stained floors and walls that are a consequence of the constant spitting are considered distasteful products of a byegone age
Size: 5292px × 3549px
Location: LAos
Photo credit: © Jamie Marshall / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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