Recently, when I returned to my hometown, the alluvial land along the Luoc River, I saw many families growing many young areca trees. I asked and found out that recently, areca fruit has been very expensive, sometimes selling for up to 2030 thousand VND per kg. Areca trees in good soil grow very quickly, and in just a few years, they bloom and bear fruit.
In my hometown, almost every house keeps a few areca trees in front of the house. Areca trees are planted in straight rows, usually each row has three, five, seven... trees in odd numbers. If there are areca trees, there must be a betel tree. The betel tree wraps around the areca tree trunk, gradually climbing up, the green and yellow betel leaves blend with the scent of areca flowers, giving off an indescribable fragrance, only found in the countryside. If areca trees and betel bushes are carefully cared for, fertilized with organic fertilizers, the soil kept clean, not sprayed with chemicals, especially fertilized with lime powder, the plants will grow very well, free of pests and diseases. In the custom of chewing betel, lime is an indispensable ingredient, contributing to making the betel juice and betel residue more flavorful, with a bright red color. There is a very beautiful and meaningful poem in the Vietnamese betel leaf: "Separately, it is bitter, it is spicy/Combined together, it is sweet, it is intoxicating/Separately, green leaves, silver lime/Combined together, red with human blood, strange?/... A love story of the past, the past!...". In particular, according to folk beliefs, when there is a need to pick betel leaves in the evening, the picker must state his name and wake up the betel tree: "Betel, betel, oh betel/ I am a family member/ I ask for a few leaves/ Don't be angry". Otherwise, the betel tree can easily become stunted, gradually wither and die. In many rural areas today, with straight areca trees, under the roots are clumps of betel leaves right in front of the house yard, decorating the red-tiled houses as if preserving the traditional beauty, bringing a peaceful, warm feeling of the new countryside of Vietnam.
No one knows since when areca trees and betel gardens have become traditional crops that follow Vietnamese people from North to South. Even though today, the number of people chewing betel is decreasing, areca nuts and betel leaves are still sacred in many ceremonial activities. Areca rows and betel bushes are objects that can be touched by hand, seen with the eyes, enjoyed by taste and smell to preserve the "Legend of Betel and Areca" as a cultural mark of Vietnamese people through the centuries and forever after, reminding of the spiritual beauty: Harmony between brothers, loyalty between husband and wife... Because "a piece of betel is the beginning of a conversation", in engagement ceremonies, the groom's family must have betel and areca nuts as gifts to talk to the bride's family. In engagement ceremonies, the tray of betel and areca nuts is brought to the bride's house first. According to the full wedding customs, the tray of betel and areca nuts is prepared in the engagement ceremony to show the formality of the relationship and to announce good news to both families. Everyone drinks water and chews betel together to get acquainted, show closeness and share joy for the upcoming wedding. In the engagement ceremony, the betel and areca tray is used as an invitation to help the two families understand each other better. In the engagement ceremony, the betel and areca tray is the children's heart to their ancestors and a warm welcome from the host to the guests attending the couple's big day. One of the special points to note in the engagement ceremony is the betel and areca tray. A betel and areca tray includes a bunch of areca nuts and many betel leaves carefully arranged around it. The size of the bunch of areca nuts can be large or small depending on the choice of each family, but must ensure enough pairs to demonstrate the couple's love. The number of areca nuts in the bunch is a blessing and conveys the best feelings for the couple. Each areca nut goes with 2 betel leaves. People often choose a bunch of areca nuts with 60 or 100 fruits as the most beautiful, but today you can choose 65 or 105 fruits according to feng shui and customs of each region. A bunch of areca nuts with 100-105 fruits has a good meaning on the wedding day with the wish of "a hundred years of happiness". The more areca nuts, the more it proves the lasting love together until "old age". A bunch of areca nuts with several hundred fruits represents fullness, prosperity and many children in the future life of the couple. Then comes the moment of asking for the bride, an elderly, gentle, kind woman... representing the groom's family carries the betel and areca tray to the bride's house first, places it on the ancestral altar to "ask for the bride", then the groom's family comes to pick up the bride... On death anniversaries, Tet holidays, and important holidays, it is mandatory to have beautiful areca nuts and delicious betel leaves placed solemnly on the ancestral altar. In my hometown, in many families, children no longer keep the habit of chewing betel, but in a corner of the altar, there is still a bronze betel tray, betel box, betel tube, lime pot, betel pestle, trident, betel knife...
During the wedding season, beautiful areca bunches and delicious betel leaves are sought after to serve the wedding anniversary of couples. Even though many years from now, it is very possible that no one in our country will "dispel sorrow by chewing betel" (these 6 words are from an ancient book), the author of this article still believes that betel and areca will forever be an indispensable gift in weddings. In front of every house in the countryside, there will forever be rows of areca trees with full bunches, betel bushes with lush leaves, so that the plate of betel and areca folded in phoenix wings can still be offered to ancestors on death anniversaries and Tet.
Wu Lin
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