The ocean of story, being C.H. Tawney's translation of Somadeva's ...

284 THE OCEAN OF STORY
Assam, Burma, Annam and Siam
With the exception of certain parts of Assam, mentioned
the four countries
below, betel-chewing is found throughout
which head this section.
To the east the custom stretches through Cambodia
and Cochin China to Southern China, while to the south it
continues into Malaya and so to the Eastern Archipelago.
References and short descriptions of betel-chewing are
naturally found in nearly every travel-book on the particular
locality concerned. It will, therefore, be superfluous to
attempt to supply a list of works which mention it. I shall
merely select what I consider reliable and correct descriptions,
whether they be from old or recent works.
In the case of Assam we naturally turn chiefly to the
recent works of Mills, Hutton and Smith. Among both
the Sema l and Angami 2
Nagas the only narcotic known is
tobacco. With the Ao Nagas, however, the betel and arecanut
are in very common use. In villages where the ingredients
are easily obtainable most adults chew pan and betel-nut
(koyi).
A quid consists of a little areca-nut, some lime (shinu, stlni) 9
a scrap of tobacco and a bit of one of several kinds of bark
or wood which have the effect of increasing the flow of
saliva, all wrapped up in a " pan " leaf. Pan is grown in
many villages, but the areca-nut has to be obtained from
the plains, though an inferior wild variety is sometimes used.
Lime is either bought in the plains or made from snail-shells
or egg-shells. 3
We get further details in Smith's work 4 on the same
tribes, who quotes largely from previous observers. Betelchewing
is "
practised by a number of the hill tribes. Pan
leaf, betel-nut and lime," writes Hunter, 5 "
are essential to
the comfort of all the hill people, who are inveterate chewers
of pan. They commence at an early age, and are rarely seen
without a pan leaf in their mouths the females are ;
quite
disfigured from the practice."
1 J. H. Hutton, Sema Nagas, 1921, p. 99.
2 J. H. Hutton, Angami Nagas, 1921, p. 101.
3 J. P. Mills, The Ao Nagas, 1926, p. 152.
4 W. C. Smith, Ao Naga Tribe of Assam, 1925, pp. 137-138.
5 Statistical Account of Assam, vol. ii, p. 220.