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Andrew Bott | profile | all galleries >> The South Pacific >> Solomon Islands >> Betel Nut Addicts tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Village life in 'The Sols' | Betel Nut Addicts | Solomon Islands

Betel Nut Addicts

Just about everyone in the Solomon Islands above the age of about five, save for Seventh Day Adventists, chews Betel Nut. Day and night. You're never much farther than spitting distance from a Betel Nut stall in the Sols.

Chew an areca nut and some betel leaf (more like a stalk in these parts), add some powdered lime (locally produced from crushed coral) and you'll be mildly stimulated and need to spit copious quantities of red liquid. Chew it for a few years and your teeth go black. Chew it for decades and you're a prime candidate for cancer of the mouth.

Click on an image to view it - they look much better when enlarged.
Comments and votes are most appreciated.
Betel nut boy Vendor _MG_3858-Edit-1.jpg IMG_1804-1.jpg
The chewer Say aaargh Chewer IMG_1549-1.jpg
IMG_1799-1.jpg _MG_4144-Edit-Edit-2.jpg Red smile Stern