http://www.windana.org.au/downloads/Lesser%20known%20drugs%20fact%20sheet.pdf
"A
Nutty Habit"... in the words of Jeff Quinn in "Kaliu"
Here
is Jeff Quinn's spin on a nutty matter
that colored his stay in Taiwan.
"Soon
after arriving on the island, I began noticing a substantial portion of the male race engaged
in a habitual ritual...The indulgence of betel nut. The reddish orange teeth
were a dead giveaway." Jeff asks, "So what exactly are these curious little nuts
and why all the fascination with them? Well for starters, the nuts referred to
as betel nuts aren't betel nuts at all. The nuts are actually harvested from
tall, wispy areca palm trees native to the shores of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Areca nuts are slightly smaller
than your average walnut and are extremely hard. Although some users opt to add
candy or tobacco, there are basically three main components involved in the
preparation of chewing grade betel. First, it is of course necessary to procure
the aforementioned areca nuts. The nuts are then wrapped inside a freshly
picked leaf from the betel tree (thus the name betel). Lastly, in order to
generate the "kick' or desired effect, an alkaloid known as arecoline must be
introduced. One of the most popular means of triggering this chemical process
is through the use of lime powder derived from crushed oyster shells. One now
has the requisite components of the three-part harmony."
Moreover, "[s]o where do they chew the
stuff? Before answering, I must inform you that betel nut chewing is really
betel nut sucking. But as that sounds somewhat grotesque we'll refer to the
practice here to fore as betel nut indulgence. That just sounds better doesn't
it? Betel nut indulgence is found in nearly every nook and cranny throughout
the continent of Asia. Strangely, the practice
is virtually unknown throughout most of the western world. The reddish-orange
stains gracing sidewalks and streets remind me of the Old West, to a time when
chewing tobacco was at its height of popularity in the America. Just like back then, there
are signs informing people that betel spitting is prohibited. In Papua New Guinea,
for instance, "No Betel Nut Chewing" signs are posted right alongside "No
Smoking' signs. Though I must admit I never came across any of these signs on
Nangan, just a lot of juice."
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS ON KALIU
Looking at the photo on the cover
of Jeff Quinn's newest book, Kaliu,
I am reminded that I, myself, went swimming from that same "semi-militarized"
beach a year ago this spring, i.e. with Jeff and his wife looking on from the
same shore. That particular shoreline can be seen from the school where Jeff
used to teach and live on the island
of Nangan (in the Matsu archipelago)
in Taiwan. The Matsu chain of islands are only a hop
across a small straight from mainland China's
province of Fujia (also called Fukian).
Like Jeff Quinn, I had lived in the
Matsu Islands
(but on Beigan Island) in 2010-2011. Likewise, I
taught in the same local school districts as Jeff for the County of Lienchiang. I wrote about my time there
extensively on the internet, e.g.
http://eslkevin.wordpress.com/2011/02/15/baiming-festival-in-matsu-on-beigan-island-february-2011/
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Chinese-and-Taiwanese-cele-by-Kevin-Anthony-Stod-110215-650.html?show=votes
http://www.opednews.com/articles/OH-MY-GOD-the-USA-State-by-Kevin-Anthony-Stod-110612-41.html
In contrast, Jeff Quinn has taken to more clearly explain
how "[w]hile technically Taiwanese soil, or rock,
as the islands are composed mainly of granite, the Matsu
Islands share close cultural ties with
neighboring China."
"The Matsu Islands,
commonly referred to as the "Pearls of Eastern Fujian' . . . are said to
resemble a string of pearls lying off the mouth of the Min River Delta near Fuzhou. The Matsu chain
consists of 19 islands and islets lending themselves to 22 villages and 137
neighborhoods; all of which are administered by Lienchiang County, Taiwan."
[The county is divided into four townships: Nangan
Township (which translated means
Southern Fishing Pole), Biegan Township (Northern Fishing Pole), Juguang Township
(Brilliance of the Ju Kingdom), and Dongyin
Township (Welcoming the
East)." ]
I concur with Jeff that "[f]or those who've spent time in
Taiwan, the Matsu Islands
will certainly exhibit a different vibe.
Matsu islanders tend to march to their own beat, having more in common
with the Eastern Fujian or Eastern Min region of China
in terms of tradition and culture, than that found across the straits in Taiwan proper, where most speak Hakka, a
southern Fujian
dialect. Although Mandarin Chinese is the official language, residents of Matsu speak a northern Fujianese dialect called Pinghua,
which is wholly unintelligible to Mandarin speakers."
Jeff adds, "For many years the islands [of Marsu] were
off-limits to those in mainland China.
Conversely, mainland China
was also off-limits to those in Matsu. A
policy known as Three Small Links was instituted in 2001, allowing for limited
trade and travel between Fujian ports and Matsu, as well as Kinmen. A ferry now runs several times
a day between Fu'ao Harbor in Nangan and the port city of Mawei,
southeast of Fuzhou." For this reason, some students of ours had
visited mainland China
several times--implying that the border was fairly wide-open.
However, as Jeff and his wife came to discover,
international relations and confusion about spheres of influence in the
multipolar Chinas of 2012 continue to make it difficult for non-Chinese to
travel between what is known as mainland China
and what we currently call Taiwan. This becomes very clear if a non-Chinese or
non-Taiwanese would try to cross the small straight on a boat or ferry to the
other shore.
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