The Legend of the Betel and the Areca

Ages ago there lived a mandarin, a high-ranking official, to whoma mandarin to whomExplanation: Briefly explains the historical office. the King had given the title of Cau, which the official adopted as his family name. He had two sons called Tan and Lang, both of them handsome young mencomely youths and so like each other that it was almost impossible to tell them apart. When they grew up, they lost their father and their mother, and with them everything they owned. So they became servants in the household of a man named Dao-ly, who was also known as Lu’u-huyen.When they grew to manhood, they lost their father and their mother, and with them all the possessions which they had in the world, so that they took service in the household of a man named Dao-ly, who was also known as Lu’u-huyen. Dao-ly had a daughter named Lien who was remarkable for her beauty, and both the brothers, falling in love with her, wished to marry her. Lien was not unwilling, but their resemblance made her choice so difficult that she decided to marry the elder brother. Since neither brother would tell her which of them was older, she had to think of a trick.Lien was not unwilling, but found their resemblance to one another so very embarrassing that she settled the matter by resolving to take the elder of the two; but since neither of the brothers would tell her which of them was the first-born, she was compelled to resort to a ruse. She prepared a tempting meal, which she asked them to eat, and then the youngerwhereupon the younger, without thinking what he was doing, took the chopsticks and respectfully handed them to his elder brotherhis senior. Her parents then gave their consent,The consent of her parents was then obtained, and Tan and Lien were married.

After the marriage Lang, the younger brother, found that he no longer had all of Tan’s love to himself, for Tan also loved Lien.After the marriage Lang, the younger brother, found that he no longer had the whole of the love of Tan, for it was shared with the affection which he felt for Lien. He also longed for the sweetheart he had lost, and since he could not help envying his brother,Moreover he pined for the loss of his sweetheart, and since he could not help envying his brother, he went away, walking straight ahead into the forest. After many miles he came to a broad, deep river, but as he could not cross it, he lay down on its banks, and died of self-pity, misery and hungerbetween self-pity and misery and hunger passed out of this life. His body became changed into a tree, with a tall slender stem, topped with a crown of palm leavescrowned at the top with a coronal of fronds and clusters of fruit. This was the betel-nut palm. When Tan missed his brother, he went out in search of him, and by chance he followed the same track, came to the same stream, saw the unusual treesingular tree, sat down at its foot, and was transformed into a mass of limestone rocksa mass of limestones. When Lien found that her husband was taking a long time to returnfound her husband long of returning, she became alarmed and set out on the path which he had taken, so that she, too, came to the same stream. As she saw the areca-palm and the heap of limestones, a vision from heavena celestial vision revealed to her what had taken place, and she threw herself down at the foot of the tree, clasped the limestone boulders, and cried out in despair. She died and was transformedwhereupon she threw herself down at the foot of the tree, clasped the limestone boulders, and prayed that she might die. Her prayer granted, she was transformedExplanation: Exceptional softening of an explicit wish to die and its fulfilment as an answered prayer; preserves her gestures, death and transformation without endorsing death as an answer to grief. into a climbing vine with fragrant leaves that wound arounda creeper with aromatic leaves which enlaced the stones and the stem of the palm. She became the betel-vine.

Her parents gathered together the whole clan of the Lu’u, and they built a pagoda, a temple, at the spot. Crowds now come from far lands to worship at this shrine, built in memory of love between husband and wife and between brothers.a pagoda at the spot, where multitudes now come from far lands to worship at the shrine raised to commemorate conjugal and brotherly love.Explanation: Explains pagoda and the two relationships remembered at the shrine.

In the great heat of the seventh and eighth lunar monthsthe seventh and eighth months (April-May)Explanation: Scott’s parenthetical April–May is inconsistent with the seventh and eighth months of the Vietnamese lunar calendar. The historical wording is preserved in Original; the modern text retains the months without that erroneous conversion. Hung Vuong, the King, often came to the cool shade of this templethis fane, where one day the tale of the areca-palm and the betel-vine was told him. He took some of the fruit of the tree and a leaf of the vine to quench his thirstassuage his thirst, and found it most refreshing¹; it perfumed his mouth, and his saliva was blood-red. To promote the flow of saliva he had some of the limestone roasted and powdered, and from that time on he regularly chewed the three togetherregularly masticated the three together. Then he planted nuts of the palm and seeds of the vine, finding that they grew abundantlygrew luxuriantly wherever they were put in the ground. In a short time all the people in the country adopted the habit of betel-chewing, and the worship of the two brothers and of Lien became more widespreadmore wide-spread than ever. In memory of the legend the first gift exchanged by engaged couples in Annam, a historical name used here for Vietnam,the first present in Annam between engaged couplesExplanation: Explains the historical name and clarifies who exchanges gifts. is always betel and areca-nut, and even in Burma, now called Myanmar, whereeven in Burma, whereExplanation: Gives the current name without changing the author’s historical claim. the tale is not known, a portion of betel for chewinga quid of betel wrapped up in the aromatic leaf accompanies every invitation and every friendly message.

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Footnotes

¹ The refreshing effects belong to the legend. Chewing areca nut, even without tobacco, carries serious health risks, including cancer. World Health Organization.