Betelnut Bisnis

Clip 3: Trading buai

Taken from the documentary Betelnut Bisnis (2004)

Original title classification not known – this clip chosen to be M

Please be aware that this clip may contain the names, images and voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who may now be deceased.

Curator’s clip description

Buai or betelnut is a stimulant used widely in New Guinea. Lucas wants to trade in it to acquire some cash. He meets Jane in the market and she introduces Lucas to her aunt who is a grower.

Curator’s notes

Trading is new to Lucas and he has to learn how to operate.

Damien Parer, curator

Teachers’ notes

provided by The Le@rning Federation

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This clip shows the betelnut trade in Papua New Guinea. Jane and Lucas travel from a market in PNG to a coastal village to visit Jane’s aunt, who grows betelnut (buai). Lucas chats with Jane’s aunt while a boy is shown climbing a tree to harvest some betelnut. Lucas tastes the betelnut before purchasing some to take with him. The clip ends with Lucas and Jane’s aunt walking through the village. The clip features English subtitles.

Educational value points

The betelnut plant (Areca catechu) seen in this clip is a single-stemmed, slender palm tree reaching up to 30 m high. It has large, feather-shaped leaves measuring 1–1.5 m in length and its acorn-sized fruit is oval-shaped and contains one seed. The betelnut palm is suited to tropical climates and is commonly found in East Africa, South Asia and the Pacific Islands.

The betelnut palm is used for a variety of purposes besides chewing the nut, as seen in this clip. The palm heart is edible and can be eaten raw or cooked and the flowers are sometimes used in salads. The leaves are used to make baskets and hats and the fruit husks can be used as household fuel. The nuts, shoots, leaves and rhizomes (underground stem) are commonly used in traditional medical preparations.

Lucas is from a town in the eastern highlands of PNG called Goroka, and is seen visiting a coastal village for the first time in his life. He has travelled to the coast to see betelnut being harvested directly from the tree and to purchase some quality betelnut with the intention of selling it when he returns home. The climate in the PNG highlands is too cold for growing the betelnut palm, whereas it flourishes in coastal regions.

Lucas tastes the freshly harvested betelnut and comments on its excellent quality. The major adverse long-term health effects of betelnut chewing are considered to be similar to those caused by nicotine, such as oral cancer, particularly when betelnut is mixed with tobacco. People who chew betelnut regularly may become dependent and can suffer mild withdrawal symptoms such as mood swings, lethargy and sleep disturbance.

The clip shows Lucas chewing betelnut, the fourth most consumed legal substance in the world after tobacco, alcohol and caffeine, according to the World Health Organisation. To chew it, users traditionally wrap the nut in leaves of betel pepper vine with slivers of lime. Tobacco and other spices are sometimes added. The concoction stains the lips, mouth and saliva bright red and increases the production of saliva, causing the user to spit frequently.

Lucas is shown counting his money to pay Jane’s aunt for a quantity of betelnut. The growing and selling of betelnuts is an important PNG industry, but one that is hard to measure as it falls largely outside the formal cash economy.

Towards the end of the clip, Jane’s aunt takes Lucas on a tour of her small village. She points out the houses of her extended family, and Lucas comments on what a wonderful house one of them is. Although Lucas has visited to complete a business transaction, he is treated as a guest by Jane’s aunt who is clearly proud of her home and wants to show it to visitors. This short scene provides a brief insight into typical coastal PNG village life.

Tok Pisin, the PNG form of Melanesian Pidgin, is spoken during the clip. Pidgin languages are usually based on English, Spanish or Portuguese. The language employs reduced grammar and vocabulary. It is relatively easy to learn and enables effective communication between speakers of different dialects or languages. Buai is the word for betelnut in Tok Pisin.

The documentary Betelnut bisnis was written and directed by Chris Owen, an Australian expatriate who is a permanent resident of PNG. Owen also directed The Red Bowman (1983) and Man Without Pigs (1990) and has served as the director of the National Film Institute of PNG.