| Abstract: |
Ways in which the betel quid and its constituent parts feature in the lives of the Nuaulu of south central Seram are described. The first part of the paper reviews the three main ingredients (areca fruits, betel pepper, and lime), the techniques employed in chewing, and the physical effects of these on the experience of Nuaulu subjects. The second part attempts to analyze some of the meanings attached to betel in social practice: in connection with curing and ancestral contacts, in the way in which it structures interaction and ritual, and in its symbolization of sharing
and how these are related to whatever changes in somatic states take place.
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