in India, Burma, Ceylon, Malaya, Indonesia, the Philip- 
pines, the Pacific Islands as far as Fiji and the Marque- 
sas, China, Indo-China, Siam, East Africa, Arabia and 
Persia, and is so intimately interwoven with millions of 
individuals from birth to death, in joy and sorrow, in 
respect and contempt, in friendship and enmity, and in 
challenge and honour, must be looked into from all 
angles. 
Leaving aside the botanical and chemical analysis of 
betel nut and betel leaf and the works of early writers, 
the opinion expressed or written about pan by many re- 
cent European writers has not been wholly true; the 
custom has been exaggerated or represented as some- 
thing abhorrent to Westerners. The reasons for these 
sweeping generalizations, based on partial or imperfect 
facts, that impressed me most on going through many 
of these writings about pan are: (1) unfamiliarity with 
the use of pan in any form; (2) judging with the pre- 
conceived idea that anything the East does is something 
strange, curious, mystic, or bound up with religion; (3) 
lack of knowledge of the background of the culture of 
the people and their food. Any one of these would be 
sufficient to colour the author’s conclusions. 
The reasons for the use of pan are lost in antiquity ; 
one’s own ideas are as good as any others. In the East, 
it is said to be because of the carminative effect, to keep 
the gums and teeth strong, to aid digestion, to sweeten 
the breath, or for something to chew after meals, or a 
good practice by which to circumvent narcotic tempta- 
tion. One of the very early writings, the Indian ‘‘Hito- 
pades’’ (friendly advices), notes about thirteen properties 
of pan; it removes bad odour; it expels phlegm; it ex- 
pels flatulence ; it expels worms; it beautifies the mouth; 
it helps digestion; it is sour; it is bitter; it is heating; 
it is sweet; it is salt; it is astringent; and it excites de- 
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