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PALM^. 523 



hand and In her mouth a betel-nut wrapped in a leaf of the 

 halpa, one of the trees of Indra's paradise, a fabulous tree, 

 granting all desires. The betel-nut is symbolical of festivity, 

 and is a jptallic emblem. Vincenzo Maria da Santa Caterina 

 in his Viaggio alle Indie Orientale says :• — " Tbe Hindus adorn 

 their idols witb tbe nuts ; if a woman wears them in ber bair or 

 on her neck it is a sign that she is public.*' Tbe nuts are dis- 



witb sugar calces at marriages (see cocoa-nut) ; 

 wben wrapped in the leaves of tbe Piper Betle or fan, along 

 with lime and spices, tbey form the Ura or vira, wbicb is so 

 much used by the natives of all parts of India, and is commonly 

 presented by one to anotber in token of civility or affection. 

 Tbey are also given in confirmation of a pledge, promise, or 

 betrothal, and among tbe Rajpoots are sometimes excbanged as a 

 challenge: thus tbe expression hira uthana signifies "to take up 

 the gauntlet," or take upon oneself any enterprise ; fcira ddlna, 



to propose a premium,*^' for the performance of a task: tbe 

 phrase originated in a custom that prev-ailed of tbrowing a hira 

 iuto the midst of an assembly, in token of an invitation to un- 

 dertake some difficult affair ; for instance, in tbe first story of 

 ^-he " Veialapanchavinshati," tbe king, wben be sends the 

 courtesan to seduce tbe penitent who was suspended from a tree 

 nourisbing bimself witb smoke, gives ber a hira. Bira dcna 

 signifies " to dismiss " either in a courteous sense or otherwise. 

 A hira is sometimes tbe cover of a bribe, and a hira of seven 

 leaves {sat f&n la hira) is sent by tbe father of the bride to tbe 

 bridegroom as a sign of betrotbal. At marriages the bnde or 

 bridegroom places a viri or cigarette-shaped vira between tbe 

 teeth, for tbe otber party to partake of by biting off tbe pro- 

 jecting balf ; one of tbe tricks played on sucb occasions is to 

 conceal a smaU piece of stick in this viri, so that tbe bitmg it 

 in two is not an easy matter. The nut is also a constant offer- 

 iag to tbe gods at Hindoo temples, and on grand occasions tbe 

 ^*m is covered witb gold or silver leaf. 



The betel-nut is mentioned in Chinese works written before 

 the Christian era under tbe name of Pin-lang, by some sup- 

 posed to be a corruption of tbe Malay name Pitiang ; but 



