Once upon a time, there was a pair of twin brothers namely Tan and Lang who were as alike as two peas in a pod. One day, the boys’ father passed away suddenly. The brothers went to live with a Taoist hermit named Luu.
The Taoist hermit had a daughter the same age as Tan and Lang. This girl was curious as to which brother was the eldest. One day, when Tan and Lang were hungry, the girl gave them a bowl of rice and just one set of chopsticks. She looked through a crack in the door to see the elder brother allowing his younger brother to eat first. This way, she knew Tan was the eldest. She and Tan fell in love and got married, then moved to a new house together with Lang.
After getting married, Tan did not spend as much time with Lang, which made his brother sad. One day the brothers worked in the mountains until nightfall. ang returned home in the dark. Tan’s wife mistook Lang for her husband and embraced him. Tan entered the room and saw his wife hugging his brother. He grew very angry.
Lang left the house in disgrace. He reached a river and cried so bitterly that ev~ntually he was turned into limestone.
Worried about his brother, Tan went looking for him. Seeing that Lang !fad been turned to stone, Tan could not stop crying. Eventually, he was turned into an areca tree, which grew beside the stone.
When the worried wife went looking for her husband, she found that Tan and Lang had been transformed into an areca tree and a stone. Filled with despair, she cried so hard that she turned into a betel vine that draped itself over the areca tree.
The wife’s parents and other villagers found two strange plants growing near a ‘fstone and realized what had happened. They built a small temple nearby to commemorate the trio who had died so young.
One year a terrible drought struck the region. Nonetheless, the areca tree and the betel vine by the stone remained lush and green. Riding by, King Hung Vuong asked about the trees and the temple. After the villagers told the king the tale of Lang, Tan and his wife, the king was so moved that he ate the fruit of the areca tree. It tasted very bitter, but when he ate it together with a betel leaf, the taste became sweet. Suddenly, an of ficial shouted: “Oh God! This is blood!” for the chewed betel quid fell onto the stone and turned as red as blood. King Hung Vuong tried a piece of the areca bud, a betel leaf and some limestone. He felt warm and elated. “How amazing!” cried the king. “Only true love can create this feeling!”
From then on, the king ordered his people to plant betel and areca. Betel and areca are essential at Vietnamese weddings, since they represent eternal love. The habit of chewing betel nuts has deep roots in Vietnamese culture.
Dao Quoc Huy
The Tale of Betel and Areca
First post at: Vietnam Culture
No comments:
Post a Comment