BUGUIAS, Benguet – Freezing temperature that can plummet from a high 19 degrees centigrade to as low as 7 degrees centigrade in barangay Natubleng, municipality of Buguias, is the main culprit why farmers here have taken a fancy to chewing betel nut.
Working tirelessly on the sweeping slopes of numbing vegetable farm fields and out of necessity, these intrepid farmers have found a way to stalemate the biting cold that often chills their bones and exhaustion that drives even the strongest to rest.
Natubleng is a world flanked with summer flowers and sweeping green meadows of vegetables. Its rolling hills and slopes are thronged with life and brilliant with the colors of countless plants in full bloom.
And it is also home to frosty cold.
To combat the frigid temperature, Natubleng farmers, particularly the young, take comfort by pulling out from their pockets plastic full of sliced betel nut, betel leaves and slaked lime, and pop these leisurely into their mouths.
Heidy B. Mangali, Researcher from Sinipsip National High School – Natubleng Extension, focused her study titled “Betel Nut Consumption: Exploring Perceptions of Young Farmers in Natubleng, Buguias, Benguet, Philippines, and how betel nut chewing has become intertwined with the agrarian lifestyle of the young farmers.
Her research was submitted in April last year to the Mountain Journal of Science and Interdisciplinary Research of Benguet State University (BSU) and after careful review by BSU, was formally accepted in December of last year.
Purely qualitative, Mangali took an ethnographic approach in trying to understand the dynamics in betel nut chewing among the Kankaneys and Ibaloi young farmers of Natubleng by exploring reasons, beliefs, social meanings and expressions of the farmers towards momma chewing.
Issues and respective mechanisms they experienced as posed by the habit were also explored by Mangali.
Young Natubleng farmers have been observed to be simultaneously tilling the soil while masticating betel nut within a day. They revealed to Ms. Mangali that they chew three or more within a day.
More often than not, another set of chew is prepared and masticated immediately after a first chew. For the young farmers, momma chewing serves various purposes and not merely a habit for entertainment.
Cold gets in the way for farmers to function normally. When they are hit by cold temperatures, they experience numb hands and knees, making it difficult for them to handle tools like hoes or to climb hills to transport fertilizer to the farms.
To negate the cold and energize them, they chew moma to help increase their body temperature. One respondent explained it thus: “Pumodot ngamin di i-nga asi din awak. Mabalin a wat manbado si nai-ingpis ay sweater. Medyo narigat menkutkuti ngamin nu napuskol di bado.”
(The warming effects start from my ears and my body follows. With the feeling of warmth brought by chewing, I can wear a sweatshirt instead of a thick jacket which makes it easier for me to move and work).
A common narrative that moma chewing makes the body warm has truth in it because when betel nut is masticated, it releases arecoline which has a beneficial effect on blood circulation, leading to increase in body temperature.
Arecoline is a nicotine acid-based mild stimulant found in the areca nut. It is an odorless oily liquid that can bring enhanced alertness and energy. “Through the thermoregulatory effect of masticating betel nut, young farmers can comfortably work during cold weather, “Mangali observed.
To keep warm, young farmers prefer wearing thinner sweaters and chewing. Thicker jackets limit their movements. When the young farmers chew momma, they feel warm, enabling them to finish more tasks in a day, despite the maxim saying, “A Farmer’s job is never done.”
These young farmers confirmed that chewing moma provides them warmth which in turn help them to work longer hours until dusk, allowing them to accomplish more agricultural tasks while keeping up with the demands of the farming process in Natubleng.
Moreover, the young farmers told Mangali, chewing moma helps them to stay awake particularly during the watering process whereby sprinkler irrigation has to be constantly monitored and adjusted. They explained failure on their part to endure cold during monitoring irrigation result to their missing out scheduled watering time and are forced to wait for their next turn.
Missing irrigation schedules lead to crop wilting and reduction in expected yield.
Moma chewing is also done during a particular work segment in agriculture called “kumboy,” which refers to transportation of vegetable produce from the farm to the roads where these are loaded into trucks bound to Baguio City, trading posts in La Trinidad, Manila and the lowlands.
Kumboy entails carrying substantial loads of vegetables on their heads and shoulders with the use of bamboo baskets. In Natubleng, doing a kumboy job is challenging due to steep terrains and the repeated climbing up and down the mountains drains strength of the young farmers.
To fight their exhaustion, they turn to moma chewing to help them relax and feel energized for another stage in the vegetable carrying. “Nu manbunbunag ta yan mayat din man-mom-moma. Adi riknaen di buway,” another respondent of the study said.
(I carry loads of vegetables in a basket up the hill during kumboy. Chewing help me avoid feeling exhausted and spent).
After bringing their loads of vegetables to waiting Elf trucks, the young farmers masticate while waiting for their baskets to be emptied. Furthermore, chewing moma for them shortens their required rest period after carrying heavy loads.
Through moma chewing, the young farmers feel re-energized and alleviates their fatigue. They are able to continue load-carrying without the need to take as many breaks. It accelerates the loading process onto the Elf trucks and delivered to La Trinidad trading posts earlier.
This is particularly beneficial since the trading post is a more or less two hours’ drive from Natubleng.
Moreover, some crops like radish, become discolored if left for a day or two. By delivering the produce earlier, it can be disposed of, in time thus avoiding spoilage and ensuring crop quality.
Moma chewing has become part of usual daily farm tasks of Natubleng young farmers who have physically demanding tasks. They turn to betel nut chewing to revitalize themselves from exhaustion, believing it provides them with bursts of energy.
True enough. Mangali found out that the relaxing and energizing effect of betel nut is attributed to tannins found in the nut that contributes to feeling of relaxation to the betel chewer.
One condition that also affects young farmers is fighting off isolation in labor-intensive farming. They don’t have much time to converse with each other except only during kumboy sessions which allows them to gather and interact.
Catching up with the farming process, it leads them to labor along on gardens for long periods of time and experiencing boredom and loneliness. To kill the boredom and the lack of company, they resort to chewing moma, providing them with a sort of entertainment, claiming that when their mouths are busy chewing, they do not feel the need for a companion to talk with and they become more focused and absorbed in their tasks.
Moma chewing creates a “timeliness” for them, not bothering to constantly check the time when they are engrossed in chewing while working. Such a sense of productivity and efficiency turns into great help in accomplishing farming tasks.
Social constructivists like Mangali argued in her research individuals construct meanings behind habit. That being the case, moma chewing has become a material for social interaction among young Natubleng farmers. As they seek for group acceptance, they turn to share the same habit as their co-farmers have.
Masculinity is a social construct which in some way provides a normative standard to which men can aspire. It is an integral part of the young farmers. For the young farmers of Natubleng, chewing moma is a way to uplift their feeling of masculinity which helps boost their confidence.
Such an outlook is embodied in the Ibaloi/Kankana-ey/Ilocano word “taraki.” With this perception, the young farmers chew moma to realize a suave and dashing image. Concept of taraki refers to a person who is cool, trendy or attractive. In the case of the young farmers then, they are taraki when they chew moma.
A spittle (spitting bottle) for betel nut juice is an essential accessory to accompany the usual Denim or Levis jacket and Denim and Levis jeans to complete the taraki image. It is a known fact that it is only in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) that farmers are capable of purchasing the expensive Denim/Levis jacket and jeans and using these during farming sessions.
Mangali discovered that young farmers feel that having their spittle placed in their pockets completes the look they want which is to realize the image of taraki, allowing them to feel confident and capable compared to their co-farmers.
In addition, during “kantyawan, “those who are not into betel nut chewing become the centers of “Kantyaw.” Kantyawan is a teasing activity typically performed by the young farmers, where individuals tease each other about various topics, including those that are considered inappropriate or taboo.
Kantyawan does not only involve turning other’s tables. It can be a form of teasing just to castigate laughter. In this case, the act of moma chewing is utilized by the young farmers as a means of protecting themselves from any form of kantyaw.
For the young farmers to identify themselves with other co-farmers, they adopt mastication of the betel nut to share a common habit and feel inclusiveness to the group.
“No panagiinana nu kumboyan, wada di moma. Esana yan man-ipabela si moma na. Wat say kaman panagbobonding ya kankantyaw, estorya, kasjay,” one respondent explained.
(Every break during harvest season, there is betel nut chewing. It is the only time of telling stories or teasing with other farmers. In fact, it is only the time of bonding with each other).
