‘Teeth as black as a bumble bee’s wings’: The ethnobotany of teeth blackening in Southeast Asia Thomas J. Zumbroich Research Abstract This study presents a comparative perspective on the come to light on teeth blackening. This is surprising since ethnobotanical resources utilized in teeth blackening, the practice occupied an important place in many cul- which was formerly an important life cycle event across tures, especially across island and mainland Southeast Southeast Asia. Based on records from the seventeenth Asia. century to the present, we identified over 60 plant species hat were used for this practice in three distinct catego- The oldest teeth with stains identified in Southeast Asia ries: as masticants, burn products and compound dyes. belong to the skeletal remains of an approximately 4500 Different ethnolinguistic groups typically chose not more year old Neolithic burial in the Duyong Cave on the west than a few locally available plant species as teeth black- coast of Palawan Island, Philippines (Fox 1970), though eners. The mastication of the vine Epipremnum pinnatum neither the botanical source nor the cultural context of (L.) Engl. or the fruit and root of Paederia foetida L. as these colorations has been explained with any certainty. well as the application of dry distilled oil of coconut shells In early written accounts of the colonial period by Europe- were among the methods most widely applied by speak- ans confronted with blackened teeth, one typically finds ers belonging to different linguistic families. The occasion- a discourse slanted towards the perceived repulsiveness of the practice. In addition, the custom of betel chewing, al involvement of non-native plant species, such as Nicoti- which resulted in incidentally stained teeth, was frequent- ana tabacum L. or Psidium guajava L., demonstrates how ly confused with teeth blackening and continues to be so the practice adapted over time. Betel chewing, though up to this date. An academic debate about the existence frequently confused with teeth blackening, was a distinct of a teeth blackening tradition separate from betel chew- custom, but both intersected in their geographic scopes, ing, lasted into the early twentieth century (Holbe 1908, use patterns and cultural ascriptions. Assessment of the Meyer 1883). These factors stifled the exploration of the medicinal qualities of some of the teeth blackeners sug- methods and motivations underlying the purposeful dye- gests that the practice might also have had an ethnophar- ing of teeth at a time when it was still widely practiced. macological dimension. Introduction The purposeful coloring of one’s teeth, typically from Correspondence around the time of puberty, is a custom of remarkable time Thomas J. Zumbroich, 2409 Arpdale Street, Austin TX 78704. depth documented in societies from around the world. U.S.A. zumbroich[at]yahoo.com Such dyeing of all or just the visible surfaces of the teeth became known as ‘teeth blackening’ (Figures 1 & 2). To- gether with the extraction, filing and metal decorations of teeth, the process of teeth blackening was considered yet another form of dental ‘mutilation’ (Milner & Larsen 1991, Reid 1988, Romero 1970, Tayles 1996). Compared with other, visually more spectacular adornments of the body, Ethnobotany Research & Applications 7:381-398 (2009) like tattoos or penis decorations, far less information has Published: November 13, 2009 www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol7/i1547-3465-07-381.pdf 382 Ethnobotany Research & Applications Figure 1. Bukidnon woman with blackened teeth from the Figure 2. Ann woman from near Kengtung (Kyaing mountain province of the same name in Northern Mindanao Tong), in the eastern corner of Shan State, Myanmar (Philippines). This staged photograph was taken in 1909 (2008). Among Ann people black teeth are traditionally by Dean Worcester, Secretary of the Interior, during the complemented by dark clothing. American administration of the Philippines. Consequently, the first details to emerge in European jour- add a facet to the appreciation of how plants were pro- nals of how, e.g., the ethnic majority of Viet in Vietnam ductively incorporated in different cultural practices, but accomplished the black look of their teeth were fanciful- also answer other important questions about the custom. ly wrong, with one author suggesting a coating of ‘bone We will explore how the dyeing was accomplished, and black’ (charred animal bones) in honey (Enjoy 1898). whether the methods were specific or, as has been sug- gested, the wood of ‘any’ tree (Roux 1924) or that of ‘some Outside influences, in particular Christianization and the hundred or more’ different kinds of plants could be utilized global propagation of a Western ideal of white teeth, have for teeth blackening (Wray 1893). We will also address over time led to the abandonment of the practice in the the question of the origin of teeth blackening and potential great majority of indigenous societies as they experienced evidence for its diffusion across Southeast Asia as well as significant outside contact. While there are still a few com- its methodological evolution over time. Finally, knowledge munities in which it is possible to acquire first-hand knowl- of the plant material involved opens up investigations into edge of the traditional methods of teeth blackening (Zum- the pharmacological properties of these plants and their broich & Salvador-Amores 2009), historical sources have possible role in the practice. by now become the primary resource for the study of this custom. Methods This paper addresses some fundamental issues of teeth The geographical scope of this study extends to mainland blackening by presenting a comparative perspective on and island Southeast Asia. Figure 3 indicates the loca- the methodologies and, in particular, the ethnobotanical tions for which data are included in this paper. Data were resources deployed in Southeast Asia. This will not only collected from primary sources, such as ethnographic, bo- www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol7/i1547-3465-07-381.pdf Zumbroich - The Ethnobotany of Teeth Blackening in Southeast Asia 383 20oN LAOS Batanes Islands THAILAND Luzon VIETNAM CAMBODIA Mindoro PHILIPPINES Visayas Nicobar Mindanao Islands Sulu Perak BRUNEI Malay Peninsula Malacca Selangor MALAYSIA Borneo EQUATOR Nias Sumatra Sulawesi N INDONESIA Makassar 0 500km Madura Java Bali Flores Solor archipelago Sumba 100oE 120oE Figure 3. Map of Southeast Asia. The geographic scope of this study is indicated by red marks in regions for which ethnographic, botanical and lexicographic data on teeth-blackening were included. tanical and lexicographic works of the seventeenth cen- teeth. Undoubtedly the one practice which most common- tury to the present. Based on their descriptions, through ly contributed to darkened teeth in Asia was chewing a cross-referencing or with the help of recent lexicographic betel quid, typically prepared by wrapping slivers of the publications, a number of previously unidentified plants in- seed of the areca palm (Areca catechu L. ) with slaked volved in the practice were identified. lime (calcium hydroxide) in a betel leaf (Piper betle L.) (Rooney 1993, Zumbroich 2008). The Nicobarese speak- Results ing inhabitants, especially of the Central and Southern Nicobar islands, chewed betel with such great frequency The primary results are listed in Table 1. that darkened teeth with encrustations (yēñ-kanâp) re- sulted, which were considered desirable (Hamilton 1790, Masticants and other simple blackening agents Man 1894). This constitutes a rare example where areca nut was the primary source of deliberate teeth blacken- Chewing a plant product with known coloring potency ing. can be considered the simplest approach to dyeing one’s www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol7/i1547-3465-07-381.pdf 384 Ethnobotany Research & Applications Table 1. Identified species of plants employed for teeth dyeing are listed by plant family, followed by the region of use and, if known, the ethnolinguistic group (in italics) as well as the specific method of utilization. According to the type of use of the plant material the teeth blackening methods are organized into three categories: (1) Chewing a part of the plant or simply squeezing out and applying the sap of a plant to the teeth (yellow overlay); (2) Heating a twig, stem or bark and applying the expelled substance (pink overlay); (3) Compounding a more complex dye mixture of certain plant materials and a metal salt (blue overlay). Plant Family Region of use Method of use Literature source Species (ethnolinguistic group) Anacardiaceae Dracontomelon dao Merr. Laos, Vietnam Wood tar from shell (endocarp) Tayanin & Bratthall & Rolfe (Kammu) of nuts. 2006 Rhus chinensis Mill. Vietnam (Viet) Gall nuts combined with iron Huard 1951, Sallet var. chinensis (syn. R. sulfate as part of complex 1928 semialata Murray) protocols. Semecarpus cuneiformis Luzon (Isneg) Resin from bark and pericarp. Vanoverbergh 1972 Blanco Apocynaceae Parameria laevigata (Juss.) Perak (Malay Wood tar of stem (including Burkill 1935, Wray Moldenke Peninsula) latex of bark?). 1893 Parameria polyneura Hook. f. Araceae Epipremnum pinnatum (L.) Bali, Java, Luzon Stems, root, leaf sheaths Cole 1913, Conklin Engl. (Agta of Casiguran, chewed, sometimes with lime 1958, Fuentes & Bikol, Tagalog), and areca nut. Cruz 1980, Garvan Mindoro (Hanunóo), 1931, Garvan Mindanao (Mansaka, 1964, Headland Mandaya, Manóbo) 1977, Rumphius 1747, Zumbroich & Salvador-Amores 2009 Arecaceae Areca catechu