ABSTRACT
An essential part of traditional Vietnamese life is the quid of betel,6 whose assembly finds immediate parallels in intercourse. It also mirrors the parts of the old legend surrounding it: the areca-nut tree (cau: male), the betel-vine twining round it (female) providing the leaf (vagina) to wrap round it, and the rock of lime at their base which, after grinding, produces lime-paste (vôi: both male and female) with which to dress leaf and nut.
