Tamul (Pack of 3)

When you visit an Assamese home, the host will dole out a small platter of betel nut and offer you before or after water or tea is served. This is also a custom seen in many homes in Meghalaya. The other states in the region may not go to the extent of offering it to their guests, but they do not love it any lesser. Most of them begin their day with kwai and end with kwai. It would be hard to count the number of nuts an individual would consume in a day :).

The sentiment resonates all over the region even though the reason may not be the same as that of the Khasis. In Assam, for instance, even a wedding is incomplete without betel nut. Right from the invitation till the celebration, betel nut is an important ingredient. If an invitation for wedding comes without the tamul it could convey that the host are not very keen on your presence. In important festivals like Bihu, betel nut has its defined place. During Bhogali Bihu which is a harvest festival, betel nuts along with other items like rice cake or pithas are burned as an offering to the God of Fire.

The Assamese get their supply of tamul from their own state where it grows in abundance. Tamul is served to guests on a small platter along with fresh betel leaves, which is pleasing to the eye. It is used as a decoration and gifted to men and women who have achieved something remarkable as a mark of honour during felicitations. This age-old tradition is still followed by the Assamese even to this day.