Thailand is close to the southwest of China, and its customs and habits are similar to those of the border nationalities in China. Dai, Jinuo and Bulang people in our country all have the habit of dyeing their teeth with "pigment" made by vegetable fat cigarettes. Because the pigment made of vegetable fat cigarettes is shiny and lacquered, it is also called "tooth painting". Dai men and women in Yunnan began at the age of 14 or 15. You have the habit of painting your teeth with wood smoke. You think the darker the teeth, the better. So the bride should dye her teeth black when she gets married. Jinuo people dye their teeth with "pigment", but they use pear wood. The method is to put the exploded pear wood into a bamboo tube, cover it with an iron pan, and when the smoke oil on the iron pan turns into luminous black paint, hold the iron pan and dye the teeth with the pear wood smoke oil on it. The "pigment" of the Bulang people's teeth dyeing is made of red hair branches. The method is to ignite the red hair branches, let black smoke smoke on the iron pan, and accumulate black smoke for later use.

In addition to the decorative effect of "the darker the teeth, the more beautiful they are", blackened teeth are like a layer of "pigment", which has a protective effect. At the same time, it is more obvious that "tooth painting" is also a means of expressing love, which may also include some primitive worship. The tooth dyeing of Jino nationality is also a manifestation of mutual love and respect. When young men and women get together, girls often bring iron sheets to young people they admire to dye their teeth. This custom is an ancient tradition of Jinuo people. It is said that people who don't learn this custom will not be welcomed by ancestors and ghosts after death. The internal meaning of the custom of tooth painting of Bulang nationality is similar to this. Yan described it in the article "Love and Marriage of the Bulang people": "In the evening after the autumn harvest, (Brown) girls wear dresses and tight tops, especially costumes, spinning or weaving grass rafts by the fireplace in groups of three or five, waiting for young men to visit. Night finally came, and a group of guys playing piccolo or tinkling three strings came. The girls quickly asked them to sit down and say hello. While talking and laughing, they smoke black smoke from the iron pot with red hair branches to help young men dye their teeth, and then young men also burn black smoke to help girls dye their teeth, or during religious festivals every year, young men and women get together to help each other dye their teeth. People who have dyed their teeth are considered to have entered adulthood and have since gained the right to fall in love and get married. "

Dai, Jinuo and Bulang people have two things in common when dyeing their teeth. One is to use black resin smoke, and the other is to dye it bright black. In contrast, some Hani people are dyed red, and the dye is a plant called "purple stem". When young Hani men and women reach the age of 15, friends of the same age in the same village invite each other, choose a time and place, dye each other's teeth and put on purple terrier headdresses, indicating that they have entered youth, and both men and women can find someone to fall in love and get married. In addition, in some branches of Gaoshan nationality in Taiwan Province Province, young people also brush their teeth with a kind of weeds every day, which makes their teeth darker and darker.

Another way to dye teeth is to chew betel nut. Chewing betel nut is a hobby of ethnic minorities living in hot and humid areas. Its purpose is not to dye teeth, but to dye teeth unconsciously in the process of chewing betel nut. Among the ethnic minorities in China, Dai, Bulang, Wa, Achang and Li all have the custom of chewing betel nuts, and some Zhuang people also have the custom of chewing betel nuts. However, not all "chewing betel nuts" chew real betel nuts. In fact, many ethnic minorities chew betel nut substitutes, but they are still called "chewing betel nut".

Areca catechu, an evergreen tree of Palmae, has oval and orange-red fruit. The flowers and fruits of Areca catechu are fragrant, edible and medicinal, and have the functions of promoting digestion, eliminating food accumulation, killing insects, reducing qi and promoting blood circulation. Modern medical research shows that areca nut contains alkaloids, arecoline and tannic acid, which can excite the central nervous system, promote metabolism, dissolve fat and help digestion. Most of the Dai people in China live in the "miasma area" in the border area of Yunnan, which is hot, humid and rainy. In order to prevent diseases, they chew betel nuts. This style has continued until now, and betel nut has not only become a good treat for guests, but also a symbol of celebration, auspiciousness, unity and harmony.

On traditional festivals, the Dai people in Yuanjiang and Xinping, Yunnan, are used to picking a few strings of betel nuts, washing them with water and decorating them with gold foil and red ribbon. They are placed in conspicuous places at home as decorations, which are very elegant. It's interesting for them to chew betel nuts. Every time they chew betel nuts, the first one should be devoutly dedicated to a respected elder or elder, which means respecting the elderly. The second betel nut belongs to the youngest child in the family, which means to pass on the caress, hope and wisdom of the older generation to the next generation. Finally, distribute betel nuts to other family members in turn. Because of chewing betel nut for a long time, the teeth turned from red to black. It is said that chewing betel nut will not harm "worm teeth" and "less tooth disease".

The "betel nut" chewed by the Wa and Achang nationalities is not the betel nut produced in trees, but an artificial substitute. The Wa people's "Penang Nuo" is boiled with chestnut leaves and lime, that is, the chestnut leaves are brought home, boiled in a pot, then mixed with hydrated lime to make it semi-liquid (paste), scooped out and placed on the shell of bamboo shoots, and then solidified and hardened to form a round-cake-shaped "betel nut". This homemade "betel nut" can be used as a commodity and given to relatives and friends, except for personal use. When chewing this kind of betel nut, tobacco, lime and other things should be connected to increase irritation, which is similar to chewing real betel nut. Achang women have the habit of "chewing betel nuts" after marriage. They actually chewed grass smoke and reeds, and Hei Chi chewed them for a long time with the same red lips. They think the black pool is beautiful.

Chewing betel nut and dyeing teeth to make it permanently black are associated with beauty, love and marriage. Dai women think that the white teeth of Han men are "as ugly as horse teeth", but there is a poem like "Beautiful girls with shiny black teeth" in their poems. Young Dai men and women in Yuanjiang and Xinping rely on "Enmalai" to express their love and engagement, that is, to give betel nuts. Betel nuts with little cloth wool are put in purses, and betel nuts with little cloth wool are put in delicate small boxes. When the wedding is festive, it is even more necessary not to entertain guests with betel nuts.

Betel nut is like smoking and drinking tea. Chewing too much will become addictive and become a special hobby. Huang Tingjian, a representative of Jiangxi Poetry School in Song Dynasty, was relegated to Yizhou (now Yishan, Guangxi) in his later years. Influenced by Zhuang people, he also lived in eat areca. After he was addicted to them, he even wrote a poem, asking people to send betel nuts: "It's rather rainy, so I can't laugh at the poor county magistrate and bother you to send betel nuts." Writing the scene of betel nut fruit and the benefits of chewing betel nut show the deep feelings of this "poor county magistrate" for betel nut: perhaps, the teeth of this famous poet in Song Dynasty were also dyed black.

The last way to change the color of teeth is to wrap them with gold or silver. Before liberation, Zhuang women in Youjiang, Guangxi, always wrapped a layer of gold paper or silver paper on their canine teeth for decoration when going out or receiving guests, and took them off when eating or sleeping. The Deang people in Yunnan once had the custom of "covering their heads with golden teeth", so they have been called "Golden Tooth Flower People" since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and the area where they live is even called "Golden Tooth Country". The scope of the "Golden Tooth Country" is wider than that of the De 'ang area now, including parts of the Dai or other ethnic groups. Kyle. 6? 1 after arriving in western Yunnan, Poirot wrote in his travel notes: "People here decorate their teeth with gold. Needless to say, everyone's teeth are inlaid with gold, such as teeth, and they are covered on the teeth, up and down. " Today, there are still ethnic minorities in Yunnan who have gold teeth and silver teeth, but that is no different from that in Han areas. Selected from Yunnan topics