Indigenous Market: The Blooming Industry Of Momma (Chewing Betel Nuts)

 It's not new to me to see people consuming Momma. In our local dialect, we even call it "Ma-ma", and the one who does be called "Agmama-ma". It had been part of Filipino tradition, but people thought and viewed this practice seems not appropriate, or this was disgusting views in other faces. But not me. I found it unique and part of people's daily lives nearby. I stayed at my uncle's place from Monday to Thursday for three weeks. I started to know more people and somehow understand their thoughts and lifestyle. One that always caught my attention is how the "Sari-sari store" or local convenience stores have flooded with some indigenous materials. They are a commodity in the place. It's much more popular than street foods or junk food, unlike others. ## So What is Ma-ma (Momma)? The first impression you will see when someone smiles at you and has red stains on their teeth, the first thing that comes to your mind is that "momma" is a kind of chewing practice adding different indigenous materials such as peperomia leaves, betel nut, lime, and some adding tobacco leaf in it. I don't know if there was some addicting substance that would make them from time to time have this in their mouth. They believed that this would make their teeth stronger, well calcium in the lime might help, but some are not that hygienic anyways. When I was still in college, we were obliged to visit some remote areas to conduct surveys in Farming and Agriculture. But the challenge is that you have to be fair to them. Some people that live in remote areas could not have the same thinking as regular people. They will not give you eyes on what you are showing unless you give them fair attention. One of the recommendations my professor gave us that,"**Be like them when they offer you drink receive and have shots**" then comes that we needed to talk to elderly farmers. What they offered was a bag of momma kits. There was no problem for one of my mates also having the taste of Momma, but I was the problem. My partner in field study knew what I had been worried about, so he was the one who made the concentrations. He added the nut in peperomia leaves, folded and added the white powder. He said I must crew them all together and have some tobacco leaves. The peperomia leaves gave a strong taste, and the lime triggered a hot feeling on my tongue. Added the tobacco leaves left me a menthol taste, but there are still many taste combinations that I cannot explain. I just endured the like until I spit colour saliva. That was the Momma. Most of the people I meet having this Momma are hardworking men; they said it gives them strength and power. Maybe because they were continuously chewing the leaves or the menthol feels. Or the mind was triggering their heads, so they are not hungry when chewing it. # The Indigenous Market. The demand for Momma was at its peak at the moment. Not just men but also women are consuming the commodity. This made most of the store introduce this as a business venture. I am always curious because the community population is not that high in number, but the daily supply is huge.  This is the betel nut, and it was matured drupe fruit. Curious, what was the taste of the betel nut? It's the same as the coconut meat when chewed. Just that it was harder than regular coconut meat. It was so intense that it always needed to be hydrated, even though it had already matured. People will buy the watered drupe over the dry one, and it is much easier to open up the husk over the dry drupe.  The price depends on the per piece of the drupe cluster, 5 pesos or $0.10 per price of the betel nut. It's more affordable in the local home over the wet market, giving double the fake nuts cost. ## The leaves.  These are two leaves ingredients in making Momma the leaves of peperomia and the dry leaves of tobacco. The price also varies on the quality of the leaves, the fresh leaves of peperomia cost 15 pesos per 10 leaves, and the tobacco leaves also vary in type. Like the tobacco industry, the plant's upper leaves are more expensive than the Class B and C at the bottom. The tobacco leaves they were selling were just Class C, so it was a low price of 15 pesos for each bag. ## The Lime. Lime is food-grade calcium. The lime will counteract the peperomia and tobacco. Also, the lime made the red color of the saliva, making it famous. ## The Package.  Most convenient when they buy a package, it contains all the materials in the Momma. The dry and fresh leaves, lime, and drupe of betel nut. In the developing countries upgrading, the Momma and the Luzon region are still expanding and more uses, the consumption becomes in demand, and the business grows. The cultural and indigenous are still alive despite so many contributing factors.