Formerly, nginang (chew betel) is the pride of the women of Kemiren Village. However, what is experienced by the traditional village community is the opposite at this time. The local women began to consider nginang outdated. Dozens of women, all of whom are at least half a century old, sit in a row on plastic chairs placed under a permanent hut in Kemiren Village., Glagah District, Banyuwangi, that morning (6/10).
With skin that has started to wrinkle, The grandmother's lips look red. The red color that sticks to the lips of old women, it's not caused by lipstick scratches. Red accent, it comes from leftover kinangan (betel mixture, pinang, gambier, and enjet or chalk) which they consume every day. Yes, the old women 50 more years, it's been a nightmare routine since decades ago. That morning, they deliberately gathered to follow the nginang and nyisig race (brushing teeth with tobacco) which is a series of Kemiren Festivals.
The committee was moved to hold this unique competition, to "widen the eyes" of the women of Kemiren Village who incidentally are the successors of the elderly about the benefits of nginang. Because now, the women of Kemiren Village who are over the age of 17 years seem reluctant to continue the ancestral tradition. They think that ginang is an ancient and outdated custom. as a result, the successor to the nginang tradition, now only women are old.
Chairman of the Kemiren Festival committee, Mastuki doesn't deny the phenomenon. according to her, Currently, the young women of Kemiren Village are starting to leave the nginang tradition which has been passed down from generation to generation by their ancestors. "In the past, nginang was the pride of the women of Kemiren Village, Today's young generation actually thinks that ginang is an ancient and outdated habit," he said. Because of that, to stimulate interest among women in Kemiren Village, especially young women who are over the age of 17 year, The Nginang Festival was held.
Mastuki admitted that his party had coordinated with the Health Service (Health Office) Banyuwangi to know the benefits of nginang. “It turns out that the nut is not bad for health, In fact, there are several benefits that can be obtained from the habit of ginang. Teeth become strong and prevent bad breath," he explained. Mastuki's statement about the benefits of nangang doesn't seem like a figment. Our search, the teeth of the grandmothers who are the participants in the nginang competition who routinely remember the gizzards every day, it still looks strong.
Even, even though he's old 50 more years, we did not find any participants whose teeth had fallen out. Mahani for example. Old women 60 This year, admits that he has been doing the habit of ginang since he was just married at the age of a dozen years. Because you are used to chewing betel nut mixed with areca nut, gambier, and chalk, Mahani admitted to never having a toothache. “My teeth are getting stronger. We will see, to be old like this, none of my teeth fell out,' he said, showing his teeth.
Another participant, lipatin, 70, say things that are not much different. Besides being able to make teeth strong, Ginang also functions to prevent bad breath. He added, nginang activity is usually followed by nyisig. Nyisig functions to clean the remaining kinangan that sticks to the teeth. “Despite the many benefits, Today's young people rarely want to continue the tradition of nginang,"He regretted.
Meanwhile, one of the dentists in Banyuwangi, drg. Wahyu Primawati says, in principle, nginang is good for dental health. Because, one of the kinangan ingredients, namely lime or enjet, contains calcium so it can serve to strengthen the enamel or the outer layer of teeth. "That's why even though there was no toothpaste in ancient times, but the teeth of the wise are strong," he explained. Apart from chalk, one of the other kinangan materials, Betel is also good for oral health.
Betel contains anti-septic so that it can function to prevent bad breath. “Kapur, betel, and other kinangan materials are not ingested. So it's okay. It's actually good for dental health. Just aesthetically, nginang can leave color on the lips," he said. Another source mentions, nginang function is unchanged by raga fi tness. If in fitness, the muscles that are trained are the body's muscles, people who ginang train the jaw muscles and make the salivary glands come out faster. Because of that, The saliva automatically cleans the teeth and oral cavity so as to prevent bad breath. (radar)
