Totemic Crocodile Bessi Totemic Islander Art, Large Bamboo Lime Container, Handmade Ornate Wood Canister, Vintage Tribal Timor outlet Trinket Box

Totemic Crocodile Bessi Totemic Islander Art, Large Bamboo Lime Container, Handmade Ornate Wood Canister, Vintage Tribal Timor Trinket Box, Wooden Lime Bettelnut, Vintage 1970s Home Decor, Indonesia Ethnic Box, Hand Carved Wood Art, Primitive Decor, Wooden Container, Abstract Engraved Box, Small Wood Bottle, Tribal Rustic Decor, Tribal Amulet Art, Ethnic Southeast Asia Art, Highland Atoni People, Amanatun District

Dimensions 9.35" x 1.8" x 1.8" inches / Weight 130 outlet grams / All measurements are approximate

The present item is a finely carved bamboo lime container with a hand carved decorative motif "bessi" crocodile symbol of ancestors kinship etched into the surface. The patina is deep and the ends have been sealed with rosewood (ptreocarpus indicus) stoppers. The Highland Atoni People have always been enthusiastic practitioners of the betel nut ceremony which has both formal and informal formats. The artifact is in excellent vintage condition and there is residual lime powder in the container, also noticed something like a scratch on surface, see pics.

Chewing the mixture of areca nut and betel leaf is a tradition, custom or ritual which dates back thousands of years in much of the geographical areas from South Asia eastward to the Pacific. It constitutes an important and popular cultural activity in many Asian and Oceanic countries, It is not known how or when the areca nut and the betel leaf were first combined into one psychoactive drug. Archaeological evidence from Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines suggests they have been used in tandem for at least 4000 years.

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