77 Sangameshwar Going past the river of Dabhol and further along the coast towards Goa, one comes to a river called Sangameshwar. Upstream there is a place where there is trade in a lot of different merchandise and many small ships and zambucos from Malabar come here to sell what they have and buy local wares; this village is inhabited by the Mouros and gentiles of the Kingdom of Deccan. The Betele River and villages Heading further along the coast towards Goa, one comes to another river called Betele. Going upstream, there are some small villages with many lovely vegetable plots, where they harvest a large quantity of betel, which they load onto ships and take to sell in many places. We call this betel, Indian leaf. The leaf is the same size as a plantain and looks rather like it. It is a tree, like ivy, and grows up other trees. Some others form canopies, and they do not bear any fruit, just a very aromatic leaf that they commonly eat in India, both men and women by day and by night. They eat when sitting or walking during the day, and at night they even eat in bed, so they are always eating it. This leaf is mixed with a small fruit they call an areca, and before they eat it they moisten it with a shellfish lime, made of mussel and clam shells. When they have put these two things together with the betel, then they eat it. They only swallow the juice of it, it turns their mouths red and their teeth black. They say that this leaf is good for cleansing the stomach and protecting the stomach and the brain. It helps expel a lot of wind; quenches one’s thirst, and stops people from drinking. From this point onwards towards India, it is very common and is one of the main sources of income that the Indian kings have; the Arabians and Persian call this betel, tambul. Going further long the coast past the river Betel, one comes to other small villages with harbours, which belong to the Kingdom of Deccan,
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