The sharing of the ingredients of the betel chew is a ritualized, albeit tiny, gesture of friendship among Manobos during face-to-face meetings. It is essentially an act of courtesy and politeness, of respect that recognizes the encounter of a person who is related to the self.

    To be offered the areca quid wrapped in betel piper leaf and sprinkled with lime by a person is to be invited and encouraged to converse with the giver. It is a culturally-defined, yet rooted in the universal impulse for human kindness, like a pat on the back of the guest made by the host that facilitates the opening up of the sphere of human conversation that the physical, face-to-face situation initially brought about.