- FLORA VITIENSIS. 261 
Hibiscus), or, in the absence of them, through fern leaves. When the beverage is ready, the chant is dis- 
continued, and the priest or any head man present pronounces a toast or prayer over it, after which the 
first cup—a cocoa-nut shell—is handed to the person of highest rank in the assembly. The Kawa is taken 
out of the bowl by means of the strainer, which is dipped into the fluid, and then squeezed. Although 
both bowl and cup are always carefully dried and cleaned after having been used, a crust invariably forms 
at the inside, giving them the appearance as if they had been enamelled. This crust, after a lapse of 
three or four months, is carefully scraped off, and makes the strongest of all Yaqona. The beverage has the 
look of coffee with plenty of milk in it, and an aromatie slightly pungent taste, which, when once acquired, 
must, like all acquired tastes, be perfectly irresistible. Drunk in moderation, it has probably no bad effect, 
and acts upon the system somewhat like betel-nut; but, taken in excess, it generates all sorts of skin- 
diseases, and weakens the eyesight. Nearly all the lower class of whites in the Fiji are Kawa drinkers, 
some regular drunkards; and it is generally accepted as a proof of a man belonging to the more respectable 
portion of society if he refrains from touching this filthy preparation. Most of these whites prefer it pre- 
pared in true Polynesian fashion; only a few have the root rasped on a grater—a process said to impair the 
flavour considerably. Roots of Yaqona are presented to visitors as tokens of goodwill, and to the temples 
as offerings. “I have also seen the leaves of the plant hung up in the temples, together with the little twigs 
of the Waltheria Americana. As we in Europe, when engaging soldiers or servants, hand a small coin in 
proof that the bargain has been accepted, so the Fijians, when effecting a bargain or sale, give or take a 
small deposit, which is called the “Yaqona,” and either consists of a piece of Kawa-root, or any other article 
that may prove acceptable. Drinking Kawa being peculiar to all light-skinned Polynesian tribes, Thomson 
(€ Story of New Zealand? London, 1859: vol. i. p. 193) expresses surprise that the Maoris of New Zealand 
should have forgotten the art of extracting it, “seeing that the plant (Piper methysticum, Forst.) grows 
abundantly in the country.” But the Piper found wild in New Zealand is not, as Thomson supposes, the 
Piper methysticum, Forst. (the true Kawa plant), but the Piper excelsum of the same author (Macropiper 
excelsum, Miq.). Hence it can form no surprise that a genuine Polynesian people should have forgotten 
the art alluded to during the long lapse of time intervening between their departure from Samoa and their 
discovery by Europeans. They have, however, preserved the name of “ Kawa,” which they have transferred 
to their indigenous pepper (Kawa-kawa), and also to a beverage (Kawa) made of the fruits of the Coriaria 
myrtifolia, Linn., a plant by them termed Tupa-Kihi, Tutu, or Puhou. Kawa-kawa, according to Colenso’s 
statement in J. D. Hooker’s ‘Flora of New Zealand, signifies “piquant.” Thomson attempts to trace 
Kawa, Kava, or Ava, as the various Polynesian dialects have it, to the Sanscrit “ Kasya,” which seems to be a 
general term for intoxicating beverages. It is strange that in the Abyssinian province of Cafe (see Harris’s 
Highlands of Ethiopia’) the name of “ Kah-wah” should be given to coffee. The word “ Kawa ” is not 
preserved in the Vitian language, except in the instance of “ Wa-Gawa” (literally the climbing Kawa), the ver- 
nacular name of Piper insectifugum, Casim. DC. The medicinal properties of the Kawa-plant have claimed 
some attention. In the French translation of Golding Bird’s work on Calculous Affections, Dr. O’Rorke 
has inserted, amongst others, the following remarks :—“ The Kawa-plant is the most powerful sudorific in 
- existence, and its stimulant qualities render it applicable in those cases in which colchicum is prescribed. ... 
The intoxication it produces is not like that caused by spirituous liquors, but rather induces a placid tran- 
quillity, accompanied by incoherent dreams. Kawa is as powerful in its therapeutic action as lignum vitæ 
or guaiacum, sarsaparilla, etc., and the islanders use it as a specific against the diseases brought over to 
them by foreign vessels. On the other hand, this drug, used to excess as an intoxicating agent, over- 
excites the skin by its sudorific effects, and eventually even occasions elephantiasis. . . . The chemical con- 
stituents, according to Gobley, are as follows :—carbon, 62:03; hydrogen, 6:10; nitrogen, 112; oxygen, 
30-75. It contains 26 per cent. of cellulose, 49 per cent. of starch, one of methysticine, a erystallizable 
principle, two of an acrid resin called Kawine, and about 7 per cent. of gum, iron, and magnesia, and a few 
substanees of minor importance." In a paper which M. Cuzent laid before the Academy of Sciences at 
"Paris, in 1861, the chemical composition of the Kavahine (thus it is spelt in the report at hand), the active 
erystallizable principle of the Kawa, identical, it would seem, with what Gobley terms “ Methysticine," is 
thus given: no nitrogen, 66 per cent. of carbon, 6 of hydrogen, and 28 of oxygen. - 
2. P. latifolium, Forst. Prodr. n. 22, et Icon. (ined.) t. 13; Sol. Prim. Fl. Ins. Pacif. (ined.) 
p. 205 ; Parkins. Icon. (ined.) t. 7; foliis coriaceo-membranaceis (stirp. 9) utrinque glabris v. sub- 
tus puberulis rotundatis basi truncatis v. leviter concavis, apice brevissime protracto obtusis, 11-18- 
nerviis, petiolis stipulaceo-alatis; amentis ? aggregatis axillaribus.—Macropiper ar Aes Miq. 
Syst. Pip. p. 218. Nomen vernac. Tahitense, teste Solander et Forster, * Ava avaidai.’ —Taviuni 
(Seemann ! n. 566). Also collected in the Society Islands (Banks and Solander! Forster ! Bidwill !), 
Tana, New Hebrides (Anderson !), and Tongan Islands (Forster !). 
[PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 28, 1868.] 2M 
