694 NOTE ON THE "kEU" OF THE MACLAY-COAST, NEW GUINEA, 



On the Islands of Micronesia, according to Gerland (1), the use 

 of the " Kava " has been known at the Islands Kusaie, Ponape, 

 and Truck, and was called the " Saka " beverage, but on these 

 Islands the root was not chewed but ground between stones. 



In Melanesia the use of the " Kava " has been recorded : in Fiji, 

 introduced from Tonga (2), in some Islands of the New-Hebrides 

 (as Tanna, Tate, Aneityum and Crera), where this custom is also of 

 Polynesian origin. (3) 



How the use of the " Keu " became known to the natives of the 

 Maclay-Coast, remains still to be found out. 



As already mentioned in a former paper (4), the use of the 

 Keu-beverage is not adopted in all the villages of that coast, 

 although the plant is known. In the same paper, I had the 

 opportunity of stating the information from the Rev. W. G. 

 Lawes, that the Piper methysticu m grows wild on the south-east 

 of New-Guinea without the natives knowing or making use of it. 

 Rev. G. Brown wrote to me a few days ago about a similar case in 

 New Britain and New Ireland, and the Solomon Islands, where the 

 Piper methysticum (or an allied species) grows wild, but the 

 natives don't know the use of it. (5) 



It is not uninteresting, that in Polynesia the plant and the 

 beverage prepared from it, are called " Kava " (^Tonga, Rarotonga, 

 New Zealand, Marquesas), and " Ava " (Samoa and Hawaii), in 

 Micronesia, " Saka," in Fiji-" Yagona," whilst at the Maclay- 

 Coast, the same, or an allied plant is known under many names, 

 as " Keu," " Keuva," " Isse," " Kial," " Ayo," " Segu," and very 

 likely many more. 



(1) Waitz Gerland. Loc. cit., Vter. Theil., zweite Abtheil., jd. 78. 



(2) Er.skine. Loc. cit., p. 263. 



(3) WaUz-Gerland. Vlter. Th. Dritte Abtheil, p. 578. 



(4) List of plants in use by the natives of tlie Maclay-Coast 



(5) Here the portion of Rev. G. Brown's letter to me referring to the 

 subject : — " I have not seen the natives of New Briton, New Ireland, or 

 " the Solomons use the " Kava," nor do they know its use though it grows 

 " there. I got large roots of it, and natives from other islands said it was 

 "the true " Kava," but not being cultivated it was coarse, and as they 

 " soon began to use the Betel nut as the other natives, they did not use it." 



