﻿88 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS [VOL. 47 



Cyperia ductus, and drawing them repeatedly between two pieces of 

 wood, securing the fiber filaments. The use of the fau is an art. It 

 is dropped into the kava and by the most dexterous manipulations 

 is made to enmesh the pulp, which is wrung dry and thrown aside. 



The kava plant is cultivated in the Marquesas, where the infusion 

 is used morning and evening like tea and coffee. In Tonga it is still 

 in use, and also in Fiji, the home of the kava habit and where the 

 liquor is called yakona. 



Kava is at first stimulating, but the effect of an excess resembles 

 that of opium, producing a drowsy drunkenness, lasting for two 

 hours. The inebriate is usually peaceable, but sometimes is irritated 

 by noises, which is attributed by natives to the use of kava grown 

 in moist ground. The results of excess are skin disease, emaciation, 

 and general decrepitude. The peculiar whiteness of the skin caused 

 by kava drinking is said to be sought after in some islands as a sign 

 that its possessor is wealthy enough to devote his time to its 

 acquirement. 



Kava was formerly drunk before warlike enterprises and religious 

 festivals. It was a sign of peace, reconciliation, or of a rich present. 

 The social element more frequently preponderated in the kava 

 custom. In Samoa, ava circles or clubs were formed, and an objec- 

 tion of the natives to the introduction of Christianity on that island 

 was that it would " break up our pleasant ava circles." 



There is some misapprehension in regard to whether the liquid 

 undergoes fermentation before it is consumed, but it is positively 

 known that there can be no fermentation, for the liquor is drunk 

 immediately after the addition of water to the macerated root. 

 This beverage uniquely differs from all other drinks invented by 

 man. Kava that is prepared by chewing is said to be more pala- 

 table, which is perhaps due to the conversion of the starch into a 

 fermentable substance by the ptyalin of the saliva. 



An account of kava would not be complete without a comparison 

 with other beverages that have some points in common in their prep- 

 aration. In Brazil, a drink called chica is made from cassava by the 

 Indians. " The roots were sliced, boiled till they became soft, and 

 set aside to cool. The young women then chewed them, after which 

 they wire returned into the vessel, which was filled with water, and 

 once more boiled, being stirred the whole time. When this process 

 had been continued sufficiently long, the unstrained contents were 

 poured into earthen jars and allowed to ferment." 1 



1 Kidder and Fletcher, Brazil and the Brazilians, Phila., 1857, p. 190. 



