﻿HOUGH] KAVA DRINKING BY PAPUANS AND POLYNESIANS 89 



[n other parts of South America, maize was treated in the same 

 manner in the brewing of beer. Kava differs widely, however, from 

 this by not being- fermented. The object of chewing in the case 

 of the cassava beer seems to be in order to secure a suitable fer- 

 ment, which is always present in the secretions of the mouth. Again, 

 the conversion of starchy material by saliva is important to begin 

 the process of fermentation. On the other hand, custom may have a 

 strong influence, since they had an old superstition that " if it was 

 made by men it would be good for nothing." 1 



Yeast had its origin in some such custom. The Hopi and 

 Zuni Indians prepare yeast by chewing corn meal. Among the for- 

 mer, at least, the chewing is entrusted to girls and healthy women, 

 who seem to consume considerable time in the process. Among the 

 Hopi the yeast appears to be for immediate use; the Zuni add salt 

 and lime to the liquid, checking fermentation, and keep it for some 

 time without souring. In many parts of Mexico, also, yeast is pre- 

 pared by chewing. - 



The kava root was probably chewed as the most available way 

 to disintegrate its fibers. The tin grater found an immediate adop- 

 tion in Samoa. As an offset to the theory that the dialytic 

 action of saliva on the starch may render the liquid more pala- 

 table, is the claim of the Samoans that the quid is dry when de- 

 livered from the mouth ; but experiment shows that this is not the 

 case, the root provoking the secretion of saliva. However, the con- 

 tinued presence of the material in the mouth might check the action 

 of the salivary glands for a time. Another reason may be that 

 since kava drinking was a semi-religious ceremony, or at first highly 

 official in most islands, the custom may have been perpetuated as 

 one giving greater efficacy to the potion. 



Betel, which is extensively chewed by the Malays, Hindoos, Sia- 

 mese, and other peoples, is perhaps the most complicated in its pre 

 paration of any narcotic. Four different ingredients enter into the 

 quid, viz., leaves of the Chavica betele, chips of areca nut, gambier, 

 and lime, resembling in the assembly and combination of these ele- 

 ments the compounds of more civilized society. That part of the 

 betel compound which is of interest are the leaves of the piper, which 

 are described as being bitter aromatic. 3 



1 Kidder and Fletcher, op. cit, p. 191. 



"The Oroches of the Amur prepare a drink by chewing up fish and eject- 

 ing it into a bowl, as the Polynesians make kava. The Fish Skin Tatar-, 

 Jour. Asiatic Society of China, 1890. 



3 F. Grabowsky, Das hetelkauen bei dem malaiischen volkern, besonders 

 aus Java und Borneo, Intcniat. Archiv. f. Ethnog., 1888, v, p. 188. 



