234 VOYAGES OF A NATURALIST 



The kindly chief gave me oranges, bananas, 

 and coconuts, and after the repast, clapped his 

 hands for " kava " to be brought in. I was 

 then enabled to have my first taste of the 

 national drink of the Samoan and Fiji Islanders, 

 and as I have never seen a full description of 

 the manner in which kava is prepared, or the 

 ceremony of its drinking, I will describe here 

 what I saw. 



A large wooden bowl, its surface highly polished 

 by constant use, supported on four short wooden 

 legs, was first placed in position ; then facing it 

 we all sat cross-legged on the ground in a semi- 

 circle, and when all were seated the " towpow," 

 or chief dancing girl* of the village, to whom only 

 the preparation of the kava is entrusted, entered, 

 and took her seat facing us behind the bowl. 

 A lump of kavaf was next produced and cut up into 

 pieces of about the size of a walnut ; these were 

 beaten into shreds between two stones, and then, 

 being placed in the bowl, were covered with water 

 brought in coconut shells from the nearest 

 spring. When the bowl was nearly three parts 



* In calling the towpow the " chief dancing girl of the village," I 

 infer that she is the chosen " performer " in the native dance where all 

 the other " performers " are men. Towpow is Tahitian for virgin. 



t The dried root of a pepper tree. 



| Formerly the shredding of the kava root was done by the 4i towpows ' ' 

 chewing the root, but this custom is now prohibited by law. In one 

 village, situated some distance from the capital, I saw kava prepared 

 in the original way ; but so cleverly and quickly was it done that, had 

 I not been especially looking out for it, I should not have noticed 

 anything unusual. 



