HOLMES ANNIVERSARY VOLUME 



Another lay proves the necessity of the food: 



'O sina meafono o ta o teua, Some food of the kava which I am keeping, 



'o nai talo ma se ulu'au, some taro and its cooked leaves, 



o alu ane se na te laulaua. let some one go and lay it out. 



'Ava e, 'o le 'a'ano a ali'i, Kava, thou meat of lords, 



'a le fonotia ta te lili. if there be no food I shall be angry. 



In another we see a character of the food set forth: 



'0 ni nai meafono, Some food of the kava, 



'a 'ua le 'ulu i Faleolo there is breadfruit of Faleolo 



tolia o sau mona toto, plucked from high branches bedewed with its 



gum,_ 



laulau le fa'afaleolo spread it out in choice morsels fit for lords 



'atoa ma le afiololo, along with baked taro pudding, 



'ua 'ano la ia meafono. this food is good. 



'0 i ai na 'o mea uta 'ea, Are there only things from the shore, 



'a e leai sina mea a tai? and nothing at all from the sea? 



Tu'ia le loli! Cut open a beche-de-mer! 



In the last citation we find an objection even though the food is 

 good: it is all from the land, there comes nothing from the sea, neither 

 fish nor mollusk. It is the expression of an ignorant craving for a 

 diversified ration, and the custom of eating the beche-de-mer and 

 other food raw is undoubtedly a recognition of the need of the vita- 

 mines. It characterizes the diet of the islanders, they are driven 

 only by hunger to make a meal of a single article of food. 



From the same sources in poetry we are able to discover that which 

 in the kava best meets and satisfies the Samoan sense of enjoyment. 

 Several of these kava songs begin with the ascription: 



'Ava e, 'ava taumanu, 'ava! Kava, sweet-smelling kava, kava! 



Of the kava in the bowl ready to serve, one bard rhapsodizes: 



E malama le sua fa'atioata, The liquor glitters like a mirror, 



e tino i lega i le u'u sama, it has the substance of turmeric in scented oil, 



e manogi le tino fa'alaga'ali, it has the fragrance of Aglaia blooms, 



'a e sasala le sua fa'afaguasi it diffuses an odor like gourds of oil scented 



with sandalwood 

 e ta'ilua tau. two years old. 



In the Lay of Tumele we find the pride of the kava bearer as well 

 as the fragrance of his burden: 



'Ou te le se tagata fa'atauva'a, I am no man of small account, 



'o a'u 'o le tagata o Lilomai'ava I am Lilomai'ava's man 



na'u sau ma nai o'u 'ava o'o 'ia and I have come with some of my kava to 



Tui'a'ana, Tui'a'ana, 



[62] 



