COCOS NUCIFEKA. 237 



"to be fit only for plaiting sinnet," as applied to a rainy day; "to be neither too 

 old nor too young," as applied to coconuts fit for making sinnet; "afa-afai," a verb 

 signifying ' ' to wind sinnet around the handle of a weapon to prevent it from slipping; ' ' 

 "afa-pala," "sinnet stained black by steeping it in the black mud of a swamp;" 

 ' ' af ata ai, " "a large roll of sinnet. " a In every native house of Samoa there are large 

 rolls of sinnet, and these are used in part as currency in paying a housebuilder, a 

 canoe maker, or a tatooer for his work. Together with their fine mats they may be 

 said to constitute the capital of the Samoans. In Guam in place of coconut sinnet 

 the natives use the leaves of the "aggag" (Pandanus tectorius) for lashing together 

 the framework of their houses, fences, and the like. 



The custom of making a fermented drink from the sap of the coconut palm, of 

 which the Polynesians are ignorant, was introduced into Guam by the Filipinos 

 brought by the Spaniards to assist in reducing the natives. Before the arrival of the 

 Spaniards the aborigines had no intoxicating drink. The spathe of the young 

 inflorescence is wrapped with strips of the green leaf to prevent its bursting and 

 allowing the branches of the spadix to spread. The tip of the flower cluster is then 

 sliced off with a sharp knife and gently curved, so that the sap may bleed into 

 the joint of bamboo hung to receive it. This sap is collected at regular intervals, 

 usually every morning and evening, and poured into a large bamboo, all of the septa 

 but the lowest of which have been removed. The sap flows most freely at night. 

 When the flow of sap becomes reduced owing to the healing of the wound, another 

 thin slice is cut off the tip, and the flow of the sap begins afresh. Toddy, or 

 "tuba," as this liquid is called in Guam, is very much like cider in taste and con- 

 sistency. At first it is sweet and may be converted into sirup or sugar by boiling, 

 but it soon begins to ferment and acquires a sharp taste, somewhat like hard cider, 

 which is very agreeable if the receptacle has been kept thoroughly clean and free 

 from insects. The natives, however, are apt to be careless and do not cleanse the 

 bamboos each time they are emptied, so that the tuba is apt to have an offensive 

 odor and flavor from putrefying organic matter. Care is taken in gathering the 

 tuba not to 6pill it on the leaves and flower clusters of the tree, as this invites the 

 attacks of insects. In some countries it is customary to coat the inner surface of the 

 receptacles with whitewash of lime to prevent fermentation if the tuba is intended 

 for sugar making. If tuba is desired for drinking purposes, the bamboo receptacles 

 should be scalded out daily. The natives of Guam use fermenting tuba for yeast in 

 making bread. This is made from imported wheat flour, and is snowy white and 

 light. If the fermentation goes on unchecked the tuba is converted into vinegar, 

 which is of an excellent quality. Under the usual conditions after having fermented 

 four hours, tuba contains sufficient alcohol to be intoxicating. 



AGUARDIENTE. 



From the fermented liquid a kind of rum is distilled, called "aguayente" (aguar- 

 diente) by the natives of Guam and "arak" in the East Indies. The distilling of 

 aguayente was the only industry in Guam up to the time of the American occupation. 

 It has been prohibited by an official order on account of its evil effects upon our men. 

 By double distillation almost pure alcohol was obtained. Good aguayente compares 

 very favorably with Mexican mescal, and tuba is far more agreeable to the taste of 

 the uninitiated than pulque, the fermented sap of Agave. Aguayente was seldom 

 drunk to excess by the natives of Guam, but according to Padre Blanco its immoder- 

 ate use by the Filipinos caused great harm, resulting in sleeplessness, loss of appetite, 

 premature old age, extraordinary obesity, and diseases resembling dropsy and scurvy 



a Pratt, Grammar and Dictionary of the Samoan Language, ed. 3, p. 65, 1893. 



