ON KAVA OR AVA. 307 



quently through the liquid, the filaments collect the fibrous particles, and 

 soon nothing is left in suspension except a tolerably large proportion of 

 fecula. They sometimes use the fluid contained in the cocoa-nut instead 

 of water, for mixing with the chewed root. The beverage is always served 

 out immediately after its preparation, without allowing it to undergo the 

 least fermentation. 



Kava is essentially a fluid drink, and of by no means attractive 

 appearance, uninviting especially to a person who has witnessed its prepa- 

 ration. The colour reminds one of cafe-au-lait, but sometimes, when the 

 leaves of the plant have been chewed with the root, a green colour is im- 

 parted to the beverage, which gives it a resemblance to the liquor absinth, 

 but it does not partake of the flavour of that liquor, as has been stated in 

 the excellent article on the Islands of the Pacific (Oceanie), published in 

 the ' Revue Contemporaire.' 



The aromatic odour of the Kava spirit rapidly attracts the little flies ; 

 the natives, therefore, take the precaution of covering the vessel containing 

 it either with the leaf of the Taro (Arum esculentum), or with a piece of the 

 leaf of the banana. 



\ The flavour is at first sweet, it then tastes pungent and acrid. In some 

 islands, the Kava root is mixed with very little water ; its effects are then 

 rapid, and half a cupful — that is, one of our glasses full — suffices to over- 

 power the most robust of the natives. At the Marquesas, the draught is 

 calculated by the number of mouthfuls of chewed root. Two mouthfuls 

 mixed in a glass of water constitutes the ordinary dose for each individual. 

 There are some drinkers, however, who mix three or four mouthfuls of it 

 in that quantity of water. Intoxication follows then almost instantaneously. 

 When the ordinary draught is taken, drunkenness does not ensue until 

 twenty minutes after the draught has been swallowed, but its effects are 

 immediate on those not accustomed to it. In many of the islands in the 

 Pacific, Kava is given on the occasion of an official reception ; it is the 

 offered and accepted token of hospitality, a sign of alliance. Formerly 

 the drinking of it always preceded warlike enterprises and religious festi- 

 vals. It was a sign of peace, of reconciliation, or the object of a rich 

 present. 



At Nukahiva it is a daily beverage, analogous to our tea or coffee. Its 

 use is interdicted to women and children. Taken in small closes, its effects 

 are tonic and stimulating, and it imparts the power of supporting easily 

 great fatigues. In large doses, it gives rise to a melancholy, silent, and 

 drowsy state of drunkenness, quite different to that brought on by alcoholic 

 liquors. The intoxication that it induces does not last longer than two 

 hours, but if a person only takes it occasionally, the effects may continue 

 for twelve. When taken at intervals of some days, the intoxication con- 

 tinues for six hours. The confirmed Kava-drinkers, in order to sustain 

 their drunken state, imbibe it six or eight, or even more times a day. 

 Arrived at the sixth or eighth dose, they are seized with a nervous tremor, 

 so violent that they can no longer carry the cup to their lips, and require 



y 2 



