APPENDIX A 217 



Tongan kava name of a root ; a beverage of intoxicating qual- 



ity ; any spirituous liquor ; the beard. 

 kakava perspiration. 

 Marquesan kava or kaava a root which is chewed as an intoxicant ; 

 also used in modern times to refer to tobacco. 

 kavahia bitter, sour, sharp. . 

 Rarotongan kava sour, sharp, pungent. 



Mangarevan kava acrid, bitter, a variety of taro, the edible root 

 of Colocasia antiquorum Schott; also to any shrub 

 yielding the liquor kava. 

 kava-kava slightly acid taste. 

 aka-kava bitter, harsh to taste. 

 Paumotan kava disagreeable to take. 



kavakava acid, sharp, bitterness, grief. 

 Mangaian kava or cava an intoxicating beverage prepared from 

 the root of the kava plant. Fiper methysticum 

 Forst. 

 Throughout Polynesia, the term Kawu or Kawakawa frequently 

 refers to the shrub Piper excelsum Forst. or to Piper methysticum 

 Forst. These plants are sacred shrubs which are used in religious 

 ceremonies. A branch is often used to strike a boat to remove evil 

 spirits; to open a new building with priestly ceremonies; or to per- 

 form a sort of baptism. One of these shrubs is often planted by 

 the native priest after naming a child. 



In the eastern dialect Motu, kava has the meaning 'to be crazed,' 

 and kava-kava signifies folly or a foolish condition. In the dialect 

 Aneityum, kava refers to Piper methysticum Forst., from which an 

 intoxicating drink is made. 



A survey of the foregoing pages clearly shows that authors since 

 the eleventh century have misinterpreted the philology of Kahwah 

 and its use to signify our coffee-beverage. The term arose from 

 the Dravidlan languages and, as seen below, It has maintained Its 

 underlying meaning throughout Its evolution. 



The term originally Implied anything possessing bitter or pungent 

 qualities, and came to refer to a very pungent wine which was pre- 

 pared from various plants, usually a species of Piper (pepper). Fi- 

 nally It was used to signify a drink prepared from acid substances, 

 then to a pungent intoxicating drink, and, in some localities, to all 



