Kava Ceremony In
p. 57 · Read in the full issue
Polynesia
A FEATURE, of the June issue of the Journal of the Polynesian Society (headquarters in Wellington, NZ) is a long, well-documented and illustrated article by Margaret Titcomb, entitled “Kava in Hawaii.” It is an excellent account of the history, peculiarities and traditions of the practice of growing kava and manufacturing the beverage in Hawaii; and much of what is said applies also to the kava-drinking prac tices and ceremonies of Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and other countries of Polynesia.
The drinking of kava is not a vicious or harmful habit. It is followed mostly by high-caste natives, and by many old European residents, who believe it has a healthful effect. Kava-drinking, as a ceremony, is one of the few outstanding practices common to all Polynesia—even in countries like Samoa and Hawaii which had been separated apparently for a very long time, the ceremony as first seen by Europeans, is similar in char acter and meaning.
Dr. Blanche Biggs who recently joined the Anglican Mission staff in New Guinea, was a passenger to Port Moresby on the August “Malaita.”