The root was scraped and washed, then reduced to small pieces. The drink is made from the root, which is woody, slightly spongy, toughish and roughly gnarled. It assists in opening communication channels with others and with the elements. ʻAwa is also a sedative, used as a sacred plant for prayer, as well as appreciated for pleasure, especially in the south Pacific islands. It is valued as an intoxicating drink and as a medicine. In the discovery of Hawaiʻi by Hawaii-loa, ʻawa is noted in the find, “One time when they (Hawaii-Loa and his company) had thus been long out on the ocean, Makaliʻi, the principal navigator, said to Hawaii-Loa: ‘Let us steer the vessel in the direction of Iao, the Eastern Star, the discoverer of land … There is land to the eastward, and here is a red star … to guide us … So they steered straight onward and arrived at the easternmost island … They went ashore and found the country fertile and pleasant, filled withʻ awa, coconut trees … and Hawaii-Loa, the chief, called that land after his own name … (Fornander) In places where no water could be found with which to prepare the ʻawa, Kāne even caused water to appear, thus forming many springs and streams in the islands. These two akua Kāne, a Hawaiian god and ancestor of the chiefs and commoners, a god of sunlight, fresh water, verdant growth, and forests and Kanaloa, a god of the ocean, marine life, healing, and a companion of Kāne – planted ʻawa at various localities throughout the islands. Perhaps the most significant narratives describe ʻawa as having been brought to Hawaiʻi from Kahiki (the ancestral homelands) by the akua (gods) Kāne and Kanaloa.
There are several native traditions regarding the origin of ʻawa in Hawaiʻi. It is a shrub growing about four to eight feet high. In other parts of the Pacific it is known as Kava or Kava Kava. ʻAwa is a canoe crop, one of the plants brought by the earliest Polynesian voyagers arriving in Hawaiʻi. It was essential on occasions of hospitality and feasting, and as a drink of pleasure for the chiefs.” (Titcomb) Medicinal Kahunas (learned men) had many uses for it.
… Its effect is to relax mind and body and it was used by farmer and fisherman for this purpose. ʻAwa was “a sacred drink of importance in many phases of Hawaiian life. Outside of water and drinking coconut, no other drink was known. (One offers ʻawa and prayers to the dead so that their spirit may grow strong and be a source of help to the family.) No religious ceremony was complete without the ʻawa.” (Pukui, Maly)įeed with ʻawa so that the spirit may gain strength. “ʻAwa was the food of the gods, just as poi was to the Hawaiians.
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