Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1884-08-15
A SAMOAN silva.
Kava Drinking and Odd Dancing
CaPers in the South Sea Islands.

Chicago Inter Ocean, thus describes many
Of the strange habits of the South Sea
Islanders: Not long ago received an in
vitation from high chief who resides in
Apia, on the island of 0polu, the middle
and second largest of the Samoan group,
to witness grand dance, or silva tele,
which was to be given in honor of the
visit to Apia of the Crown Prince and |
the Premier of the Tonga Islands, other
wise known as the Friendly Group.
AT the appointed hour, shortly after
dark, l and a number of other visitors |
repaired to the house prepared for the |
reception of the guests close to the fale |
tele, or "blg house" Every Samoan
village has fale tele in which visitors are
lodged and fed at the cost of the entire
community. The house is of oval form,
with q dome-like roof matched with the
leaves of the indigenous sugar-cane.
This roof rests upon a number of posts
made Of the breadfruit tree, and with the
exception of mats of cocoanut leaves
around the sides, which can be let down
or pulled up, is the only shelter to the
Samoan, to whom the boarded house of
the paplagi is almost unexpectedly close.
We found the reception house" filled
with guests-American English, Ger
man and Samoan. After going through
the ceremony of shaking hands with the
whole company and saying talofa (ta
alofa-I love YOU which is the ordinary
Samoan salutation, we seated our
selves fa'asamoa or Samoan fashion,
|. e., cross legged on the mats which
had been spread upon the gravel
floor. A tanoa, or kava bowl, was now
placed in the center of the hut These
tanoas, which are to be found in every
Samoan house, are made of a native
wood which looks much like walnut, and
from constant use acquire on the inside q
beautiful enameling, making them look
almost as though they were lined with
mother of-pearl. They are sometimes
three feet in diameter, very shallow, and
rest upon four short legs, the whole bowl
being cut from one piece of wood.
n young man now appeared with a
large piece of kava root paper methysti
cum In one hand and a sharp knife in
the other. After him came eight young
maidens-virgins from the neighboring
village-who seat themselves in semi
S@ASAS vi OtlC blNlC Va ZIG DOWl. 1uC
young man then seated himself opposite
them and commenced to cut the root to
small pieces, which he tossed to the
maids. A gourd of water was now
brought, and each one proceeded to rinse
out her mouth, squirting the water out
into the fire, which was almost extin-
guished thereby. Now commenced the
most disgusting part of the process, for
each damsel, taking up the pieces of the
kava root, began to chew them, and in
spite of the disgust naturally felt, I had
to laugh at the droll way it was done.
They kept on stuffing the pieces into
their mouths until they could literally
hold no more, when, on signal from
the man who cut the root for them, each
in succession took round ball of the
masticated kava from her mouth and
threw it with thud into the bowl. The
young man now poured water into the
bowl, and the chief virgin, the daugh-
ter of a high chief (alu sill taking
fau or strainer made of long
shreds of bark, began to cleanse the mix
ture OF the fibrous, woody sediment by
drawing the strainer across the bowl and
~ OuO uJOu lLO uOOIs AL ILLS
was done with the greatest grace by the
chief virgin, whose aim was to make
every move Of her hands and arms as ele-
giant as possible.
The kava was now ready; four small
bowls made of cocoanut shells finely pol
ished and exquisitely carved were pro-
duced. The young man, taking these
cups, called ipu, dipped out a quantity
of the kava, and in a stentorian voice
called out the name of the guest to whom
1t should be handed. The cup, which
he held high above his head was then
taken to the person named by one of the
girls, who in presenting it crouched very
low, almost touching the ground with
the bottom of the cup. After each visi-
tor has been served, the whole kava
manufacturing paraphernalia was re-
moved. In my estimation, kava is about
the most repulsive drink on earth. It
reminds one of soap-suds, and, although
not intoxicating, will, with excessive in
! diligence, cause numbness in the
lower eXtremities. Kava- drinking is an
almost universal custom among the
South Sea Islanders, and appears to find
great favor among the white men in those
regions, though can not imagine the
reason, for its taste is so disgusting that
it is impossible to believe that white
man can find anything pleasing in it,
though the whites assembled at Apia are,
for the most part, but little better than
the barbarous natives whose national
beverage it is.
During the time spent over the kava-
bowl, the fale tele had been prepared for
the siva The mats were laid smoothly
upon the gravel and piles of dry cocoa
nut leaves placed ready for use. The
fale tele was one of the largest on the is
land. In the center were two large
posts, six feet apart, supporting the roof.
Near each post was fireplace, or hollow
in the floor, lined with pebbles. A big
logo, or drum, made of hollow tree
trunk, sounded by means of heavy
beam suspended from the branch Of tree
being driven against the side like bat
tering-ram, announced that the silva was
about to begin.
The guests all crowded to the fale tele,
seating themselves along the posts at the
sides of the house, leaving the ends free.
A fire of dry cocoanut leaves, attended by
women, was lighted in one of the holes,
and in trooped the dancers, first dozen
young bucks and a girl in the center,
their bodies glistening with scented CO.
coanut oil. They seated themselves in a
row across one end of the house. Behind
them came a crowd of men and women
who were to furnish the music, which
| consisted in nothing else but SONGS. clan
ping of hands and beating on the mats
Suddenly the fire was put out. We could
hear considerable commotion at the other