Kava Cups
name: label: Collector
content: Lt. Winslow
label: Donor Name
content: Herbert Winslow
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "175209A. (FOR ORIGINAL CARD SEE RENWICK LOAN FILE "CELEBRATIONS"). 1 (ONE) SPECIMEN LOANED TO UNESCO." FROM CARD: "175209 LOANED TO RENWICK 9/10/81. KAVA CUP ('PU'AVA), BEFORE 1897. SAMOA, WEST POLYNESIA COCONUT SHELL 4 1/4 X 6 9/16 (10.8 X 16) NMNH 175209. THE HOST ORATOR ANNOUNCED THE CELEBRANT TO BE SERVED KAVA BY CALLING OUT HIS DRINKING NAME: "THIS IS THE CUP OF..." IF THE PERSON DID NOT HAVE A DRINKING NAME THE ORATOR USED HIS ARISTOCRATIC TITLE. WHILE CARRYING THE KAVA TO THE DRINKERS, YOUNG MALE SERVERS NEVER PRESENTED THE BACKS OF THEIR HANDS TO THE GUESTS. THEY CARRIED THE CUP AT HEAD HEIGHT WITH THE RIGHT HAND (THE LEFT BEING KEPT BEHIND THE BACK), SERVED IT AT CHEST LEVEL, AND WAITED AT A DISTANCE UNTIL THE DRINKER WAS FINISHED. THE DRINKER FIRST POURED OFF A FEW DROPS TO DEFLECT MISCHIEVOUS SPIRITS THEN MURMURED A PRAYER OF THANKS AND DRANK THE BEVERAGE. RETURNED 1983."
label: Notes
content: Though the catalogue indicates there should be three cups Catalogue No. 175209, as of 2005 there are 4 objects with this number. Either the cataloguing was in error, or, perhaps one cup is misnumbered (though no other numbers are visible on any of the cups). It has been decided to keep all 4 cups as this number for now
label: Record Last Modified
content: 31 Jul 2020
label: Specimen Count
content: 4
place: label: Place
content: American Samoa (not certain), Samoa (not certain) / United States (not certain), Polynesia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Samoan
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 029413
label: USNM Number
content: E175209-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Cup
physicalDescription: label: Unknown - Object
content: 10.8 cm
label: Unknown - Object
content: 16 cm