Kava - Veronica Searches 

Searching the Internet has changed considerably since the following was written. However, I have decided to leave this in, for the Asia Now transcript and as some of the searching considerations still apply.

Briefly, many universities offer veronica searches. Like many other database, the user, or researcher, enters a search term, hits return, and waits for the results. According to the on-line Veronica FAQ, "veronica is a resource-discovery system providing access to information resources held on most ( 99% + ) of the world's gopher servers. In addition to native gopher data, veronica includes references to many resources provided by other types of information servers, such as WWW servers, usenet archives, and telnet-accessible information services."
In my experience searching for kava information, three Veronica searches at different sites resulted in three different answers. While Veronica searching did get some "hits," users should be aware of the fact that identical searches will often result in quite different results.

Using the search term 'kava' I found very little from Veronica at PSINET and SUNET, but several 'articles' from the Veronica search at U Pisa. This includes discussions of kava's effects and how to best prepare a kava drink and a transcript (as follows) of what I originally presumed was a radio interview. Based on my search at the UH library (see Library catalog section) I now know this is taken from a television program.

ASIA NOW Transcript Section I: Asia-Pacific Overview Story # 3
KAVA (Anchor lead-in)
Among a number of Pacific Island cultures, the use of one mildly narcotic substance is not only
tolerated, it's promoted and completely legal. As Asia Now's Les Matsuura reports, the drink, called "Kava", forms and integral part of Pacific Island history and tradition.
(Voice-over)
"Kava." It's called the official drink of the Pacific. And while it' specific origins are unclear, it's been part of pacific formal ceremony and social culture for at least three thousand years. The drink is made from the roots of a plant in the pepper f amily. The roots are mashed or ground and mixed with water, resulting in a greyish, greenish- brown liquid with some interesting qualities. Mark Merlin, of the University of Hawaii, who recently co-authored a book on Kava notes:
(Mark Merlin, author on Kava, University of Hawaii)
"There are chemicals in the Kava root stock, principally, which are lactates. Those are lipid
substances or fat like substances, not alkaloids, which is unusual for a drug plant. And these effect the central nervous system and other aspects of the human body in various ways."
(Voice-over)
Today, in the Hawaiian Islands, the drink is not as widely used as in some other parts of the Pacific. When it is used, it's usually in the traditional manner as part of cultural ceremony. While the same is true in Samoa where Kava's role remains linked t o ceremonies, other islands do use Kava very differently.
(Mark Merlin)
"In other areas it's gone out of its traditional use pattern from strictly the chiefs and the priests or
certain medicinal applications to the common people, to a situation, say, in Fiji, where yungona, the local name for Kava in Fiji, goes straight acros s the spectrum of the population of Melanesians, as well as, the people of Indian ancestry who live there as well, and after work the after hours drinks and the Kava bars has become an institution there; as it has become in places like Vanuatu, the former New Hilarities islands in Melanesia, and also, to a large extent, in Pompay."
(Voice-over)
Called yungona in Fiji, Kava is still a major feature of official ceremonies. And just as their ancestors used Kava to achieve a higher level of consciousness and closeness to their deities, Fijians today use the beverage as a way to recognize their roots and traditions and form bonds between each other. Beyond the religious and social uses of Kava, the lactates in the roots may hold potential for the development of medical and health products.
(Mark Merlin)
"For its future, it varies from island to island. On an international scope it will be interesting to see if scientific research will discover ways to control the dosage or the lactose content of the substance in a prepared f orm."
(Voice-over)
What ever the future holds for Kava's role in the Pacific and beyond, one thing is certain, its a good thing this drink has been around for a few thousand years. Because, in spite of its widespread appeal, it certainly does take a while to acquire a tast e for it.
LES MATSUURA, ASIA NOW, IN HAWAII. END

Kava/Pacific Gophers

This section of my paper can be used in conjunction with my anthropology page. Finding gopher sites related to Kava/the Pacific is at best, a trial and error method. I located relevant sites often by pure luck. While indexes to Web sites on the Internet do exist, they d o not and cannot be aware of all available sites/information. My basic strategy was to start in various anthropology homepages /indexes and look for keywords including Hawaii, Pacific, Oceania, Fiji, and other South Pacific islands. The three relevant gophers included are:

-the Bishop Museum Gopher
- a Pacific area gopher, and
- a Pacific gopher.

The first is from the Bernice P. Bishop Museum in Hawaii. The second provides access to a plethora of Pacific sources - library links, archeological information, Pacific societies, manuscript collections, and searchable databases, where I found informati on specifically about kava. The third mainly provides links to Australian universities.

Copyright 1999, 2000
Updated March 15, 2000
Formerly on the web
as Lee Kagan's Kava Page