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I was doing some research on the ritualistic use of kava by indigenous peoples, and came across several hints of the use of kava for fortune telling, gaining magical powers, cannibalism, and witchcraft. Here are some excerpts from anthropological texts that I found:
The customary chief named Siaka from the village of Henamanu, in the southeast of Tanna Island, recounts the following myth: "Long ago the inhabitants of the island consumed only wild kava, when one day a woman from Futuna was found alone peeling her yams. She was squatting in the water when the devil took advantage the opportunity to slip a magical pebble into her vagina. As soon as she noticed it, she pulled it out and examined it. Very intrigued by the elongated shape of it and the presence of knots and buds. She immediately decided to bring it back to the village. The customary chief took possession of it and that same evening brought it to the nakamal where all the men of the village were. While they surrounded the chief to observe the stone, a devil appeared. He showed them a kava the size of a banyan tree and explained to them that it was real kava. He also said that this stone was sacred and that they should now respect it. As soon as said, they put the stone in a canoe. carved in a magical wood and sprinkled it with water. Atin, the canoe was full to the brim with thousands of identical pebbles. People flocked from all corners of the island to bring back to their villages these stones which allow them today to grow kava thanks to their sacred and magical powers.
(version collected by V. Lebot in May 1982, cited in Lebot and Cabalion 1986)
According to the explanation of the world given by the oral tradition of the island of Tanna, the first inhabitants arrived with yams, taro, breadfruit, bananas, cabbages and poultry. It was not until much later that a new canoe sent by the god Karapanemum would have arrived from the east and via the island of Futuna. She brought three new powers to Tanna in the form of magic stones: pigs, the new black magic of poisoning and kava (Bonne-maison, 1985).
In the southwest of the western province of Papua New Guinea, among the Marind-Anim, kava is said to have come from the hairs of a demon (Nevermann, 1938 after Sterly, 1967)."
Source: https://www.persee.fr/doc/jso_0300-953x_1989_num_88_1_2855#jso_0300-953X_1989_num_88_1_T1_0093_0000
"The belief in higher beings or spirits is manifested through magic or witchcraft rites. These rites are practiced by people empowered to manipulate the supernatural: mediums or clairvoyants, called" clever "in Vanuatu. magicians or wizards everywhere in the Pacific; they often use the drink in association, as a medium to get in contact with the afterlife or as an ally. Those who have these gifts, officiate for the better but also for the worse and the literature is full of allusions to witchcraft. Jealousy is frequently the primary motivatino of beggars acting through the sorcerer and among the curses noted, female sterility, miscarriages, disease and death figure prominently. place. In Vanuatu the islands of Erromango, Ambae and the north of Mallicolo are known for these occult practices ... "
"Through these white or black magical practices, the rite of kava most often appears as a sacrifice to a god in the form of libations."
"Kava would also intervene in certain ritual executions or human sacrifices. In 1929, Deacon says that in Santo, one gave kava to the widows of high-ranking men before strangling them. But the most famous case is that ... (see page 8) " On page 64, there is also the story "the appearance of the magic pebble: the real kava" which speaks "of a devil (spirit or devil)".
Source : https://www.persee.fr/doc/ilarc_0758-864x_2001_mon_29_1#ilarc_0758-864X_2001_mon_29_1_T1_0003_0000
On divination: "In the traditional culture of the archipelago, kava was used for divinatory purposes and, undoubtedly, because of its properties, for medicinal purposes by people empowered to manipulate the supernatural, priest-diviners or high dignitaries . "
"On the other hand, the conflicting relationships had rekindled certain black magic practices associated with kava-based preparations contributing to heightened suspicion and leading to a decrease in its consumption." "Communicating with the afterlife is an ancient practice reserved for diviners possessing stones and magical techniques. With" John Frumism ", more than a return of these divinatory practices, we are witnessing the development of direct dialogue between man and the hereafter. Through the brew, the kava-drinker speaks to the missing or to John's spirit and applies the messages received to the letter. "
"Another invariant concerns the relationship between women and kava, which remains strictly confined to the food space. Thus in Tanna, in the evening, they place the root at the edge of the wood which surrounds the dance place where the men brew and drink the beverage. As women attract spirits, if they crossed this line, they could compromise men's contact with the afterlife. It is said that at the end of the 19th century, a man surprising a woman at watching him prepare his drink, allegedly hit her to death with a branch of kava (Brunton, 1989). "
Source: https://journals.openedition.org/jso/6483
I would update if I find more references. Do not hesitate to add other references !
The customary chief named Siaka from the village of Henamanu, in the southeast of Tanna Island, recounts the following myth: "Long ago the inhabitants of the island consumed only wild kava, when one day a woman from Futuna was found alone peeling her yams. She was squatting in the water when the devil took advantage the opportunity to slip a magical pebble into her vagina. As soon as she noticed it, she pulled it out and examined it. Very intrigued by the elongated shape of it and the presence of knots and buds. She immediately decided to bring it back to the village. The customary chief took possession of it and that same evening brought it to the nakamal where all the men of the village were. While they surrounded the chief to observe the stone, a devil appeared. He showed them a kava the size of a banyan tree and explained to them that it was real kava. He also said that this stone was sacred and that they should now respect it. As soon as said, they put the stone in a canoe. carved in a magical wood and sprinkled it with water. Atin, the canoe was full to the brim with thousands of identical pebbles. People flocked from all corners of the island to bring back to their villages these stones which allow them today to grow kava thanks to their sacred and magical powers.
(version collected by V. Lebot in May 1982, cited in Lebot and Cabalion 1986)
According to the explanation of the world given by the oral tradition of the island of Tanna, the first inhabitants arrived with yams, taro, breadfruit, bananas, cabbages and poultry. It was not until much later that a new canoe sent by the god Karapanemum would have arrived from the east and via the island of Futuna. She brought three new powers to Tanna in the form of magic stones: pigs, the new black magic of poisoning and kava (Bonne-maison, 1985).
In the southwest of the western province of Papua New Guinea, among the Marind-Anim, kava is said to have come from the hairs of a demon (Nevermann, 1938 after Sterly, 1967)."
Source: https://www.persee.fr/doc/jso_0300-953x_1989_num_88_1_2855#jso_0300-953X_1989_num_88_1_T1_0093_0000
"The belief in higher beings or spirits is manifested through magic or witchcraft rites. These rites are practiced by people empowered to manipulate the supernatural: mediums or clairvoyants, called" clever "in Vanuatu. magicians or wizards everywhere in the Pacific; they often use the drink in association, as a medium to get in contact with the afterlife or as an ally. Those who have these gifts, officiate for the better but also for the worse and the literature is full of allusions to witchcraft. Jealousy is frequently the primary motivatino of beggars acting through the sorcerer and among the curses noted, female sterility, miscarriages, disease and death figure prominently. place. In Vanuatu the islands of Erromango, Ambae and the north of Mallicolo are known for these occult practices ... "
"Through these white or black magical practices, the rite of kava most often appears as a sacrifice to a god in the form of libations."
"Kava would also intervene in certain ritual executions or human sacrifices. In 1929, Deacon says that in Santo, one gave kava to the widows of high-ranking men before strangling them. But the most famous case is that ... (see page 8) " On page 64, there is also the story "the appearance of the magic pebble: the real kava" which speaks "of a devil (spirit or devil)".
Source : https://www.persee.fr/doc/ilarc_0758-864x_2001_mon_29_1#ilarc_0758-864X_2001_mon_29_1_T1_0003_0000
On divination: "In the traditional culture of the archipelago, kava was used for divinatory purposes and, undoubtedly, because of its properties, for medicinal purposes by people empowered to manipulate the supernatural, priest-diviners or high dignitaries . "
"On the other hand, the conflicting relationships had rekindled certain black magic practices associated with kava-based preparations contributing to heightened suspicion and leading to a decrease in its consumption." "Communicating with the afterlife is an ancient practice reserved for diviners possessing stones and magical techniques. With" John Frumism ", more than a return of these divinatory practices, we are witnessing the development of direct dialogue between man and the hereafter. Through the brew, the kava-drinker speaks to the missing or to John's spirit and applies the messages received to the letter. "
"Another invariant concerns the relationship between women and kava, which remains strictly confined to the food space. Thus in Tanna, in the evening, they place the root at the edge of the wood which surrounds the dance place where the men brew and drink the beverage. As women attract spirits, if they crossed this line, they could compromise men's contact with the afterlife. It is said that at the end of the 19th century, a man surprising a woman at watching him prepare his drink, allegedly hit her to death with a branch of kava (Brunton, 1989). "
Source: https://journals.openedition.org/jso/6483
I would update if I find more references. Do not hesitate to add other references !
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