Pencil drawing, `Awa
Early Polynesian voyagers brought the `Awa ("bitterness") plant to Hawaii and it grows abundantly in my hometown of Kaneohe, Windward Oahu, and other moist lower areas on all the islands. Called Kava or Kava Kava throughout the Pacific Islands, `Awa can be made into an herbal remedy that helps anxiety, insomnia, and other ailments.
`Awa was important to the ceremonies and cleansing rituals of Ancient Hawaiians. A favorite offering to the gods, chants recall how the gods Käne, Pele, and Kanaloa, were famous `Awa drinkers.
Missionaries who came to Hawaii in 1820 discouraged the use of the intoxicating plant, but in recent years interest in the historical, cultural, and alternate medicine aspects of `Awa has resurged.
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