Transcript for the Hawaiian Awa short version 5:57 version of Hawaiian Awa (Kava)

Hawaiian Awa (Kava) - Two Scripts
By Heidi Chang
SHORT VERSION:

HOST INTRO: Kava continues to be a popular herbal supplement these days. But instead of consuming the herb in pills and capsules, more and more people are now drinking kava. The plant was first used in ancient Polynesia, where it was valued for its natural calming effects. In Hawaii, kava is more commonly known as awa (ah-va). While it was once banned in Hawaii, these days it’s making a comeback in medicine, popular culture, and as a new crop. Heidi Chang reports from Honolulu.

CHANG: For 3,000 years, kava has played an important role in South Pacific island culture. Chiefs consumed it as a ceremonial drink, and it was used in social gatherings. Kava was one of the original plants that Polynesian settlers brought to Hawaii over 1,000 years ago. In Hawaii, it is known as awa.

MALY: It was the food, the offering to the gods. But it was also important in family and in daily life.

CHANG: Oral historian, Kepa Maly says native Hawaiians used awa to soothe aches and pains and suppress the appetite to become fit and trim. The root was chewed or made into a drink to calm someone or relieve anxiety. People drank awa socially or after a hard day's work, and it was a sacred offering to the spirits.

[CHANTING IN HAWAIIAN]

MALY: Simply put, "I call to you, this deity, the god that dwells on the mountain, along the mountain ridges and mountain peaks. I call to you, offering you the various awa: .awa lau, awa pu, awa hiwa, awa kea, these different kinds of awa. I call to you to descend and inspire me.”

[CHANTING]

CHANG: But those traditions ended with the arrival of Christian missionaries in the 1820's. Some missionaries influenced the Kingdom of Hawaii to ban awa because it conflicted with their religious and moral beliefs. Eventually the ban was lifted, and exporting awa, primarily to Germany to be made into pharmaceuticals, became a thriving business. That stopped with World War II. It wasn't until the last decade that awa began making a comeback.

[SOUND OF GRINDING KAVA]

CHANG: Here at the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, bio-chemist Mel Jackson grinds the most sought after portion of the plant, the root, which can be made into a powder to drink, or processed into teas, capsules, tinctures, or extracts. He says there's a big demand for Hawaiian awa.

JACKSON: Hawaiian awa is unique. It's been here over a thousand years, and even though it's related to kava down in the South Pacific, it's had time to change. And so the chemotype or the kavalactone content, which is a measure of the active ingredient, is very different from that in the South Pacific. Hawaiian awa contains a lot of kavain, which is a very potent, calming active ingredient. And so it's quite highly prized.

CHANG: In the U.S., awa is considered an herbal supplement, so it is not regulated as a drug by the Food and Drug Administration.

JACKSON: It's very mildly calming. There's no intoxicated effect or feel from it. If you drink fairly large amounts, then you would feel sleepy. But generally you feel centered and calm.

CHANG: Jackson says awa is not addictive. But he cautions, it should not be mixed with any drugs, herbs, or alcohol. Excessive consumption may impair the ability to drive.

[SOUNDS FROM HAWAII’S FIRST AWA OR KAVA BAR]

CHANG: Experts agree, the most effective way to consume awa is the traditional way: by drinking it.

In 1999, Jason Keoni Verity opened the first kava bar in the U.S., here in Honolulu.

[VERITY SPEAKING HAWAIIAN]

CHANG: Verity wanted to create a place that would help nurture and perpetuate the Hawaiian language and culture, as well as community-based economic development.

[CONVERSATION IN HAWAIIAN]

CHANG: On any given night, local residents and tourists flock to the dimly lit awa bar called Hale Noa. But not everyone is accustomed to drinking the brew that looks like muddy water.

MAN: Oh, the taste is just awful. It's repugnant. But it does have a nice euphoric feeling to the whole mood of things.

[HAWAIIAN MUSIC IN KAVA BAR]

MAN: For the effects mainly. It loosens up your spirits. It gets you kind of a good, like a buzz/high.

WOMAN: Like, the taste of it, it's one of those things you don't really want to think about. It's sort of a cross between Vicks Vapor Rub and mud, I think. (Laughs.)

[SINGING FADES]

CHANG: These days, the native plant that was once banned is also being used again in contemporary Hawaiian ceremonies. For many like Jason Keoni Verity, the revival of awa has become a symbolic part of a Hawaiian cultural renaissance that began in the '70's.

VERITY: The use, the preparation, and the service of awa is really kind of an expression of culture, expression of identity. It's something that connects our cultures, and, I believe, strengthens us in many ways as Pacific Island people.

CHANG: While Hawaii’s first kava bar has closed its doors, it paved the way for several other cafes that are now serving the drink. Kava is now also available at local juice bars, health food stores and restaurants. And more people in Hawaii are consuming kava at the end of the day--in their homes and social gatherings.

Meanwhile, people in other parts of the world are just beginning to discover the natural healing properties of this ancient plant. I'm Heidi Chang in Honolulu.

[MUSIC FROM KAVA BAR FADES]

Hawaiian Awa (Kava)
By Heidi Chang
LONG VERSION:

HOST INTRO: Kava continues to be a popular herbal supplement these days. But instead of consuming the herb in pills and capsules, more and more people are now drinking kava. The plant was first used in ancient Polynesia, where it was valued for its natural calming effects. In Hawaii, kava is more commonly known as awa (ah-va). While it was once banned in Hawaii, these days it’s making a comeback in medicine, popular culture, and as a new crop. Heidi Chang reports from Honolulu.

CHANG: For 3,000 years, kava has played an important role in South Pacific island culture. Chiefs consumed it as a ceremonial drink, and it was used in social gatherings. Kava was one of the original plants that Polynesian settlers brought to Hawaii over 1,000 years ago. In Hawaii, it is known as awa.

MALY: It was the food, the offering to the gods. But it was also important in family and in daily life.

CHANG: Oral historian, Kepa Maly says Native Hawaiians used awa to soothe aches and pains and suppress the appetite to become fit and trim. The root was chewed or made into a drink to calm someone or relieve anxiety. People drank awa socially or after a hard day's work, and it was a sacred offering to the spirits.

[CHANTING IN HAWAIIAN]

MALY: Simply put, "I call to you, this deity, the god that dwells on the mountain, along the mountain ridges and mountain peaks. I call to you, offering you the various awa: .awa lau, awa pu, awa hiwa, awa kea, these different kinds of awa. I call to you to descend and inspire me.”

[CHANTING]

CHANG: But those traditions ended with the arrival of Christian missionaries in the 1820's. Some missionaries influenced the Kingdom of Hawaii to ban awa because it conflicted with their religious and moral beliefs. Eventually the ban was lifted, and exporting awa, primarily to Germany to be made into pharmaceuticals, became a thriving business. That stopped with World War II. It wasn't until the last decade that awa began making a comeback.

[SOUND OF GRINDING KAVA]

CHANG: Here at the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, bio-chemist Mel Jackson grinds the most sought after portion of the plant, the root, which can be made into a powder to drink, or processed into teas, capsules, tinctures, or extracts. He says there's a big demand for Hawaiian awa.

JACKSON: Hawaiian awa is unique. It's been here over a thousand years, and even though it's related to kava down in the South Pacific, it's had time to change. And so the chemotype or the kavalactone content, which is a measure of the active ingredient, is very different from that in the South Pacific. Hawaiian awa contains a lot of kavain, which is a very potent, calming active ingredient. And so it's quite highly prized.

CHANG: In the U.S., awa is considered an herbal supplement, so it is not regulated as a drug by the Food and Drug Administration. (edit)

JACKSON: It's very mildly calming. There's no intoxicated effect or feel from it. If you drink fairly large amounts, then you would feel sleepy. But generally you feel centered and calm.

CHANG: Jackson says awa is not addictive. But he cautions, it should not be mixed with any drugs, herbs, or alcohol. Excessive consumption may impair the ability to drive. To educate more people about the plant, tropical horticulturist Ed Johnston co-founded the Association for Hawaiian Awa.

JOHNSTON: Today, there's such a tremendous renaissance, in part because all that stuff the ancient Polynesians knew, we're defining in the laboratory, we're explaining, you know, to the Western mind how this works, through the active ingredients. And the ancient people knew it all along.

CHANG: Some researchers are now studying the effects of awa as an alternative treatment for depression, insomnia, and addictions, and as an aid for weight loss. A study published in The Hawaii Medical Journal looked at several South Pacific countries with low rates of cancer. Dr. Gregory Steiner found that as the amount of kava consumed in a country increased, the cancer incidence rate dropped.

Dr. Steiner stresses this does not prove that kava is solely responsible for the lower cancer rate, and that further study is necessary.

[SOUND OF WALKING IN KAVA FIELD]

CHANG: Here on the Big Island of Hawaii, awa's medicinal value is sparking a dramatic revival in cultivating the plant. The leafy green shrub grows up to 12 feet tall and takes about two to three years to mature before it's ready to harvest.

CHANG: For more than a century, sugar dominated Hawaii's agricultural economy, followed by pineapple. But since the 1970's, sugar has steadily declined because of economic competition elsewhere, making hundreds of thousands of acres of prime land available for farming.

Today, Hawaii’s main crops are seed corn, pineapple, sugarcane, macadamia nuts and coffee. And as the state tries to diversify its agricultural base, there’s more demand for kava.

[SOUNDS FROM HAWAII’S FIRST AWA OR KAVA BAR]

CHANG: Experts agree, the most effective way to consume awa is the traditional way: by drinking it.

In 1999, Jason Keoni Verity opened the first kava bar in the U.S., here in Honolulu.

[VERITY SPEAKING HAWAIIAN]

CHANG: Verity wanted to create a place that would help nurture and perpetuate the Hawaiian language and culture, as well as community-based economic development.

[CONVERSATION IN HAWAIIAN]

CHANG: On any given night, local residents and tourists flock to the dimly lit awa bar called Hale Noa. But not everyone is accustomed to drinking the brew that looks like muddy water.

MAN: Oh, the taste is just awful. It's repugnant. But it does have a nice euphoric feeling to the whole mood of things.

[HAWAIIAN MUSIC IN KAVA BAR]

MAN: For the effects mainly. It loosens up your spirits. It gets you kind of a good, like a buzz/high.

WOMAN: Like, the taste of it, it's one of those things you don't really want to think about. It's sort of a cross between Vicks Vapor Rub and mud, I think. (Laughs.)

[SINGING FADES]

CHANG: These days, the native plant that was once banned is also being used again in contemporary Hawaiian ceremonies. For many like Jason Keoni Verity, the revival of awa has become a symbolic part of a Hawaiian cultural renaissance that began in the '70's.

VERITY: The use, the preparation, and the service of awa is really kind of an expression of culture, expression of identity. It's something that connects our cultures, and, I believe, strengthens us in many ways as Pacific Island people.

CHANG: While Hawaii’s first kava bar has closed its doors, it paved the way for several other cafes that are now serving the drink. Kava is now also available at local juice bars, health food stores and restaurants. And more people in Hawaii are consuming kava at the end of the day--in their homes and social gatherings.

Meanwhile, people in other parts of the world are just beginning to discover the natural healing properties of this ancient plant. I'm Heidi Chang in Honolulu.

[MUSIC FROM KAVA BAR FADES]

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