external problems. Its stems and leaves are used to treat diarrhoea and
urinary problems (just as were water-related Aboriginal plants). Leaves and
leaf buds are also used to treat eye problems, both injury and age related.^9
Wa yalu(Epipremnum pinnatum) is an ornamental, large-leafed plant
that is common throughout the Pacific. A decoction of its leaves is used to
treat constipation and other gastrointestinal problems (and it is said that US
troops stationed in the Pacific found this so effective that they sent sacks of
the leaves to the folks back home). Other problems for which the plant has
been claimed to be effective are a range of skin conditions, including
infected wounds, boils and infestation with scabies. It has also been used for
contraception, irregular or painful periods, and infertility.
Niu(Cocos nucifera) is familiar to us in imagination at least as the
coconut palm that is the most common coastal tree of Fiji and other South
Pacific islands. The shell is used as a container, fuel and source of wood for
ornaments. The nut itself is crushed for its oil and the liquid inside used as a
‘milk’ drink or the starting material for an alcoholic drink known as ‘palm
toddy’. Coconut oil is used alone as a massage oil and is also incorporated
into ointments with other ingredients. Used as massage oil, it is said to relieve
the aches and pains of rheumatism, pregnancy and exercise-induced over-
exertion of muscles. Its emollient properties, when used either alone or with
other ingredients, are promoted in many different cosmetic preparations.
Coconut milk is used to treat mothers whose breast milk is too yellow and is
recommended to be drunk frequently and in large quantities by people with
blackwater fever (other examples of similia similibus perhaps?).
Wabosucu(Mikania micrantha) is known colloquially as ‘mile a minute’
because of the speed at which this creeping plant can grow. The juice of the
leaves is a popular remedy for cuts and bruises; crushed leaves relieve the
pain of wasp and other insect stings, and a poultice of leaves is used to treat
boils, especially those that are located in the armpits.
Yaqona, kava (Piper methysticum), is cultivated as both a garden and
commercial plant in Fiji. Its use as a mild, sedative narcotic in ceremonial
occasions, including the treatment of mate ni vanua, has already been
mentioned but it is also used medicinally for a wide range of everyday condi-
tions such as coughs and colds, headaches and sore throats, as well as for
more unpleasant conditions such as filariasis.
Present day: kava – a case study
Kava has been used in Fiji and other Pacific islands for generations and had
not excited any controversy until its sedative and mild anxiolytic properties
were recognised by westerners who began using kava products provided by
herbal medicine companies. A number of spontaneously reported cases of
liver damage associated with kava use were reported in several European
countries from the late 1990s,^11 the upshot being that the German Federal
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