D’où vient le nikawa ?
Abstracts
It has been shown that the domestication of kava (Piper methysticum) took place in Northern Vanuatu. The name for kava in Tanna is considered as borrowed from the Polynesian language. Erromangan say nagave and on Futuna the term is simply kava. Southern Vanuatu is thus considered as an area where the kava plant, its name, and a lexicon associated with kavapreparation, were introduced by the Polynesian outliers of Futuna. However, based on genetical, morphological en chemical evidences we would like to present other possible ways for the introduction of kava in South Vanuatu. Following a pluridisciplinary approach we attempt to explain that kava could have been introduced in Southern Vanuatu by the Melanesian settlers coming from the north. This introduction was most likely prior to the Polynesian Outliers influences in this part of the archipelago.
Index terms
Top of pageAuthor's notes
Nikawa : nom vernaculaire du kava dans les langues lenakel, au sud-ouest, whitesands et kwamera, à Tanna.
References
Bibliographical reference
Patricia Siméoni, “D’où vient le nikawa ?”, Journal de la Société des Océanistes, 114-115 | 2002, 209-222.
Electronic reference
Patricia Siméoni, “D’où vient le nikawa ?”, Journal de la Société des Océanistes [Online], 114-115 | Année 2002, Online since 26 May 2008, connection on 11 November 2024. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/jso/1536; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/jso.1536
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