In the particular instance which I saw, two girls who were not
beautiful, and an old man who would have been hideous but for a set
of sound regular teeth, were sitting on the ground masticating the
awa root, the process being contemplated with extreme interest by a
number of adults. When, by careful chewing, they had reduced the
root to a pulpy consistence, they tossed it into a large calabash,
and relieved their mouths of superfluous saliva before preparing a
fresh mouthful. This went on till a considerable quantity was
provided, and then water was added, and the mass was kneaded and
stirred with the hands till it looked like soap suds. It was then
strained; and after more water had been added it was poured into
cocoa-nut calabashes, and handed round. Its appearance eventually
was like weak, frothy coffee and milk. The appearance of purely
animal gratification on the faces of those who drank it, instead of
being poetic, was of the low gross earth. Heads thrown back, lips
parted with a feeble sensual smile, eyes hazy and unfocussed, arms
folded on the breast, and the mental faculties numbed and sliding
out of reach.
Those who drink it pass through the stage of idiocy into a deep
sleep, which it is said can be reproduced once without an extra
dose, by bathing in cold water.
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