This is a sakau plant. A sakau is usually planted in the forest, this is because sakau plants need a soil that is usually wet and a place where it can get heat from the sun. So mostly today, if you go hiking in the forest, you might see a lot of sakau planted in the forest. The history of sakau was told that it has been brought from Kosrea. A canoe was being prepared to set sail to Pohnpei. A women snuck a branch of sakau in her underwear to brought it to Pohnpei. The sakau you drink in Kosrea does not have a smell and taste and here on the Island, the sakau you drink have a smell and taste. This is not a bad thing. Pohnpeians love the feeling they get from drinking sakau. Sakau became a big part of our culture. When going to a funeral, you will see sakau being prepared and bounded in the Nahs. When going on a wedding proposal, you see sakau being prepared in the Nahs.
I am a Catholic and there is a time that we Catholics have sakau brought into the church and bounded in the church. Men are wearing hibiscus skirt we call "koahl" and mwaramwar on their heads. Here is a picture of what men wear when preparing a sakau in the Nahs.
Now going back to how sakau is being prepared. Men get to pick out which sakau will be taken out of the soil by looking at how old the sakau or how long the sakau as been in the soil. So the men took out the sakau from the soil. Then take it to the Nahs. If the head of the family is sitting in the Nahs, the person with the sakau will put the sakau on the ground with the head of the sakau facing where the head of the family or chief or an elder then he cut the branches off. If there are two to three sakau, all of the sakau has to be done the same way. And the men who will be cutting off the branches of the sakau as to take off his shirt. So after cutting off the branches, the men cut the sakau to pieces and was the sakau.
It this picture, the sakau being cleaned by coconut husk. It has to be dry and also cut up so its easier to hold. When all the pieces of the sakau has been cleaned and is on the bounding rock we called "peitehl" (pay- gell). It is ready to be bounded.
In this picture, you can see that the sakau has been bounded by shirtless men. This is because when men are in the Nahs and are to bound sakau, they have to take off their shirts. This is part of the culture, (which is really cool sometimes because you get to see a lot of abs). They bound the sakau until they see and know that it is good for mixing. Then they start the process of fixing sakau.
The first picture is the sakau being put into the the kolou (that is part of the hibiscus tree). The second picture shown, you can see that the sakau drink is dripping from that hibiscus. The other person holds the ngarangar (cup) and the a trommer-like basin. To seep the water and cover bits and pieces of sakau from falling into the ngarangar. The sakau you drink is usually slimy. Some people prefer to drink sakau that is slimy others do not. People who drink sakau, can look at the color of the sakau and tell whether the sakau is good or not.
When drinking sakau, it first make your lips and tongue numb. If your lips and tongue went numb after the first cup, that means the sakau is strong. So a word of cation, do not drink every cup that is passed to you. You have the right to reject it or you can pass it to someone else. You do not want to get drunk after three or four cups. Sit and enjoy drinking sakau while chatting with friends. This is one good way of uniting with family members or friends.
**Thank you, if you have questions, let me know in the comments below. Please follow along, when I have more time, I will post more about our traditional ways. Kalahngan. **
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