Includes bibliographical references (pages 217-224) and indexes.

The islands -- The people -- The languages -- The migrations -- Traditional Polynesian medical practices : sources of information -- The ailments of the ancient Polynesians -- The epidemics -- The causation of illness -- Medical practices : Western Polynesia, Eastern Polynesia, Hawai'i -- The treatment of injuries : Western Polynesia, Eastern Polynesia -- Polynesian massage -- Polynesian medical practices today : Tonga, Samoa, Tahiti, Cook Islands, Hawai'i -- The medicinal plants.

"The aim of this book is to present a picture of past and present Polynesian medicinal plants. Although several books have been published on herbal medicine in Polynesia, these are either limited in geographic scope (mostly to Hawai'i) or are unscientific in basis. Restricting the study of herbal medicine to a single Polynesian island or archipelago is a disadvantage because the early accounts of medicinal practices are so sketchy. A more comprehensive approach is rewarding because so much can be learned from the similarities among the various Polynesian cultures. A scientific approach is necessary because of the nature of the subject-medicine and plants. To establish a comprehensive and scientific basis for this book, three types of research were conducted: (1) an extensive review of the literature on Polynesia; (2) interviews with scores of Polynesian healers in Hawai'i, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti. the Cook Islands, and Tokelau; and (3) botanical collecting work in Polynesia over a twenty-year period, involving over forty research trips to the South Pacific"--Publisher's description.