CNN —
A tour of the Pacific region took a dazed turn for an Australian politician after he downed a cup of a traditional drink in one gulp.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack was visiting the island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia to celebrate 35 years of bilateral relations while touring the Pacific with a delegation when he was offered sakau – a type of Micronesian kava – as a ceremonial drink.
Kava is a traditional non-alcoholic drink made from the kava kava plant that helps with relaxation.
“To show my respect for local traditions, I drank the whole bowl of sakau,” McCormack said tweeted Thursday.
In some parts of the Pacific, a bowl of kava is usually drunk at a time. But McCormack soon realized that the potent, Pohnpei-specific kava was a different beast altogether.
In a video of the ceremony shared by local media, the lawmaker is seen sitting down, holding his head in his hand and being fanned, after what appears to be puking into a black garbage bag.
According to the CNN affiliate, he was then treated for dehydration in the hospital 7News.
McCormack told the Guardian that he “cross-eyed” after drinking and slept for 14 hours after his visit to the hospital.
“I have never slept like that in my entire parliamentary career. I don’t think I’ve slept like this since I was a teenager,” he told the outlet Friday.
McCormack added in his tweet that he’s feeling much better now and sees the trip as a “great opportunity to connect with our Pacific family.”
CNN has reached out to McCormack for further comment.
According to Pohnpeian lore, sakau was bestowed upon by the gods and historically consumed only by the upper classes and men. Now it’s widely available, but it’s still made by pounding the root on a special stone and mixing it with water and hibiscus juice before serving in a coconut shell.