Fwd: Ouakaka or Ouakalke

[Joel S. Berson]

Can anyone cast further light on this?  "Wakaka
Powder"?  (Andrew Brown wrote that the usual
suspects have been rounded up, and it doesn't seem to be in the OED.)

>From: John Sullivan <johnjsullivan at GMAIL.COM>
>
>Hello, Andrew. I think she's talking about
>Wakaka Powder, or Wakaka des Indes (spelled all
>sorts of ways), a sweet pulverized mixture that
>could be stirred into anything and was supposed
>to stimulate appetite, settle weak stomachs, etc. Yrs, JohnÂ
>
>On Wed, Dec 30, 2009 at 3:44 AM, Andrew Brown  wrote:
>On 12 November 1745, Mme Du Chatelet thanks
>Jacquier, then in Rome, for the despatch of some
>"poudre de Ouakaka" -- this spelling from a
>printed source, the same editor using the form
>"Ouakalke" in another edition, both may be
>wrong. Mme Du Chātelet considers the substance rare.
>
>Are there any Ouakaka users on the list? What
>purpose does it serve? The usual sources have been checked.
>
>AB

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