Drinking kava in Fiji
Fiji is a collection of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and has a warm tropical climate with warm and friendly Pacific Islanders. It is a perfect holiday destination and the best months for the best weather are between March and December. You can get good deals in the off-season of course. Fiji's exports include cane sugar, bottled water, fish, wood, gold, bread, manioc (cassava) and Fijian football players. During the British Empire era the planters imported indentured labour from India and there is still a significant Indian population in Fiji. This multi-culture society offers the best in native Fijian, Indian, Chinese and European cuisine including excellent fish and chips.
The Fijians love to party which means eating, singing, dancing and the drinking of kava to make people nice and happy. There is an old British quote that says that tea is the cup that cheers but does not inebriate, kava does the same but with more cheer. The traditionalists believe that bottled kava (aka grog) is useless and kava has to be made and drunk fresh. There are songs about men that have partied and drunk too much kava to the anger of their loved ones.
Kava has as many names as the Pacific Islands that produce it. It can be called 'awa, 'ava, kava kava, malogu, malok, sakau, yaqona and last but not least Piper methysticum. The kava root is selected with as much care as a vintner selects grapes for his wine. When buying at the market the root is normally wrapped up in newspaper, but when purchased as a gift it is wrapped in a traditional manner. It is customary to take a kava gift if invited to a party.
Traditionally the kava root is chewed and spat into a bowl by the young women in the morning ready for the kava ceremony at night. The modern form is probably just kava root ground to a powder. The prepared kava root is placed in a special cloth bag, dipped in water and squeezed into the ceremonial hard-wood mixing bowl called a tanoa. The kava is drunk from a coconut shell cup called a bilo.
Most hotels have a day tour that includes a kava or yaqona ceremony
at
a local village and it should not be missed. Here is an example.
On arrival each guest is presented with a Salusalus a fijian
flower necklace or lei. There is a male version and a more ornate
female version.
In Fiji the men should enter the ceremonial compound first starting
with the most senior and then the woman follow. In practice the tour
guide picks two men to be the senior and second, and to be polite to
the female guests, the guests are allowed to enter in any order they
like. It is considered polite to sit until the dancing starts. The
ceremony procedure is then explained by the guide to the guests.
If the guests have a gift, the guest senior presents it to the village
chief.
During the welcome song the prepared kava root is placed in the ceremonial bag and continuously dipped and squeezed into the tanoa throughout the ceremony.
A number of bilos are filled with kava and it is drunk in the order: guest senior and second then the village chief.
When offered a bilo of kava the recipient claps and exclaims 'Bula'. When the kava is drunk in one go the drinker is rewarded with three claps.
The kava is then offered to the rest of the group until all the kava
is
drunk. There is a choice of “high tide” (a full cup) or “low
tide” (a half cup). It is considered bad manners to refuse to drink.
Warning: for most people kava is an acquired taste, but, some come back
for more. You may experience a tingling in the mouth and a feeling of
euphoria depending on how much is drunk.
When all the group have had a bilo of kava the village ladies entertain
the guests with dancing and singing. The lady guests and their children
are invited to join the village ladies and they are serenaded. All the
guests are then invited to dance and this often turns into a conga line.
The ceremony ends with the Fijian Farewell Song - "Isa Lei" sung
by the villagers.
Kava can be bought as a root or powder in many countries and it is also available in medicinal grade. Kava concentrates do not have the same effect as normal kava and can be dangerous if used in excess. There are so many websites about kava that it would be pointless to try and list them here. Always get qualified medical advice about treatment with kava.
Fijians love music and we end this post with a song by the J Stringz called 'Kava Song (clap clap)'.
Credits:Kava time image - Shangri La Fijian Resort And Spa
Painting by John La Farge
This blog is written in Standard English with some vernacular and rhyming slang. All content on this website, including reference data is for informational purposes only and this information should not be considered complete or up to date and while all care is taken no responsibility is accepted. Original work © Copyright MMXVIII Frogman all rights reserved.