A quick kava lesson

So what's kava again!? I tell you how I drink it regularly but have yet to actually describe it. Let me give you a groggy little lesson.

KAVA, also called yaqona or grog, is a large part of Fijian culture. It is a mild narcotic, looks like light brown muddy water and makes your tongue go numb. Yaqona is a type of pepper plant. Grown in tropical areas. And in order to create the lovely kava powder, must be separated from the leaves and then dried out in the sun so its brittle enough to pound into powder.
Yaqona is such an intricate part of Fiji's culture because it revolves around everything. People drink it on a daily basis here but most have no idea why or how it actually became such an integral part of the culture. Every important ceremony such as marriage, offerings of forgiveness, deaths, for church, after church, hosting important guests in the village, saying goodbye for an extended period of time, or just because it's Saturday are just some of the reasons to grog. When visiting a village a visitor is usually required to give an i sevusevu or the ceremony during which you present a yaqona root wrapped in newspaper and tied with ribbon, in order to offer your gratitude and hopefully acceptance to stay in the village with their blessing.

There are certain protocols to be followed at a kava ceremony. Sit cross-legged, if you're a guest you must sit above the tanoa (large wooden bowl), if you're apart of the village you sit behind it. Women usually sit behind the men, and the elderly are allowed to bring cushions because if it's a good ceremony it means people have brought lots of kava to drink until the wee hours of the night. Never walk across the circle of participants facing the front (unless you're already sitting up front) or one of the youth who is giving the cups of kava. Also DO NOT turn your back to or point your feet at the tanoa, or step over the cord that leads from the tanoa to a white cowrie shell, which represents a link with the spirits. Right against the back part of the tanoa are always 3 people, more often than not men, and the "youth". They will make the kava bowl.

Once it's dried, the root is then "tuki"d or pounded into a thin powder, and wrapped in a piece of cloth. Then water is poured into the tanoa and the piece of cloth is twisted and ringed out in order for the powder to mix with the water. Then the main middle man behind the tanoa claps his hands three times and does the "stir the pot" move over the yaqona to bless the bowl. After the bowl has also been blessed by a long Fijian blessing, you will be offered a drink of the resulting concoction from a bilo (half a coconut shell). Clap once, accept the bilo, say "bula vinaka or cola vina" to say offer good health and peace to the men and women surrounding you & whosever house it is, and finally drink it down. Then, clap three times in gratification. The drink will be shared until the tanoa is empty (they refill it and refill it until there is no more powder left). After a few bilo's you may feel a slight numbness of the lips. Longer, 5-7 hour sessions with stronger mixes can make you very drowsy, and some heavy drinker develop kanikani (scaly skin).

For a village Peace Corps Volunteer like me, being at grog sessions is used for bonding with villagers, for storytelling sessions or beginning to talk about business plans. Many ears in the village fill with delight when the distinct "dinging" sound of the metal rod pounding the brittle root into powder in a long metal cylinder bowl. Today kava is a part of daily life across the country and across the races. It's actually sold in the US! Check it out :)

Below is a picture of me drinking kava, group 89's very first i sevusevu and grog session with the Peace Corps staff, then my first encounter with my training village Lodoni (see how there's three men surrounding the tanoa bowl), a sign of a store where women sell small bags of already pounded powdered kava, and how the i sevusevu's look in the market (these are what guests and large ceremony gatherings will give)!!