Bula!
Check out some pictures of our kava ceremony on friday night.
Kava is an ancient crop of the west pacific. it has different names on different islands, like 'awa' hawaii, 'ava' samoa, and 'yaqona' in fiji. the roots of the kava plant are ground up and mixed with water to make a muddy looking liquid that is supposed to relieve stress, insomnia and anxiety. the idea is that "it is a mild tranquiliser that does not disrupt mental clarity"
the tradition of drinking kava is thousands of years old in fiji and has some ancient rules which date back to the times when they would sit on the floor next to their log huts with their chief and medicine man.
at the house where we stay, we do the kava ceremony every friday evening. the brewer is Mere, our cook and cleaner, and the cup-bearer is our security guard Sahid.
to start, everyone sits in a circle. shoulders and knees must be covered, so men usually wear a skirt called a Sulu. everyone must have their legs crossed whilst the ceremony is in progress. the large kava bowl (called a tanoa) sits in the middle, and a person who is nominated chief sits opposite. an invisible line is drawn between and nothing can be passed across this line during the ceremony, as it breaks the bond with the gods. the cup-bearer, who also sit sin the middle, passes a cup made from half a coconut shell around, filled with the muddy-loiking kava drink. you have to clap, say 'naka', down it in one go, and then clap three times and say 'maca' (empty). the cup is then refilled and it is on to the next person.
after a couple of rounds you feel your tongue go numb. this then spreads out through your body over time, leaving you feel relaxed and a bit sleepy. unlike alcohol you do not lose any mental clarity, and there is no hangover.
the ceremony can carry on for 5 or 6 hours, until about 1am, but there is a long break after each round to stretch your legs and chat. none of us english can last that long, but the fijians at the house and our members of staff can keep going all night!
the whole point of the kava ceremony is a social occasion, to relax and talk to people, and it feels good to keep something going which has been happening for so long in their culture.
Mothe
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