Come, fill the bowl — with kava

Press, 22 June 1981, Page 15

Come, fill the bowl — with kava

'Many visitors to Fiji have heard of the famous Kava reremony but are somewhat nervous of participating. . This probably springs from the much quoted traditional method of preparing the beverage. In the old days, the "yagona" was made by young village girls chewing pieces of root into a soft mass then mixing this with water. ■Not so today — now the root is pounded by pestle and mortar or even ground into a powder by machine.

At the Kava ceremony a large wooden bowl, called a "tanoa.” is placed before the cup-bearer while the drink is prepared. When all is ready, the cupbearer solemnly presents the special guest with the first bowl. The guest's obligation is tc drain the bowl all at once — not an insuperable task given the relatively small amount of liquid in ihe large bowl. Once the deed is done, the spectators take up the cry, “Maca.” which means: "It is drained.”

On especially important occasions or when such personal contracts as marriage are being entered into, a Tabua or whale’s tooth is presented to the guest. Modern Fiji still holds the Kava ceremony in great respect and it is against the law to take a Tabua out oi the country without special permission. And the flavour and effect of the Kava drink? Most common comment qi Europeans who have tried it is: “Very interesting — and certainly not nasty."