Tribewanted: Vorovoro

I was looking through my Lonely Planet: Fiji guide today in preparation for my trip in October and I found some info on kava history and etiquette that might be useful to people who haven’t yet been to Fiji/Vorovoro.

KAVA

Kava, also called yaqona or grog is as much a part of Fiji as beaches and bure (traditional thatched dwellings). It is mild narcotic, looks like muddy water and makes your tongue go furry. You won’t escape trying it.

Yaqona is an infusion prepared from Piper methysticum, a type of pepper plant. It holds a place of prominence in Fijian culture – in the time of ‘old religion’ it was used ceremonially by chiefs and priests only, but today kava is a part of daily life, across the country and across the races. ‘Having a grog’ is used for welcoming and bonding with visitors, for storytelling sessions or merely for passing the time. When visiting a village you will usually be welcomed with a short sevusevu ceremony (whereupon you will present a gift to the village chief), where you will be initiated into kava-culture.

There are certain protocols to be followed at a kava ceremony. Sit cross-legged (on Vorovoro females sat with their legs tucked behind them – not sure if this is a Mali thing, or what), facing the chief and the tanoa, or large wooden bowl. Women usually sit behind the men. Never walk across the circle of participants, turn your back to or point your feet at the tanoa, or step over the cord – if there is one – that leads from the tanoa to the white cowrie shell (which represents a link with the spirits).

The dried out and powdered root, wrapped in a piece of cloth, is mixed with water in the tanoa and squeezed out; you will be offered a drink of the resulting concoction from a bilo (half a coconut shell). Clap once, accept the bilo, say ‘bula!’ (meaning ‘cheers’ or, literally, ‘life’) and drink it down in one go. Clap three times in gratification. The drink will be shared until the tanoa is empty. You are not obliged to drink every bilo offered to you, but it is polite to drink at least the first. Despite rumours, it doesn’t taste that awful (kind of like murky medicine) and the most you are likely to feel from one bilo is a furry tongue. After a few drinks you may feel a slight numbness of the lips. Long sessions with stronger mixes can make you very drowsy, and some heavy drinkers develop kanikani, or scaly skin.

Kava is a mild narcotic and has been used as a diuretic and stress reliever for pharmaceutical purposes. It has properties that combat depression, reduce anxiety and lower blood pressure – news that spread through health obsessed Western countries in the 1990’s. When trade in kava peaked in 1998, Fiji and neighbouring Vanuatu were exporting US$25 million worth of kava each year. But the good times didn’t last. A German study done in 2001 indicated that kava potentially caused liver damage, and in late 2002 most of Europe, as well as Canada and the USA, had either banned or put warnings and restrictions on kava.

After further research and lobbying, in 2005 the World Health Organisation gave its support for reviving kava sales and the Fiji Kava Council is hopeful that the ban will be lifted.