One
of the first things I heard about Fiji when I received my invitation was a
drink called “Kava”. I heard horror stories about how awful it tasted, and that
it made you hallucinate! Well…to my surprise most of the things I heard were
not true!
What
is kava?
Kava
is a drink that is consumed in many different ways throughout Pacific Ocean
cultures. It comes from the root of a plant that in Fiji is harvested after 4-6
years of the plant growing. The longer the plant grows, the more concentrations
of kavalactones it has. Kavalactones is the compound that creates the effects
of Kava drinking. Fijians typically call the drink “grog” or “yagona”
(pronounced yangona). So I will use both terms in this post.
How
is it made?
 |
| (Sun drying kava) |
There
are many different ways to make kava and it all depends on which country you
are drinking it in. In Fiji, the plant is harvested and then the roots are
spread out to sundry, and then pounded into a fine powder. Once it is a fine
powder, it is strained and mixed with water. You can also take the root and
boil it, and then mix it with “cold” water after it boils for 15 minutes. This
is called “Raw Kava”. In some other Pacific Ocean countries, the root is
chewed, grinded, or pounded.
How
do you drink it?
After
the kava has been pounded in a fine powder, it is strained and mixed in a
Tanoa, which is a large bowl made wood that has multiple legs. Sometimes the
Tanoa is decorated with shells, paintings, or carvings. Sitting at the Tanoa
are three people, one sits at the head of the bowl to keep mixing the kava so
it doesn’t settle too much, and the two others are on the side distributing the
“bilos” out to the drinkers. The “bilo” is a half-shell of a coconut and used
to drink the kava. If you are sitting directly in front of the Tanoa, then you
are the guest of honor and are given the first bilo of kava. After the guest of
honor is served, then it goes in a hierarchy manner. When you are given the
bilo, you clap 1 time as a respectful manner, almost saying please. You drink
the kava in one fluid motion, and then hand the bilo back to you received it
from. Once you hand it back, you clap 3 times as a form of respect, almost
saying thank you. Throughout the entire time the kava is being served, you sit
with your legs crossed. After the kava has been served to everyone, everyone
will clap and then you may then uncross your legs and stretch.
 | |
| (This is the set up of a formal grog session) |
 |
| (This is a "tanoa" with a "bilo") |
What
are the effects?
Like
I said before, the ingredient kavalactones is a sedative and anesthetic. After
drinking a few bilos, your face and mouth become numb, and you begin to feel
more relaxed. Sometimes when I drink it, I feel sleepy. It also causes you to
have to pee a lot, so don’t break the seal to early!! As the grog session keeps
going, you will start to notice everyone will start to relax and open up with
conversations that are not typically talked about during the day. People will
also bring guitars, and ukuleles and sing many traditional songs. When locals
talk about the effects of grog they call it being “drunk” or “getting high”. Kava
does have long-term effects on your body if drank excessively. It can cause
liver and kidney damage, suppressed sex drive, dry skin patches, among many
others.
 |
| (They be feeling sleepy!) |
Ceremonial
or social?
Kava
drinking is both a social event and ceremonial. In terms of ceremonial, they
are done in events such as political, religious, and social functions. The
ceremony usually has a ritual presentation of a bundle of yagona, called a
sevusevu (gift) and then drinking of kava. Many people drink kava to be
enlightened spiritually as well. When it comes to social kava drinking, it is
usually done at night or during celebrations of some short. Both men and women
drink kava, but it depends on the village laws if women are allowed to join in
on the grog session with men. In my village women are not allowed to drink grog
in the grog sessions, but are allowed to drink it in their home. Both
ceremonial and social drinking of grog can last hours upon hours and multiple
Tanoas will be filled. It is impolite to leave the grog session if the Tanoa is
full, so you have to wait until it is empty to leave, which can be hard when
they keep filling it…
 |
| (This was during our sevusevu when we first arrived in Fiji) |
Does
it taste good?
When
I first had it I expected it to be AWFUL! But to my surprise, it only tasted
like muddy water and didn’t taste bad. After the many different sessions I have
been a part of, I have come to enjoy the taste of grog. It’s funny because when
the locals drink it, they give a after face and grown as if they had just had a
shot of strong vodka. So I guess it depends on your taste buds if you like it
or not.
So
who’s ready to try some grog?! Many more pictures have been posted and the
links to the albums are below! I hope that you all are trying to keep warm
during the cold winter, as I am trying to keep cool and only sweat 1 or 2
buckets…
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