We have slept through the night and day now dawns The sun is high in the heavens
Go uproot the yaqona and bring it…
Prepare the root and proclaim it!
The acclamation rose skywards,
Reaching distant lands!
- Ancient Fijian Kava Chant
KAVA
Perhaps nothing reflects the Fijians’ reverence for tradition like yaqona (kava) drinking. Made from the pulverised root of a plant in the pepper family, this muddy-colored drink has a tingling numbing effect on the tongue.
"Yaqona is a Fijian link to the past, a tradition so inextricably woven into the fabric of culture that life without it is unimaginable. Fijians would scarcely be Fijians without their national beverage. It is consumed ritually when welcoming visitors, sending village members on journeys, christening boats, laying the foundations of homes, casting magical spells, making deals, settling arguments and, as is usually the case, chatting. It is also presented as a sevusevu, a traditional gift offered by guests to the host, or as a token of respect to visitors of higher rank Kavain official ceremonies.
Legend has it that yaqona was derived from the Fijian god Degei (whose name means `from heaven to the soil and through the earth’), who asked his three sons where they wanted to live and what they wanted to do with their lives. They replied with where they wanted to dwell and what they thought their tasks should be. Degei was pleased but told his sons that although they had power and strength, they lacked the wisdom to make decisions. He gave them two sacred crops, yaqona and vuga (a type of tree) from which to draw wisdom. The sons in turn gave them to the people and to this day, goes the legend, the crops grow where the Fijian descendants live.
In Fiji, yaqona drinking was and is the social cement that bonds society. "
- www.fijiguide.com
English Fijian (pronunciation)
Great Fiji Viti Levu (vee tee le voo)
Great Land Vanua Levu (va noo a le voo)
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