Fiji
Photo: Jaejay77, CC BY-SA 4.0, croppedKava (yaqona)
yaqona
/jaˈŋɡona/yahng-GOH-nah
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History
Kava, called yaqona in Fiji, is a drink made from the ground root of the kava plant, mixed with water and strained into a large wooden bowl called a tanoa. It tastes earthy and makes the mouth tingle and numb, and it has a calming effect. In Fiji, kava is at the heart of social and ceremonial life: it is used to welcome guests, in village meetings, weddings and funerals, and in the sevusevu ceremony, when visitors present kava root to the village chief. Drinkers clap once, take the coconut-shell cup, say bula and drink it in one go. Informal kava sessions are common in the evening, and the plant is grown on Fiji's islands.
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