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Yaqona (or kava) is today, widely regarded as the national (traditional) beverage, playing an important part in public, business and private life. The consumption of yaqona has diversified from traditional ceremonial manners to less formal and also social gatherings - where the rules regarding its making and drinking are not so rigid. Almost all communities indulge in the narcotic beverage. So much so that it is now banned on certain Government premises and corporate establishments.

None of that takes away, however, from the importance of the kava ceremony in traditional life.

Kava is usually mixed in a large bowl carved out of a single slab of wood which is known as a tanoa. The age of a tanoa can generally be guessed by the bluish-grey glaze it develops over time from contact with kava. However, that is not an accurate test as some tanoa are very well kept.

The drinking bowl or bilo is made from the half-shell of a coconut. These are highly polished and sleek. Chiefs generally have their own cups that noone else is allowed to drink out of. Everyone else drinks from a common cup. Some say this cements communal bonds.

Kava comes from the dried roots of the shrub Piper methysticum.In the old days, the roots were cut into small pieces and chewed to soften them, before being added to the tanoa with water. These days, fortunately, such chewing has become unnecessary, with the pieces now grated or pounded to a fine powder form before being mixed with water. The whole mixing procedure takes place with a strainer - in the old days this was the fibre of a hibiscus plant, though today it is more common to see a 'grog cloth' being used.

In a ceremonial setting, every movement involving the mixing of kava is significant. Its straining and serving are all part of a ritual, performed with a high degree of skill and grace (and one would think nervousness too given the fact that every detail is watched by critical eyes). The pace of kava ceremonies is governed by measured hand-claps (cobo) and chanting that specifically mark such occasions.

Traditional presentation of the first 'bilo' - Three Loose Coconuts

There is a strict pecking order for who gets to drink first and then in what order everyone else follows. A village head or chief usually reserves the right to the first bilo (cup), and is followed by his traditional herald (or mata-ni-vanua) even if other chiefs are present. Then the order of chiefly rank is carefully observed. Kava ceremonies can vary from one village to the next with each maintaining their own unique aspect to an age-old tradition.

Of course, we're talking the more formal kava drinking here. There's a whole other world of social 'grog-swiping' with chipped bilos and yellow buckets we haven't even begun to discuss!

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