It wasn't until we got to Fiji that we heard about Kava. I had always assumed it to be some expensive champagne, drank only on special occasions, but in Fiji it is something entirely different.
I guess it would be correct to say that Kava is Fiji's answer to alcohol. It's something taken in a social occasion, used as a celebration, and has slightly similar effects as alcohol. Kava is a root, gown locally and dried out for weeks for purity. It's then mixed in water in a huge 'kava' bowl and drank from a coconut shell. We were warned that whilst staying on the remote islands, we would most likely be offered kava as an act of generosity, and therefo
re it would be rude to turn it down or not finish the given amount. We'd also been told that Kava resembles muddy water and makes your mouth go all numb and tingly...another reason why I didn't really fancy it. BUT...I suppose it's like going to Ireland and never having a Guiness, or visiting Thailand and never trying a green curry. It's a tradition, and we had to try it!!So there we were, sat around our camp on a small island with a handful of other tourists and some local Fijians. Tonight was a big celebratio
n...their village chief had recently died and as a mark of respect, Kava had been band for 3 months. Tonight was the first night of drinking again, and as a result, many of the local men had prepared a big bowl to share with us. The tradition is to be handed a coconut shell, clap 3 times and shout "bula" before drinking the serving. So off we went...It wasn't as bad as I'd thought. In fact, it was just like drinking muddy water which numbed the throat. As displayed by the locals, drinking a lot relaxes you and they all seemed really chilled out as they drank, sang songs and played the guitar. It was really nice to be able to share an evening like this and get a real taste of the Fijian culture. Although we only had one drink, we relaxed in a huge group for most of the night and had a fantastic time.
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