Yaqona - Kava

Kava is known in the Fijian language as “Yaqona.” It is the plant native to the Pacific Islands that native people use to drink in ceremonies like weddings, funerals, people first arriving to a village, greeting special people called a “Sevusevu,” and goodbyes.

I plant Yaqona in my village called Naqarani. I make sure that I plant it in a nice place in the shade with a little sun and away from the water because in my village we don’t have mountains. When we plant Yaqona, it takes 4 years to harvest. When we harvest it, we don’t cut it, we dig it out nicely to make sure we don’t damage the root. Because it is the root we want the most, we take it out and we clean it nicely and then we put it outside in the sun for 5 days. When it is ready, we pound it until it becomes powder.

In every village in my country we have a different kind or style of how we serve Yaqona to our Chief like in my village when we start a ceremony it will be so quiet and 3 people will sit around the big bowl called a Tanoa mixing the Yaqona and after they mix it and then they show it to the Matanivanua (the second leader to the Chief) and the Matanivanua will to start the ceremonies.

Today we can drink Yaqona with family and friends. It is so expensive. 1kg costs around $120. We drink Yaqona after we have done hard work and it is like relaxing your mind and your body and it feels good to drink it while we Talanoa (chatting). If you drink it, don’t drink it too much because there is a problem. It’s like wine or beer because if you drink too much you can’t control your walk or stay awake. It is not alcohol but it feels the same, so you must drink only a little bit.

You can buy Yaqona here in the United States. Some restaurants serve it, but you should come to Fiji to taste it for the first time.