Kava..grog..what?

Kava..grog..what?

This post consists of what I have been doing over the last week, some of which includes immersing myself in the rich Fijian culture. One thing I had heard about was how I must try Kava. Traditionally, it is a cultural ritual in which you (a stranger or outsider) present someone/a village/ a group with kava and then they will mix it for you and essentially offer it back to you. Everyone then has a drink in a very ritualistic way. It is a way of "breaking bread" and accepting you into their culture/village. After you partake in this ritual you are now a part of the village or group and now can participate in their activities. It is considered disrespectful to turn down Kava.

On that note, I decided to visit Navala Village just north of Ba Town. It is a village that mainly consists of traditional bures. It is an incredibly picturesque village against a beautiful landscape. The bure's consists of 1 room which everyone sleeps in and an area for prayer. 

You first start by taking off your shoes to enter the door. The clan sits on one side as the visitors sit on the other. The elected chief and spokesman presents the kava and then the villagers will mix the kava. 

They will mix it with their hands as they use a cloth as a sieve. The product...muddy looking water...yum. Traditionally it used to be chewed inside a virgin's mouth before spitting it back into the potpourri of gray and brown powder...double yum. They did not use that technique today...hallelujah. 

I traveled with an Australian family and the patriach told me when he tried it in another village, they made it so strong he curled up in a ball and cried his self to sleep with a stomach ache throughout the night. Hmm..yes, must try now. Against my better judgment, I tried it anyway. Part curiosity. Part peer pressure. Probable stupidity. The grit in my teeth was different akin to getting smacked in the face by a dust storm. After the ceremony, now we break bread for real and had yummy food to wash down the kava. 

Educating myself more on the topic, kava is SOOO prevalent. Then to top off the unappetizing look, smell and taste, the other name for it is grog. There is grog bars everywhere! When asked in the ED, most people do not drink alcohol but partake in grog heavily. Most everywhere else it is done like going to a pub to down a few (one..two..or TEN, whatever). 

I have only tried it twice and the second time was done out of an industrial sized bucket that looked like muddy water and dish water. Not as glamorous. 

No matter how gross it tastes..keep smiling. It's disrespectful otherwise.

So what the what is this appetizing grog that is commonly abused in the South Pacific?

Kava is made from the roots of the plant Piper methysticum. The chemical ingredients of kava include kava lactones, which are thought to be pharmacologically active. These lactones are absorbed into the bloodstream and act as a CNS depressant as well as with slight anesthetic properties. Although, there is no alcohol in kava, it has very similar symptomatology to alcohol. Common effects in small doses include relaxed muscles, sleepiness, mild euphoria, mild parathesias to mouth and throat as well as appetiite loss. While larger doses induce symptoms similar to ethanol intoxication, so drunk and stupid or obnoxious for those subgroups however with dilated pupils, erythematous eyes, nausea, stupor and ataxia. 

Kava dermatitis "Crocodile skin" 

Village from a distance

Men finishing off the kava