Offerings and feeding the unseen
Pacific kava ceremony
A formal drinking of kava, a mildly sedating root drink, which opens chiefly meetings and welcomes guests.
Presented by ClearTrust Customs described as customs, free to read.
Kava, made from the root of the Piper methysticum plant, is a drink of Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu and other Pacific islands. A formal kava ceremony follows strict order of rank, and it welcomes guests, installs chiefs and opens important meetings. Part of the drink may be poured on the ground as an offering to ancestors and spirits.
This is an outline of a custom, said as belief and practice. It is not instruction, it does not say that the rite works, and it is not medical advice.
What goes into it
- Kava rootPlantPounded or ground and mixed with water.
- Wooden bowlToolThe tanoa or kumete.
- Coconut cupToolUsed to serve.
- Rank and orderGestureDecides who is served first.
- Spoken welcomeWordSaid by the chief's speaker.
- Plant
- Tool
- Gesture
- Word
Each part has an equal wedge. The ring shows what goes into the rite, not how much. Colour is the part's role.
The steps, drawn
Each drawing shows the kind of act in that step. Details differ from place to place, family to family and practitioner to practitioner.
Step 1: Gather Guests and hosts sit in a circle by rank. Step 2: Gather The kava is prepared in the bowl with water. Step 3: Speak A speaker presents the root and welcomes the guests. Step 4: Offer The cup is passed to the chief and then in order. Step 5: Circle The group claps and responds after each cup. Step 6: Close The bowl is emptied and the meeting begins or ends.
Order and manners
In Fiji and Tonga, the root is prepared in a large bowl, the tanoa, and served in a cup of coconut shell. The chief is served first, then others by rank. Drinkers clap and say words such as bula or maca, which means empty, after drinking. Women and men have different roles in various places.
Health
Kava is a mild sedative and numbs the tongue. Heavy use has been linked to liver problems in some reports and rules vary by country. It is sold as a supplement in the West, where regulation differs.
Meaning
Anthropologists see kava as a way of making relationships and rank visible. Its role in Christian societies is debated, and some churches discourage it.
What it is for
- Welcoming guests
- Honouring chiefs
- Opening meetings
Who does it
Related entries
Also part of it, and being written: Kava (The drink and its plant.), Piper methysticum (The plant.).
More on EveryJaadu
No entries here yet. New pages are added every day.
Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryJaadu desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Closed or sacred detail is left out. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kava culture: Jaejay77, CC BY-SA 4.0, source