Does Sabrina like the kava?
28 September 2010 | Mokagai, Fiji
Patrick Childress
We shared several cups of kava and did our best to hold a conversation. All this preshow time allowed the musicians to practice some tunes, and everyone was dressed in their colorful best "bula" clothes. The whole village was there, and everyone had their smiles on. The kava drinking felt very nice like we were trusting them to not pass us any viruses (you all share the same cup and the guy mixing the kava has his hands all through the drink before you drink it.), and that they were trusting us with the same. Nobody had the sniffles in this village so we went ahead and partook in the festivities. The kava wasn't that strong, and they knew to pass us half tide cups. We got in to the routine of clapping before accepting the cup, drinking everything that was poured, and clapping 3 times after we handed the cup back. I think it's called a bilo actually, not a cup it's a coconut split in half and made shiny. Then a few hours later, the tourists arrived, wearing their sulus (wraparound skirt things) every which way, and awkwardly at best, and somewhat nervous of what to expect. They were actually divers and hadn't been ashore for 5 days. They were so pasty white! The chief accepted their kava roots and numerous backpacks for the children, and then a formal kava ceremony began. Young boys dressed in leaves brought the bilo to each person in the tourist group and they sipped their first kava. Then the dancing began, mostly by the children with pretty matching costumes. Patrick was the official photographer and was encouraged by the chief to take as many pictures as possible with the promise that we would give them a DVD with all the pictures on it. Patrick got some great shots! After the tourists left, we stayed on and drank some more kava with them and with the whale researchers - Amanda and Sabrina. The cava is certainly not tasty like coffee or tea can be. It is simply consumed for the lethargic feeling it gives. However, Sabrinas facial reaction to her first ever cup of kava is the best description one can give for its taste.