Yaqona is a type of pepper plant. When visiting a village you will usually be welcomed with a short sevusevu ceremony during which you will be initiated into kava culture.
There are certain protocols to be followed at a kava ceremony. Sit cross-legged, facing the chief and the tanoa (large wooden bowl). Women usually sit behind the men, Never walk across the circle of participants, turn your back to or point your feet at the tanoa, or step over the cord that leads from the tanoa to a white cowrie shell, which represents a link with the spirits.
The dried and powdered root, wrapped in a piece of cloth, is mixed with water in the tanoa and squeezed out; you will be offered a drink of the resulting concoction from a bilo (half a coconut shell). Clap once, accept the bilo, say "bull" and drink it down in one go. Clap three times in gratification. The drink will be shared until the tanoa is empty. After a few drink you may feel a slight numbness of the lips. Long sessions with stronger mixes can make you very drowsy, and some heavy drinker develop kanikani (scaly skin).
Having grog is used for welcoming and bonding with visitors, for storytelling sessions or merely for passing time. Today kava is a part of daily life across the country and across the races.
A bit about TABUA....Tabua ( carefully polished and shaped whales' teeth) were believed to be shrines for the ancestor spirits. They were and still are, highly valued items and essential to diplomacy. The acceptance of a tabua which is a powerful sevusevu binds a chief to the gift-giver. Traditionally, a chief's body was accompanied to the grave by a tabua.
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