Kava or kava kava is a crop of the Pacific Islands. The name kava is from Tongan and Marquesan, meaning 'bitter'; other names for kava include ʻawa (Hawaiʻi), ʻava (Samoa), yaqona or yagona (Fiji), sakau (Pohnpei), seka (Kosrae), and malok or malogu. Kava is consumed for its sedating effects throughout the Pacific Ocean cultures of Polynesia, including Hawaii and Vanuatu, Melanesia, some parts of Micronesia, such as Pohnpei and Kosrae, and the Philippines.
Kava
Painting showing women preparing kava by John La Farge (c. 1891).
Kawakawa (Piper excelsum) plant may have been named by early Polynesian voyagers to New Zealand due to its similarities to kava.
Kava root drying in Lovoni village, Ovalau, Fiji (2005)
The ʻava ceremony is one of the most important customs of the Samoa Islands. It is a solemn ritual in which a ceremonial beverage is shared to mark important occasions in Samoan society. The Samoan word ʻava is a cognate of the Polynesian word kava associated with the kava cultures in Oceania. Both terms are understood in Samoa.
The ʻaumaga, 'ava makers must follow etiquette and cultural protocol in the making and serving of the 'ava. It is usually an honour to be selected for the ceremony. The ʻaumaga, with prescribed roles in the ceremony, were a select guild in the past.
A young plant Piper methysticum
Tanoa bowl on its side, coconut shell drinking cup (ipu 'ava), leaves of the kava plant and strainer
A round open fale tele meeting house in Avao village. Architecture of Samoa define seating areas for the 'Ava ceremony.
