Yaqona ceremony drinking has a huge significance in a Fijian and Pacific lifestyles. In Fijian past times it was said that the yaqona was prepared by young women of the village who would chew the pieces of yaqona root into a soft pulpy mass before the water was added. Today it is pounded by hand or by machine, into a dried textured powder. The ceremony custom is preformed in the presence of the gu
est of honour. The guest of honour would be seated cross-legged across the tanoa a large wooden bowl carved from a single piece of hardwood (vesi) and the Tui-ni-Buli (a thick rope of coconut fibre decorated with white cowries shells) pointed at the honoured guest. The guest of honour is presented the first Bilo (half of a coconut shell) accompanied by the clapping of hands (Cobo). The master of ceremonies is next to drink followed by guests in order of rank. This ceremony retains great significance in Fiji. Today – social yaqona – kava drinking can be informal and is still very much in-tangle with all aspects of Fijian culture. The amazing thing about Yaqona is that it the centre of all Fijian social events. Social kava gathering is where you talanoa (share stories) resolve differences, celebrations, make new friends, find that soul mate or just drink all your problems away. We love kava because it is the place where we all come together, practice our culture, sharing memories and also show future generations the significances of Kava culture. Kava Kings was founded to assist Itaukei, Indo, Fijian Farmers by creating opportunities to provide a stainable income, employment and give back to our people back home. We purchase kava directly from the farmers and employ local villages with a weekly income to help maintain, clean, cut & dry the kava ready to be sent to our Biosecurity approved pack-house for pounding, packing and export. We believe in quality and find that by doing our business this way, this is how we maintain a higher quality of kava for our customers. Our Kava Kings program also details strict certification of authenticity that is signed by the Ratu (chief) or farm head/land owners of the area for ownership of the yaqona and gives you the name of the kava you are enjoying. Kava kings grass-root projects coming soon.
