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For a full listing of our
FAVORITE KAVA RECIPES,
look to our Recipes Page.
In Vanuatu, the
preparation of kava is a daily ritual. Every day kava is
made fresh for the nakamals; it is never kept for a
second day. Except on special occasions, kava
preparation and drinking take place at dusk. The potency
of kava is determined by three factors. The variety of
species being used is of primary significance.
While there are many
cultivars of kava throughout the islands, some, such as
the Palisi and Palarasul of Santo Island, are more
highly prized than others. Upon chemical analysis, these
varieties prove to contain higher quantities of
kavalactones, preferred ratios of certain kavalactones
one to another, or both. Thus every island has its
favorite varieties. Some are for everyday drinking, and
some particularly strong varieties are for special
occasions.
The age of the root also
makes a difference in the potency of kava. Roots are not
mature or ready for drinking until around five or more
years of age. As time goes by, the concentration of
kavalactones in the root increases, and the root
increases in size and weight. Virtually every individual
kava grower or village has a few very special plants ten
or fifteen years old, saved for just the right occasion,
perhaps a wedding, a circumcision, or another important
event.
The third factor in the
potency of kava is preparation. Preparation of kava root
into kava for drinking is a process that is time and
labor intensive. It is also an aspect of kava culture
that has been hotly attacked by missionaries and other
non-native zealots. For while today's method of
preparing kava typically involves pounding, grinding, or
grating kava by manual or mechanical means, the
traditional method involved masticating the root.
There is ample evidence
that mastication of kava was the method by which kava
was prepared on virtually every island where kava was
drunk in antiquity. In Fiji pounding kava with a stone
was the traditional method of preparation until it was
replaced by mastication in the 1750s. Today, mastication
of kava is limited to the southern islands of Vanuatu,
especially the island of Tanna, and to parts of Papua
New Guinea. Kava mastication is a difficult, fatiguing,
and time-consuming activity.
While customs vary from
island to island, virgin boys or virgin girls were
historically selected to masticate kava. This was due to
the belief that sexual "purity" was essential for the
preparation of good kava. The requisites for
kava-chewing service included not only virginity, but
also a clean mouth, good health, and strong teeth and
jaws. Kava is a tough root no matter how it is prepared.
Traditionally, prior to
mastication kava root was harvested, cleaned thoroughly,
and cut into pieces. The lucky candidate (sometimes a
passing virgin pressed into service!) rinsed his or her
hands and mouth, and then commenced chewing the root.
The fibrous root was chewed thoroughly until it became a
soft pulp. Care was taken by the chewer to ensure that
only enough saliva was mixed with the kava to make it
soft, not sloppy with spit. Once the task of chewing a
mouthful of kava was complete, the pulpy mass was spat
onto a palm frond for further preparation.
When Captain Cook and his
crew first witnessed the preparation of kava by
mastication, they were thoroughly disgusted. The sharing
of chewed kava seemed barbaric and unhygienic.
Missionaries in the 1800s used the allegedly unhygienic
nature of kava mastication as a rationale to press for a
total ban on kava, the devil's drink.
Despite pressure on native
people to abandon mastication, many Fijians and Ni-
Vanuatu continued to chew kava as opposed to using other
means of preparation, because they believed that
mastication produced a stronger drink. In fact, it
appears that mastication does indeed produce a more
potent kava. Researchers believe that the reason for
this difference is that mastication liberates more
kavalactones, because saliva contains an enzyme which
breaks down the starchy components of the pulp.
By all accounts,
masticating kava is tiresome enough that young virgins
would do almost anything to get out of kava-chewing
service. Margaret Mead claims that many a Samoan chief's
daughter eloped in order to finally be rid of the
jaw-wracking duty. Today, there is either a dearth of
virgins or customs have relaxed. In those island
communities where mastication of kava is still the
preferred method of preparation, non-virgin men usually
do the chewing.
The other methods of
initial kava preparation include pounding, grinding, and
grating. On some islands in Vanuatu, freshly cleaned
kava root is placed in a standing vessel resembling a
butter churn. Sometimes the vessel is a length of wide
pipe fixed to a stump or other large piece of wood. A
heavy pounding pole is then used to smash the kava into
a soft pulp. In nakamals where quantities of kava are
consumed, meat grinders and even power mulchers may be
used to transform fresh kava root into pulp. Some Fijian
communities pound kava root with a stone, and still
other South Pacific communities use rough coral to grate
kava.
Once kava root has been
reduced to pulp, it is ready to be further prepared. The
kava is either placed in a large, wide bowl or onto a
broad, slightly concave board, and is mixed with pure,
cold water. Kava is not cooked, distilled, or otherwise
tinkered with. The amount of water used helps determine
the potency of the final kava drink. In nakamals in Port
Vila, Vanuatu, quantities of five kilograms or so of
freshly pounded root are put into a large plastic tub
such as the kind used for washing dishes, and then the
tub is filled almost to the top with water. Two tubs
will provide sufficient volume of fresh kava for dozens
of people for several hours over the course of an
evening.
Once kava root is mixed
with water it is kneaded or stirred for a while until
the water has a muddy, opaque, somewhat yellow
appearance. When the kava has been thoroughly mixed, it
is strained. In a modern nakamal, straining is often
accomplished through the fine fibers of a sturdy nylon
bag. But in traditional nakamals, the strainer used is
usually a wide swath of palm fiber. In either case, the
solids of the kava root are strained out and pressed,
and what remains is a ready-to-drink kava beverage.
Coconut palms grow
abundantly on the islands of the South Pacific. As a
result, there is an abundant supply of coconut shells
for serving kava. While some nakamals in urban areas now
use glass bowls or other modern vessels for kava,
traditional nakamals strain kava into half coconut
shells for drinking. Kava is drunk by the shell, and in
those areas where kava is consumed regularly you will
hear people measure their kava consumption in that way,
saying they had three shells or five shells the previous
evening, or that they are only going to have two shells
tonight because they must get home early.
In the modern nakamal,
kava drinkers typically do not participate in kava
preparation, nor do they necessarily even observe it.
But in traditional village nakamals, kava preparation is
a time-consuming process that is an important social
period. As kava is being prepared by a few individuals,
others start to drift in, to share company and
conversation and to discuss the events of the day. In
villages, men take turns preparing kava, so the burden
is not left up to anyone or two individuals.
Enthusiastic, energetic young men often assume the task
of making the majority of kava as a contribution to the
group, simply because they have the stamina to do so.
As is the case with the
preparation of a meal, the atmosphere of kava
preparation sets the mood for kava drinking. Kava is not
made while one does laundry, cooks a meal, or runs in
and out for errands. "Kava time" is its own part of the
day, set aside from all the rest of the day's
activities. Kava preparation is the beginning of kava
time, and determines the quality of the drink that will
be shared, enjoyed, and appreciated.
Excerpted from "Kava:
Medicine Hunting in Paradise" by Chris Kilham. |
