KAVA REDUX

Another post about Kava. It needs to be said. Before coming to Tanna I was told all these stories about how "man-tanna" is a huge kava drinker and how if i'm ever get integrated into the community, ever be accepted by the locals, i'll need to become a serious kava drinker - and at that point i really hated the stuff. So I was nervous. But as with most things in life, nothing is as it first seems. Don't believe the hype, in other words.

The photo to the right is a nakamal up near Matt Dewits house. I think this photo appears earlier in the blog but I don't have any current photos. They all basically look the same anyway.

So since arriving in Tanna I've become a regular at the Kava bars, the nakamals. Turns out that nakamal is the term for any meeting place, be it a community center, or a custom dance area, but is most often associated with a kava drinking place.

The tradition is thus...

Every freaking day, at about 4 - 4:30, I join up with Jeff (the PCV i'm replacing) and/or any other random local - usually one of the family members of the family that owns the land the coffee factory sits on. This family is all so incredibly friendly and kind and helpful - they also own the bungalows that I'm currently living in. So we venture out onto the main road and begin looking for an open kava bar. There are two kinds...

Ready-mades:

These kava bars are like little businesses - anyone is welcome, they are plentiful, they charge 100vt for a whole shell (about 8 ounces) or 50vt for a half shell. They are set just off the main road, some have shrubs or makeshift palm frond walls to block the view of the road. They all have a packed mud open area often with little benches along the perimeter. Usually there is a small flameless fire going - just a pile of glowing embers and smoldering logs. They have a little bamboo hut with a small counter top. Behind the counter one or more guys are serving the kava by scooping it out of the 5 gallon bucket it was mixed in. The scoop is almost always an old plastic bottle that they've cut down to a special measurement. The serving shell is usually an old coconut that they've been using forever. After each person uses a shell they sort of half-heartedly swoosh it around in a bucket of water before using it again. It's all pretty disgusting, but you just have to ignore all that since the worst part is yet to come. After you get your shell you walk away from the bar area and it's tradition that you find a lone spot facing away from everyone else. Some places have specific walls that you face, others you just walk over to the perimeter of the grounds. Next you drink down your shell in one continuous motion - no stopping. Gulp, gulp, gulp. Then you start spitting profusely. Some guys make a big deal out of the spitting - i mean, really going overboard with the sound effects. As for me - I find the only way i can down a shell is to hold it away from my face, look out onto the horizon, take a deep breathe of fresh air, then close my eyes and bring the shell to my mouth and hold my nose whil I gulp it all down. Afterwards I imediately rinse my mouth with water, but never swallowing the water - I find that upsets my stomach. Then you return your shell and walk over to your friends and maybe nibble on a little piece of bread.

The other kind of kava bar is the custom nakamal. Every village has it's one special custom nakamal and this is also the place where they hold custom ceremonies and such. Here, women are not permitted and the kava is served free of charge. Often it is chewed kava, meaning they chew up in thier mouths to make the pulp, and then spit it out before adding water to make the drink. Some people think the chewed kava tastes more smooth, but I find that it's just as disgusting.

Kava, as I've indicated before, tastes like dirty cucumber dish water. Or something that might fit a similar discription. This is part of the reason you turn away from people as you drink it so they can't see your pained expression as you try and get it into you. The first shell goes down the easiest, and they get progressively harder and less palatable as you go. I find that if I start with a full shell, and follow that with maybe one or two more half shells over the span of an hour then I'm doing pretty good. It provides a mild sedetive effect, but honestly does not do that much in the way of narcotics. It's mostly a social thing, I guess. But here's the rub... kava bars are VERY subdued environments. They are never lit, except the lantern by the road that indicates they are currently serving, and the lantern behind the bar. Other than that it's just the setting sun and then complete darkness. People mill about here and there making small talk, but it's always in a wisper - and often people don't talk at all. When I asked about this part of the tradition I was told it was because you were supposed to sit back and listen to the kava - it wasn't a time for rowdiness or chatting.

However, when I drink kava and I'm with other friends, I'm in "bar" mode and chatting is exactly what I want to do. And this is OK so long as we all keep it very wispery. I also don't find kava to be that relaxing. In fact, I've lately discovered that I sleep horribly, or not at all, on evenings when I've had more than a couple shells.

Plus, this is an early evening ritual. It usually begins at dusk and is over shortly after the sun sets - meaning they sell out. So often we go nakamal hopping - always looking around for one more lantern hanging out. It's a social thing.

I'm pleased to learn that man-tanna, as we call the locals, is not the kava freak he was made out to be. It's true that these nakamals are going every night and that kava is a major part of their custom life, but I've come across many men that don't drink kava at all, or only in small doses. Turns out the biggest kava drinker I know is Jeff. He can knock back shell after shell after shell and it just amazes me - this stuff tastes AWFUL.

There have been a couple night where I've skipped dinner suffering from a kava drunkeness that upsets my stomach a little bit. But once it wears off in an hour or two I find myself ravenishly hungry - but often that happens after I've crawled into bed.

Before leaving the training village I was really hating kava and was anxious that it would be a problem for me in Tanna after all the stories I'd been told, but not I'm much more comfortable with a couple shells and I enjoy the nakamal environment - VERY different than a white man bar scene.

I'm sure I'll continue to drink kava probably every other night or so - if for no other reason than that's what we do here in Vanuatu.

But I would much prefer a couple beers. Ho humm.