Sharing Samoan Kava with The Village Chiefs

Though I know as a part of the Polynesia cluster, Kava is a part of Samoan culture; I didn’t plan to have Samoan Kava.

Also, unlike while in Fiji, where Kava felt like an integral part of Fijian daily life (I have heard too many Kava jokes, saw too many roadside Kava stalls and saw too many Kava products from the plantation to the powder), I didn’t encounter anything related to Samoan Kava while in Apia.

That’s until we took an hour ferry to Savai’i.

Our first stop was the Savai’i Fish Market. Inside the unlit open-aired market, there were a few Samoan Kava stalls. By Kava stalls, I meant a few benches surrounding a table where a massive tub of liquid Kava was placed, among other random things.

One of the stall owners invited us to try it, and on a whim, I decided why not. In exchange for 5 Samoan Tala, I was given a makeshift bowl made from coconut filled with brown water ━ Samoan Kava.

I tried to remember the steps at the Fijian Kava Ceremony, especially the clapping part. But I was standing with the bowl in my hand, so there was no clapping this time. Instead, I held the bowl in both hands and drank the whole Samoan Kava in one go, which amused the stall owner and the people watching.

Samoan Kava

They could be expecting me to have a solid reaction to the Kava. Little do they know I have been gulping down Kava regularly after returning from Fiji with a massive packet of Fiji Kava powder.

Also, the Fijian Kava I had been drinking was way more potent than the Kava I drank on that day.

I was told to make a big tub of Kava like the one we saw in the market, six to eight palm-sized packets of Kava powder mixed with plain water (but never with coconut water ━ I have clarified).

I also learned that the men sitting in the Kava stall that day were the head chiefs of nearby villages, and hanging out in the Kava stall in the market was one of their weekend activities. That part reminded me of my Appa and his gang back in Medan. Replace Kava with liqueur, precisely what they have been doing for years.

My Samoan Kava experience was so different from the ceremonies of the Fijian Kava experience; still, it felt truly authentic, and I consider myself lucky to share it amongst the head chiefs.

Follow me on Instagram @KultureKween for more recent updates.