I know what you are all thinking but this is not a blog about drunken sailors (we are all teetotalers of course!)
Instead of poor quality booze, ‘grog’ in Fiji is what the locals call kava.
Kava is a mild narcotic brewed from the root of a type of pepper plant. It looks like dirty dishwater, tastes like slightly peppery mud and makes your lips and tongue go numb. It also has huge cultural significance for Fijians and is central to a practice called sevusevu – a way of asking for permission to enter a village.
The first time I tried kava was actually on a tramping trip in the West Coast of New Zealand. A friend had bought some back from a trip to Fiji, along with a ceremonial bowl. When we reached the DOC hut we were staying at we had our own kava session – sitting in a circle, clapping our hands and trying not to gag on the stuff.
After a few rounds I was utterly convinced it was having no effect on me. I was still convinced it was doing nothing when I dropped a torch down the long drop and then spent 20 minutes staring at the light shining up from the darkness. I spent about another 20 minutes trying to make my way back to the hut (which was only a few meters away from the longdrop) before admitting to myself that perhaps my brain may have in fact gone on a wee holiday. I woke up with a stinking headache and swore I would never touch the stuff again.
Luckily so far participation in kava ceremonies has been voluntary. I will drink it if it would be insulting not to, but I have no intention of taking part in any extended sessions!
The process of giving sevusevu is a really good way to get a bit of an insight into Fijian village life. Basically, if you are a visitor then you present kava to the village chief. This in turn gives you free reign of the village, beach, snorkeling and diving spots. I must admit we probably didn’t really appreciate the significance of this at first until we had it explained to us in Savusavu by a local girl called Leiwa (we were really impressed by her. She was a representative of the junior sailing club and was also pretty much running the show at the marina where we were moored. She was a really great help when Paddy had a few issues with customs over some packages.) She told us that Fijian villagers saw the ocean and beaches as their backyard – so parking a yacht nearby and clambering around on the beach is the equivalent of pitching a tent in someone’s garden. So in that way, offering kava is not much different from buying someone a beer for letting you stay in their backyard. We thought that was kind of cool and were happy to take part.
Sevusevu can be very ceremonial, with the ‘head man’ of the village speaking on behalf of the chief (Fijians love their hierarchies) and the chief accepting the kava. If possible visitors should elect their own chief and head man to speak on their behalf too. The formalities aside, everyone grins, shakes hands and has a bit of a gossip before (if they want to) settling in for a grog session.
We have been here for a while but the terminology still cracks us up. When we were in Eakau village they very earnestly told us they wouldn’t be able to have a grog session until after church ( I had a few issues keeping a straight face over that one!) They have ‘grog shops’ in the towns too which always make me smile.
A history lesson from Captain Paddy:
The term ‘grog’ actually came about when a senior member of the British admiralty decided that sailors should only be allowed watered down rum. Funnily enough the sailors didn’t take too kindly to this and referred to the offending official as ‘old grog’. Since then ‘grog’ has been synonymous with booze of questionable quality. Goodness knows how it transferred to kava!
We have definitely seen two sides of sevusevu though. In the smaller villages it is a great way to get to know the locals and show that you appreciate them letting you into their home, but when you enter a full blown tourist operation where you are expected to pay for everything anyway it does seem a little cynical. We were a little dubious when we were expected to do sevusevu at Sawa-I-Lau island, where we were also charged $10 a head to swim in a cave that they keep locked up. It was a fresh water pool like the one we swam in in Tonga but not half as nice. There were so many tourists and teenyboppers in bikinis that it felt more like a public swimming pool with rock walls – so they would have made a packet. Don’t get me wrong – I think it is great that they are making the most of their natural resources, but in my mind sevusevu and chasing the tourist dollar don’t really sit well together.
Where it seemed to clash completely was at Blue Lagoon. Blue Lagoon was the set of the tacky 1980s movie/soft core porno that shot Brook Shields to stardom. Ironically the ‘isolated paradise’ where the film was set is now swarming with tourists, plastic deck chairs and cruise ships. It is also full of ‘no tresspassing’ signs telling you where you can’t go unless you are staying at a resort or are part of a Blue Lagoon cruise. Blue Lagoon Cruises appear to have the monopoly over a good chunk of the island, and most of the ‘no trespassing’ signs belong to them. The rest is carved up between the resorts and private owners. In a way it is a bit like the McDonalds of the Yasawas where you can go for a McHoliday, hang out with other tourists on white sandy beaches and sit in McDeckchairs – but only if you buy a McCruise happy meal. We didn’t give sevusevu to the resorts or the cruise company but to a woman who owned a patch of beach where we had a bonfire on to get rid of some of our rubbish, so in that way it wasn’t commercial. I guess it was also a strike for women’s rights because normally only men can accept sevusevu – but you certainly didn’t get that nice vibe you do from a village.
Just around the corner from Blue Lagoon though is a lovely slice of the real Fiji – Naviti Island. Naviti Island’s claim to fame is the wreck of a WWII plane that you can snorkel on. It takes a bit of bush bashing to get there and the wreck has certainly seen better days (though there are lots of pretty fish living on it) but the real beauty of it is the location which is idyllic and so peaceful. A woman named Clara and her husband (whose name was something like Tobias but not quite) own the land where the wreck is. They are a lovely elderly couple, full of stories and happy to share their slice of paradise. They won’t accept money for tramping all over their property but those of us that came with gifts (like t shirts and fruit drink) were rewarded with fruit and beautiful nautilus shells. Paddy and I both agree it is definitely a place we would like to come back to and spend more time. Across the bay from Clara’s is Samosamo village where we had a similar reception to Kia Island. There were kids lined up along the beach to help us pull our dinghy in – we presented our kava and were given the grand tour of the village. We then had the option of having afternoon tea (a cuppa and roti cooked in coconut cream) for a small donation to the island’s kindergarten. Those who arrived before us (the walk to the plane wreck took quite a bit longer than Paddy and I had anticipated) were also shown how the roti were made from scratch. Afternoon tea was a great chance to chat with the locals and find out about the village, which is much bigger than Eakau village (about 300 people). They have a kindergarten, a primary school with 100 students and a secondary school with 200. As soon as people found out we were from New Zealand they started on about the All Blacks (which of course I know stuff all about, but managed to bluff – I hope – convincingly). Interestingly about every Fijian we have talked to about rugby supports the All Blacks over the Fijian team (though of course the All Blacks is full of Fijians!) The villagers were lovely and friendly and the kids super excited to be gifted with balloons. It just felt really genuine.
We have visited so many lovely places but have only been able to spend a day or two in each (we have a deadline because we are meeting friends of mine at Musket Cove very soon). But we are already putting together a list of places in the Yasawas that we would like to come back to and spend a decent amount of time.
PS – we haven’t had internet access for the last few days but should have it back again soon. When we do I will put up more photos on Facebook and send out a blog with the links.
