| Description | Throughout the Pacific, kava is synonymous as the elixir or drink of the gods. Known in various words ranging from kau, sakau, kava, ava and yaqona, the ritual commonality is similar. This video revisits the sacred kava ritual from a retelling of the indigenous spirituality and worldview as far as yaqona, chiefs, mana, power and the people are involved. Yaqona or kava is the best known traditional drink of the Fijians today. You cannot have a meeting or social gathering without it. For all gatherings where traditional customs are observed, one will see a yaqona ceremony. It is used to welcome visitors, install chiefs at initiations and at the completion of communal work; celebrations of births, marriages, at deaths and in almost all phases of life in villages. Not only it is consumed in social gatherings and traditional ceremonies, it has also been used in after-church gatherings by members to express customary respect and consideration for one another. In pre Christian Era, the way yaqona was used was totally different. It was for chiefs only, as they represented the gods. The yaqona or wainivanua was presented to the chiefs in temples early in the morning before any work could begin. The yaqona represented all that belonged to the land. Once the chief accepted it by drinking it in the temple, everyone was free to touch and use everything in the land (vanua). When the ceremony was going on in the temple, total silence was observed all over the land. As the people went to work, the king and chiefs continued to sit around the yaqona bowl discussing the affairs of the vanua. Thomson Basil wrote in his book "The Fijians. A study of the Decay of Custom." 1968, that yaqona serves as a catalyst for social activities and still continues to be so. ....The chief's yaqona circle supplied the want of newspapers; the news and gossip of the day were related and discussed; the chief's advisers seized upon the convivial moment as the most favourable opportunity for making known their view; matters of high policy were often decided; the chief's will, gathered from a few careless words spoken at the yaqona ring, was carried from mouth to mouth throughout his dominions. | ||
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| Manage No | VI00000831 | Running Time | 11.46 minutes |
| Country | Fiji | ||
| ICH Domain | Oral traditions and representations, Performing Arts, Social practices, rituals, festive events | ||
| Videos Photographer | Kelera Dikakua, Ilaitia Senikuraciri | Year | 2018 |
| Place | Serua Province and Cakaudrove Province, Fiji | File Size | 895.6 MB |
| Definition | 1920 X 1080 | File Format | .mp4 |
| Copyright | iTaukei Institute of Language and Culture |
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iTaukei Institute of Language & Culture (TILC)
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EE00002323
The Sacred Kava Ritual
Throughout the Pacific, kava is synonymous as the elixir or drink of the gods. Known in various words ranging from kau, sakau, kava, ava and yaqona, the ritual commonality is similar. This video revisits the sacred kava ritual from a retelling of the indigenous spirituality and worldview as far as yaqona, chiefs, mana, power and the people are involved.
Fiji -
EE00002332
Ritual - Inculturation - The old and new spirituality of the Fijian people
This article examines the notion of inculturation especially where the Gospel of Christ resonates with the iTaukei culture. Christian Missionaries arrived on Fiji’s shores in 1830 but the actual works of the Wesleyan Missionaries in Lakeba started in 1835 (Bigitibau 2007:13). Apart from Evangelization, missionaries targeted cultural elements to influence the masses. They critiqued beliefs they considered were against Biblical teachings and encouraged the practice of elements that were compatible (Bigitibau 2007:13). The intergration is one reason Christianity is still popular today with the Fijian population. Cultural elements that were encouraged during church service included isevu or the First Fruit Harvest, vosa vakavanua ni somate or traditional eulogy, vosa ni veikidavaki or traditional welcome speech by the host, dolei ni vosa ni veikidavaki or verbal acknowledgement by visitors and luvanitai or a kava ceremony to welcome and show gratitude to the presider of the church service.
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