Tongan Kava Ceremony

     The following is an excerpt by Eric B Shumway from his book Tongan Saints: Legacy of Faith
Unlike the modern kava club which focuses on heavy kava drinking, entertainment, and fund-raising activities, the traditional kava circle symbolized unity, brotherhood, and stability in Tongan society. It was a forum of debate, resolution, and reconciliation, as well as a repository of Tongan oral culture, history, and thought. A central feature of any major event - wedding, funeral, birthday party, church conference, village work project, or reception of a distinguished guest - the kava circle ensured that a certain dignity prevailed for the occasion. It also served as a principal means of transmitting Tongan values from generation to generation. (Shumway, 25-26)
     Reading this makes me long for such an experience. I have never tried kava because it was banned in the mission and grounds for being sent home and as such I've had an aversion to it since I returned. I have no desire to attend a modern kava club but I would give anything to be able to be involved in a ceremony like the one described by Shumway. I would love to be able to hear the ancient stories and fananga of the Tongan culture, I would love to be able to learn in a setting of solemnity and dignity as thoughts and culture are shared openly. Anybody that knows anything about the tradition and culture of Tonga will tell you that it's being lost, and I wonder if its a direct result of the loss of this important ceremony being performed in the proper way for the correct purpose. It would be nice if people would return to the traditional use for this ceremony so that it once again became an honorable thing rather than what it has been turned into now.