Not Getting Stoned With the Natives
By Gabi. Filed in Vanuatu |
Yeah, it’s a take-off of a book, written by a guy that lived here on Vanuatu and in Fiji. The getting stoned, that he did, was on Kava, which I tried last night for the first time in my life.
After a relaxing day, we were up for some culture for the evening. We decided to go over to the Iririki Resort, which can only be reached with their own water taxi, that takes guests across the bay, from downtown Port Villa. Even though we don’t like the big touristy places, they often put on good evening shows. This evening started with a Kava tasting in one of James Michener’s Bali Hai bars. Kava is a substance made from the root of the pepper plant and drunk throughout Melanesia.It was often used for ceremonial purposes, but now can be enjoyed at any Nakamal (Kava bar) throughout Vanuatu. In the past, Pre- puberty boys, would chew the root and spit out the saliva mixture into a bowl. This would be pressed through some cloths and would be consumed by the male elders. Nowadays, there is a machine, that does the pressing. Native women here still do not often partake in Kava drinking, but foreigners are exempt from such kustoms (they speak Bislama here, a mix of English and French) and can do what they like. The Kava substance is served in a half coconut shell, looks like old slimy dish water, smells real earthy and tastes like diluted motor oil. Why drink it? It is supposed to put you in a real tranquil state and let you experience your surroundings to the full extend. According to the author of the book,it is like strong weed or mild LSD. Since I missed trying weed or LSD, I thought I’d give this a try. Hey, I’m not getting any younger!
Being cautious as I am, I thought I would taste it first, before gulping the whole bowl, as kustom dictates. I stuck my finger in the slimy mess and put a taste of it on the front of my tongue, which immediately became numb in that area. I thought I’d wait a couple of minutes before really trying the solution. My tongue started to tingle, like when I have too much of a ginger sauce at Hiro’s, my favorite Japanese restaurant. Oh no, an allergy! I decided to lay off this new sauce and stick with the beers and wines, that my body does not reject. Another experience, not to be had!
The evening wasn’t lost though, since we had a great steak for dinner and a song and dance show put on by a group of natives, who were really students in their other life.
The beef here is one of the best we have ever eaten. It just melts in your mouth. You wouldn’t think, that they would have cattle on a Melanesian island, but when we landed here, we did remark how green everything looked, almost like Ireland. That was of course because Vanuatu’s Efate Island is blessed with plenty of rainfall to keep the organic fed steers happy on their green pastures under the coconut trees.
As a last note on the Kava ordeal, when I woke up this morning, I had small blisters on the front of my tongue, where the drink had touched it. It is now 24 hours later and I still feel the little puffs. How can this stuff be consumed by so many, by the half shell full and I can’t handle a sip? Must be the Gods telling me, it doesn’t belong in a woman’s mouth.
BTW, Lothar didn’t try it. He couldn’t get past the whole lack of hygiene idea that the coconut shell is only rinsed in a tub of water between uses. Let’s face it though, I don’t think any germ would have a fighting chance against Kava.
Wednesday, July 25th 2007 at 7:26 pm |
Hahahahaha. I’m glad to hear you are ‘allergic’ to Kava because I can’t imagine you ‘stoned,’ seeing as how you are pretty laid-back after a glass or two of wine
And that’s very typical, but very funny about Papa!!