ʻAva ceremony

The aumaga, 'ava makers.

The ʻAva Ceremony is one of the most important customs of the Samoa Islands involving a solemn ritual where a ceremonial beverage is drunk to mark most important occassions in Samoan society. The Samoan word ʻava is a cognate of the Polynesian word kava associated with many cultures in Oceania. Both terms are understood in Samoa.

The 'Ava ceremony within Samoan culture has slight variations although it always includes speeches and oratory and the formal drinking of 'ava, including women, with special attention paid to precedence in drinking order. One of the most important occassions for the 'Ava ceremony is during the bestowal of matai chiefly titles.

In Samoa, no constitutive gathering, no important undertaking, no valediction, no consequential ceremony, no momentous event whether pleasurable or otherwise, no trial by oath, is complete and worthy the name without the 'Ava ceremony.

Etymology

The Samoan word for both the plant and the drink manufactured therefrom is 'ava (pronounced with the glottal stop), although at some distant date before the letter k was dropped from the Samoan language it was termed kava by which name it is universally recognised.

'Ava titles

The 'Ava Title is a name or names bestowed only on certain chiefs who also have an 'Ava Title inseparable from their chiefly title. The bestowal of an 'Ava title usually takes place at the same time a matai chief title is bestowed. It occasionally happens that the 'Ava title is bestowed first, but only after it has been determined that the chiefly title will follow and after it has been publicly announced that such an event will take place in the near future. In either event the procedure is the same.

Beverage

The beverage is made from the dried roots of the plant Piper methysticum and mixed with water before it is strained for for drinking. The roots grows to a maximum height of about seven feet, the majority of specimens being much less. It usually has several stems springing direct from the roots. The leaves are flat and roughly heart-shaped and in colour resemble somewhat the leaf of the mulberry. The stems and roots of the plant are of a loose character are and the roots from which the drink is made are carefully cleaned and scraped. When fully grown, the roots vary considerably in size and with a section of the stem of the plant attached resemble roughly, a club. A root of 'ava is called the a'a 'ava, the first word meaning root. The 'ava roots are cleaned and dried in the sun before usage.

Material items

Bowl - tanoa

Tanoa bowl on its side, coconut shell drinking cup (ipu 'ava), leaves of the kava plant and strainer.

The bowl in which the drink is prepared is called a tanoa or laulau'. The former word is the more frequently used. The bowls vary in size from twelve to thirty inches and they stand on short rounded legs varying in number from four to twentyfour. It is unusual to find a bowl that has a greater depth than six inches and the majority are perhaps not more than three or four inches deep. A brim of a width varying according to the size of the bowl runs round the top of the tanoa and a flange or sometimes a projecting piece of the original wood is left under the bowl. This is pierced by a hole through which a piece of afa(native sennit) is threaded for suspending the bowl from a house post. The tanoa is usually made from the wood of the ifilele tree (Intsia bijuga), a hard grained timber of a reddish brown colour. When the bowl was finished it was soaked in fresh water for a considerable time to remove the woody smell. 'Ava often was also allowed to remain indefinitely in the tanoa in order that the inside might acquire an enamelled appearance. This enamel or sheen is called tane. In earlier bowls the legs were tapered towards the botton and reduced there to about a half an inch in diameter. Chiefs and orators, high and low, use the same type of tanoa. At ceremonies, the bowl used is that belonging to the chief or orator at whose house the ceremony is being held.

Cup

The cup used for distributing the 'ava is made from the half shell of a ripe coconut and it is cleaned and polished. It is sometimes ornamented with different designs, and with early European contact, it was sometimes decorated with inlaid silver. The Samoan name for this cup is tauau or generally, ipu 'ava ('ava cup).

Strainer

The material for straining the woody fibre of the dried 'ava root is obtained from the bark of the fau tree (Hibiscus tiliaceus). This bark is stripped off and the outer skin removed. The remaining inner bark is then shredded and forms a type of stringy and fibrous strainer.

Ceremony

Seating position

Most of the ceremony takes place with everyone seated cross legged on the floor, or on the ground if it takes place outside in the open. At all formal gatherings of chiefs and orators there are defined positions in the houses where each shall sit. The middle posts/termed matua Tala are reserved for the leading chiefs and the side posts on the front section termed Pou o le pepe are occupied by the Orators chiefs. The posts at the back of the house talatua indicate the positions maintained by the 'ava makers and assistants. Architecture of Samoa define spatial areas where the front is that part facing or closest to the main road or thoroughfare in a village, while the back is the part of the house farthest removed from road. If the 'Ava ceremony takes place outside in the open space of the village commons (malae), the same seating position is kept in relation to the roadway.

Roles

In general, the 'Ava ceremony takes place within a set social pattern involving a Host party and a Visiting party or 'guests' with certain prescribed roles.

'Ava makers - aumaga

The 'ava is prepared by a member or members of what is termed the aumaga ('ava makers). Today, the role of the aumaga is a compehensive term, but in former times the 'ava makers were a much more select guild. It is customary for the daughters of all chiefs to be taught how to prepare the 'ava. In the preparation of the 'ava for a ceremony the services of a young woman or young man, or one or more young ladies and young men may be utilised. If the person mixing the 'ava is a young woman, it is customary for her to be the virgin daughter of a chief. The 'ava mixer seated behind the bowl thoroughly mix the 'ava as another member of the aumaga adds water from time to time. As the mixing proceeds, the 'ava maker from time to time wrings the liquid from the strainer and folding the same into half its usual length passes it to another who standing outside or near the edge of the house, frees the strainer of the woody particles of the 'ava by several violent flicks. He then passes the strainer back to the mixer who proceeds until all the particles of the dried root are removed. The water poured into the bowl as the mixing proceeds is done from either the left or right, not from in front. The action of mixing is one of contracting and expanding the fingers of the two hands as the strainer is slowly worked towards the mixer. When the mixing is completed the rim of the bowl is wiped to remove any water or woody material and the strainer is folded up and placed on the rim of the bowl. The mixer then places both hands on the bowl and sits quietly awaiting the next move.

Before being vetoed by missionaries, it was customary for the dried 'ava root to be chewed by one or more of the members of the aumaga. Those chosen for this work were possessed of clean mouths and good teeth and they were required to thoroughly rinse out their mouths before commencing their duty. When the 'ava had been sufficiently chewed it was spat out on to the leaf of a banana or breadfruit or taro and carried and deposited in the 'ava bowl.

There is no rule governing the strength of the 'ava. If the root is plentiful, the drink is naturally made several degrees stronger than if it is in short supply.

'Ava distributor - tufa'ava

The man who calls out the 'ava titles is termed the tufa'ava ('ava distributor) and he indicates who is to receive the 'ava by calling out the individual's 'ava title. They must be fully conversant with the correct names and titles of those present as well as ceremonial protocol.

'Ava server - tautua'ava

The man who actually carries and hands the drinking cup to the people assembled is termed the Tautuava. He stands alongside the 'ava bowl and the maker of the kava after dipping the into the liquid raises it with both hands and rings a quantity of the brew into the kava cup held in the right hand of the Tautuava. The server then listens for the call from the Tufaava and is thus apprised of the correct individual to be served. He then advances towards the person indicated keeping his left hand with the palm outwards firmly lodged in the small of his back. Immediately he hears the 'ava title called and is aware of the status of the individual named, he, if the chief to be served is the holder of an important chief title, raises the cup above his head and advances towards the chief.

When the server is within comfortable reaching distance of the chief to be served, he with a graceful sweeping movement from right to left and with the inner side of the forearm presented to the chief, hands him the cup. Presentation to lesser chiefs takes the same form except that the cup is not held above the head but is extended at arms length at about the height of the waist. The back of the hand is presented to Orators when being handed the 'ava cup. Both these motions and attitudes are indicative of respect.

Orator chiefs - tulafale

During the process of making the 'ava or just when the manufacture is completed, an orator chief from the host party will call out;-

O le agatonu lena o le fesilafaiga i le afio mai o le malaga fesilafa'i e lenei nu'u ua usi nei o le a faasoa a e tula'i se Tautu.

This is the 'ava of the reception to our visitors who we now meet in our village-it is ready and will be distributed now and the 'ava server will stand up.

These opening words vary according to the individual orator and the reason for the ceremony. All those assembled then clap their hands loudly and slowly. The tufa'ava then stands up and the distribution of the 'ava takes place. The name of each individual is called in turn by an Orator and they are served a cup of 'ava to drink until everyone has partaken.

The first person to receive the 'ava is the highest chief of the visiting party, and he is followed by the highest chief of the host party or village. The leading orator of the visiting party is then served followed by the leading orator of the village and so on. Objections are quickly raised if a chief or orator is served out of turn as it is considered an affront by the man who should have received the cup and serious disputes have frequently arisen as a result of careless or deliberately wrong distribution.

Drinking

On the 'ava cup being presented to a chief he takes it in his right hand and after a moment's pause, he spills a few drops on to the floor of the house on his right side at the same time speaking a few words in a low tone. Today these words have some Christian significance but in olden times were no doubt a form of prayer to one of the numerous gods. He then raises the cup and says Ia manuia which means be happy or prosperous. He then drinks a varying quantity of the 'ava and throws any remainder over his shoulder. He then hands the cup back to the tautuava. Should he not desire to drink the 'ava he may take a mouthful and then spew it out, or he may merely touch the cup held in the hand of the bearer or he may take hold of the cup and holding it out in front of him address a few remarks to the assembly, finally exclaiming Ia manuia.

In earlier days the orators always held the cup in both hands when it was presented to them. This custom is very often disregarded nowadays.

Ritual words

In connection with the act of drinking the 'ava, when the recipient of the cup calls out Ia manuia the assembly reply Ia manuia or soifua, the latter word meaning 'may you live'. The act of throwing by the drinker of the remainder of the contents of the cup over his shoulder mmay have been an unspoken desire that all misfortune should likewise disappear as it is noted that unconsumed 'ava is never returned to the bowl.

Orators as a class have no 'ava titles and when the cup is offered to them the 'ava caller merely announces 'This is the cup of so and so.'

Ending

When all have been served, the tufaava calls out words such as;

Ua moto le ava, mativa le fau, papa'u le tanoa, faasoa i tua nei ena tee.

A little kava remains, there is not much for the strainer to absorb, the kava in the bowl is shallow - the remainder will be divided amongst those at the back of the house.

If all the kava has been consumed before minor chiefs have been served they must go without, but if chiefs of importance happen along, a fresh brew is made and the ceremony is repeated. The completion of the 'Ava ceremony is usually followed by a shared feast.