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Yaqona | Yaqona is Fiji Islands' national drink. Sometimes called kava or grog. It is derived from the roots of a shrub belonging to the pepper family.
|  | The roots, called waka, are dried in the sun. |  | Then pounded into a fine powder. |  | It is prepared in a tanoa. |  | Then drunk from a bilo. |  | The tradition of drinking yaqona goes back many generations, originally drunk only by the high priests. Yaqona was used by the priests like the medicine men of the American Indians used marijuana or peyote, typically for visions and fortune telling. The yaqona was chewed by virgin girls and spit into a tanoa where it was then mixed with coconut water and plain water. The priest had special bilos, like this, daveniyaqona. |  | The tradition of drinking yaqona has evolved into a social affair. When strangers enter a Fijian village, they seek out the chief or village headman to ask for permission to enter and visit, and are expected to present some yaqona to him. It is customary to clap three times, this is called cobo (thombo) when presenting yaqona, or when finished drinking a bilo of yaqona, or when accepting a gift, or excusing oneself when reaching above another person’s head. It is now used as a social drink enjoyed by all and encourages a sense of well-being.
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