The Kava Bowl Connection - Fiji and the George Harrison Guitars
Tuesday August 21, 2001
6:00 PM – It was almost dark when we made our way
along the wooden path leading to the pool area and the dining room at
Lomalagi Resort, Vanua Levu, Fiji. It was winter
in the Southern Hemisphere and the air was cooling slightly. Even so,
short sleeves and shorts were the perfect dress. As we approached the
pool, we could hear guitars playing and men singing softly. Between our
hosts, Collin and Terry, plus Terry’s Mom, Linda, Cagey and me, we
became an audience of five.
“The Boys”, as Collin calls them were about eight of
the various native Fijian workers at the resort. With them was one of
their elders. All of them sat near the lava rocks on several woven
mats. They sat facing in various directions, loosely making up two
groups of four. The elder sat facing us, with a large Kava bowl in
front of him.
Regarding Kava Bowls - The bowl is traditionally
carved in one piece, from the trunk of a Raintree, or other forest
hardwood. Some of the bowls (such as the one in the picture above at
the Tenoa Hotel, Viti Levu) were carved from truly massive trunks, none
of which exist today in the forests of Fiji. Fir the tourist trade, locals offer moderate sized bowls for $10 – 12 USD. Needless to say, I bought one, complete with a coconut shell scoop.
Back to our story - The elder’s assistant mixed the
ground-up root of a native pepper plant with water and wrung it out,
through fabric, into the ceremonial bowl. A polished piece of a dried
coconut shell became the communal cup. Terry explained that the Kava Ceremony
is the fabric that holds the Fijian social and spiritual community
together. The ceremony, conducted only among the men of the village, involves
some simple but solemn rituals of offering and accepting one’s share of
the slightly muddy looking liquid. Its effects are described variously
as mildly narcotic or as a slight natural sedative. If you could call
the affects a “buzz”, it is at a frequency that is well below the
audible level. You know you have experienced it, but you are not sure
exactly what, if anything, has changed.
The assistant makes the rounds, offering a cup in turn to each of the guests and then to The Boys,
as Colin called the band. Then a song or two are sung before another
round is offered. In their traditional settings, the ceremony occurs
when there is an event of significance to celebrate or deliberate. If
there is a conflict between neighbors or even enemies, the gift of a
kilo or two of Kava will erase all conflict and peace and friendship
will be immediately restored. Powerful stuff, this Kava.
Between songs, Collin told the story of when George Harrison visited 
Lomalagi,
soon after the resort had had opened. As we now know, (but did not, at
the time of this writing) doctors had diagnosed George Harrison with
what turned out to be a life-ending illness. However, those were
happier times and he still had a measure of good health to enjoy. He
had been traveling between England and Australia, where I believe he had
property. On his visit to Lomalagi Resort, Harrison was scouting Fiji
as a place to buy some property, kick back and enjoy life at a slower
pace.
Lomalagi,
soon after the resort had had opened. As we now know, (but did not, at
the time of this writing) doctors had diagnosed George Harrison with
what turned out to be a life-ending illness. However, those were
happier times and he still had a measure of good health to enjoy. He
had been traveling between England and Australia, where I believe he had
property. On his visit to Lomalagi Resort, Harrison was scouting Fiji
as a place to buy some property, kick back and enjoy life at a slower
pace.
As George arrived at the Lomalagi Kava Ceremony,
he immediately decided that his place was among The Boys. So he sat
among them and played guitar with them as they sang. Noting that their
instruments were of undetermined vintage and held together with tape and
glue, he said that The Boys deserved better than the sorry instruments
that they had.
Several months after his departure, unmarked crates arrived from 
England.
Inside were new guitars and a ukulele for The Boys. From that time
forward, the instruments have been known throughout the Fiji Islands as,
“The George Harrison Guitars”.
England.
Inside were new guitars and a ukulele for The Boys. From that time
forward, the instruments have been known throughout the Fiji Islands as,
“The George Harrison Guitars”.
And a beautiful sound they made. Sam, the dive
master and guide to the dolphins always played his guitar a little flat.
Even so, the bluesy influence of his playing fit right in. Often there
appeared to be no leader for a song, while individual tunes would
diverge and converge in a lazy way. Somehow they always came back
together at the right moment. Maybe it was the Kava and maybe it was
the songs, but between the voices, words and guitar melodies, it was
easy to let your mind drift and your body relax.
I just searched the Lomalagi website for the word to
the Lomalagi Song, which was written by one of The Boys. Alas, it was
not posted there, but the “best line” from that song goes something
like, “Lomalagi, where the views are brighter than you.” By the end of
the Kava Ceremony, it all made perfect sense.
7:30 PM – With a couple of “stiff belts" of Kava
under our belts (Is that a mixed metaphor?), it was time for an elegant
dinner of Wallau, which is a light, not quite flaky local fish, along
with all the best of accompaniments. Hmm…that’s about all I remember
regarding dinner, other than our friendly hosts and servers. Could it
have been the effects of the kava? As George Harrison, might intone, "My
sweet Lord".
9:00 PM – We found our way back to our villa.
10:00 PM – It is five hours earlier (as you will
recall) in Fiji, but we were ready for bed at what would be 5:00 PM back
home in California. So that wrapped up what seemed like three days in
one. There were the two days in suspended animation in L.A., the
overnight to Fiji and the long day’s journey into Lomalagi. Soon, we
went to sleep on a moonless night.
