Ep 32: Kava Tonga Part 1 - Stories, Meanings, and Current Issues

This episode builds on the previous discussion with Dr. Aporosa
and explores some of the Tongan kava stories compiled in the book
Tongan Tales and Myths (Gifford, 1924). Tongan intellectual
'Inoke Hu'akau's position is that kava stories are part of a
cosmological identity based in stories of creation, kava, and the
Gods. Hu'akau has proposed that kava stories are constructed for
social and political purposes, which "serve as the mode of
operation for society" (see 'Kava: A mitre touch of a master
political architecture', 2018, Lo'au University Research
Journal). Kava stories, meanings, and interpretations are
considered alongside some current issues such as the regional
kava codex, which relates to quality and safety in kava
production and consumption. This episode seeks to demonstrate how
kava stories relate to various ancestral and current issues and
concludes with a contemporary kava song composition that seeks to
remember ancestral connections and knowledge. This episode is
complimentary to the documentary film Kava Rootz which is
available to watch online.