Akata's Exclusive
Line of
Island Apparel |
As
you browse...
Akata's Grass Shack
Purchase On-Line
Genuine
Fiji Islands
Jewelry
Kava
Apparel
and much more... |
Fiji
Islands Jewelry:
Coral jewelry,
Shell jewelry,
Abalone Jewelry,
and Bone Jewelry
in necklaces,
bracelets and
pendants |
Organic
Fiji Kava:
Fiji Kava,
Fiji Kava Root,
Kava Powder,
Fiji Kava bowls,
Tanoa bowls,
Kava Bar Supplies
and Kava Kits |
Fiji
Islands Apparel:
Fiji sarongs,
Fiji pareo,
Fiji sulus,
Beach wear,
Casual wear,
Hawaiian shirts,
Tropical shirts
and Bula shirts |
|
 |
Penny
Foolish Kava
- Kava Kava
Kava, or yaqona is the
non-alcoholic, non-narcotic, purely herbal (but
still intoxicating) national drink of Fiji and
many other Pacific Islands. Early recorded
luminary island-hopping kava aficionados include
Captain Cook and Robert Louis Stevenson - to
mention a few. I imbibed myself in some Fiji
kava when I was there last November and was like
crawling around on all fours on the mat trying
to find my shoes after a night of drinking! Wow,
and no hangover the next morning. Buy a 50
gram (Penny Foolish) pack of high-grade, organic
kava kava straight from Fiji and you too can crawl
around the mat searching for your shoes for just...
$4.50 each
Item#
K0001 |
|
To
purchase products on this page
email your order to us including:
Item # and Quantity
We will answer your request
with payment options.
ORDER
HERE
Minimum
Online Order $25
Commercial Volume buyers Go
Here |
|
|
|
|
 |
Pound
Wise Kava - Kava Kava
Buy the
Pound Wise Special pack of kava- enjoy the
experience of your money stretching into the
kavalactone equivalent of Frequently Flyer Miles
- you know, as in taking a trip to Fiji and
never leaving the farm. (One pound is enough for
an entire village of hard-core kava drinkers to
party until the sun comes up. For the average
American kavaholic household (a couple with 1.5
children), this is a two month supply).
(Ask about our Cargo
Cult Club
quantity discounts and member privileges)
$22.00 per
pound
Item#
K0002 |
|
To
purchase products on this page
email your order to us including:
Item # and Quantity
We will answer your request
with payment options.
ORDER
HERE
Minimum
Online Order $25
Commercial Volume buyers Go
Here |
|
|
|
|
 |
Kava
Bowl - Tanoa
Bowl
Ask about
our complete line of Grass Shack's own Cargo
Cult brand Kava bowls - sizes from 14
inches (suitable for a pair of kava drinkers),
to the king size 26 inch village size bowl.
These are all authentic, made in Fiji Kava bowls.
Prices start at...
$95.00 each (14")
Item #
K0004 |
|
To
purchase products on this page
email your order to us including:
Item # and Quantity
We will answer your request
with payment options.
ORDER
HERE
Minimum
Online Order $25
Commercial Volume buyers Go
Here |
|
|
|
|
 |
Complete
Kava Kit
Get your
complete, intermediate-league kava kit. Hand
carved (by a real Fijian) vesi hardwood 14 inch
Kava bowl, a one pound pack of high grade kava
from Fiji, two coconut shell ceremonial drinking
cups and a muslin straining cloth. This is the
end all, be all quintessential kava kit.
$120.00 each
Item#
K0003 |
|
To
purchase products on this page
email your order to us including:
Item # and Quantity
We will answer your request
with payment options.
ORDER
HERE
Minimum
Online Order $25
Commercial Volume buyers Go
Here |
|
|
|
|
more about Kava...
The tanoa is a large wooden bowl
hand carved from a single piece of Vesi (hardwood).
Yaqona is made from the root of a pepper tree. In times
long gone, the Yaqona was prepared by the young girls
(virgins) of a village who chewed the pieces of the root
into a soft pulpy mass before the water was added. Today
the root is pounded in a pestle and mortar or by
machine. After the water has been added the gritty
pieces are strained through a bundle of vegetable fibre,
usually the shredded bark of the Vau tree. Today cloth (sulu
ni yaqona) is used.
The ceremony is performed in the
presence of the guest of honor, the guest of honor is
seated crosslegged in front of the tanoa from which
protrudes a thick rope of coconut fibber decorated with
white cowrie shells. This is called Tui-ni-Buli and is
pointed towards the guest of honor. In the old days,
during the ceremony no one, under penalty of death could
cross the line. The master of ceremonies, acting on
behalf of the guest of honor, directs water to be added
to the root. When satisfied that the mixture is right he
indicates that the preparations may continue. The yaqona
is strained and when the portion is ready, the
cup-bearer, with much ceremony and respect, presents the
guest of honor with the first bowl. When he has drained
the cup, there is a cry of 'maca' (pronounced
maatha) meaning "it is drained" accompanied by
the clapping sound of hands. The master of ceremonies is
next to drink followed by guests in order of importance
in group. This ceremony retains great significance in
Fiji. However, social yaqona drinking is very informal.
Recent studies have determined
that kava provides relief from:
- General muscle soreness
- Mild Depression
- Migraine headaches
- Insomnia
- Cramps
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Fatigue
Note: The mind stays alert while the body
is relaxed under the influence of kava. |
|
|
|
|
FYI:
The brand name of Cargo Cult that we use for Grass
Shack's authentic apparel and handicraft is in whimsical
reference to a bona fide Melanesian cult still in
existence in very remote island regions today. One of
the most famous examples of cargo cults is from World
War II in New Guinea. Local men built crudely
constructed but very large model airplanes and fake
landing strips atop hills, in order to attract the plane
traffic they saw flying over the island carrying what
they assumed were great loads of goods in their cargo
bays. Hopefully, a plane would land on their airstrip
and they would claim the cargo as their property.
This
is only one example of a pattern of social movement
referred to as cargo cults. Behavior varied widely
depending on the island or community. In some villages,
islanders believed that one one day their ancestors
would appear on steamships laden with trade goods,
cloth, furniture, sewing machines, whiskey, etc. Others
believed that their ancestors would return from the dead
and chase the colonialist settlers and policemen away
and take over the police posts and plantation houses.
In
still another versions, their ancestors would return
with white skins and the Melanesians and Europeans would
switch colors and the Europeans would thereafter become
the slaves of the Melanesians. Most of such activities -
outside of building bogus airports to lure cargo planes
- was simply drumming, dancing and drinking kava in
hopes that eventually, in some way, shape or form,
tangible rewards would magically materialize. In
interviews with sociologist, some islanders confessed
that they didn't know exactly what to expect by
partaking in cargo cult rituals, but that dancing
themselves into a trace state was somehow good (Kinda
like us Europeans penning all our hopes on the
lottery...).
|
|
|
|
