The author joins Mua for a traditional kava ceremony beneath a palm-frond shelter, sharing the son of the island chief's ritual of welcome and belonging. Kristin Potenti It was one of those times when ...

It may look unappetizing and taste terrible, but many ni-Vanuatu regard kava’s warm, soporific embrace as a gift from the gods. Long a staple of South Pacific island rituals, the narcotic wrung from ...