Kava Ko E Fa’Unga

Short story

’O E Fonua

By Meliana Puloka

ONE day the king (Lo’au) of Tonga went fishing with his men.

They were caught in a storm and as the king was tired and hungry, tney decided to find shelter and food. They sigtued a small island, but as they approached it, the king thought it was umnnabited and that tney should seek sneiter elsewhere. However, because of the storm, his men insisted that they land there. The king agreed.

When they landed, the king sat down with his back leaning agamst a plant and straightaway fell asleep.

His men went in search of food.

They came upon two huts belong ing to Fevanga and Fefafa. These two had a daughter, Wava, who suffered from leprosy. She lived in one hut; her parents in the other. Their daughter’s illness was the reason for their living totally alone on this small island.

When they were told that the king was at the beach and hungry, they ran all over the island looking for food, but found nothing. Finally they had to go down to the beach where the king was because there the only edible plant, kape, left on the island grew.

Timidly, they approached the beach and to their dismay they found the sleeping king leaning against the kape. Overcome with awe by his

presence and unwilling to disturb him, they went away.

What could they offer to their king?

In their hut they decided that as they possessed nothing else in the world but their daughter they should offer their child to the king. Thus was Kava killed and cooked in the umu' for the king.

When the men realised what had happened, they felt very sorry. They told the king of the parents’ sacrifice; and he, deeply moved, decided to leave the island immediatelv. The daughter would remain buried.

Ine parents went to the beach to tell the king that the meal was cooked.

When they saw that he had left without food, they grieved.

The daughter remained buried. Two plants sprung from her grave; one from where the head lay, the other from the feet.

One day, as Fevanga and Fefafa visited the grave, they saw a small mouse nibbling at the plant at the head of the grave. The mouse, having tasted this plant, ran zig-zag, as if drunk, to the foot of the grave where it took a bite from the plant grow ing there. Now the mouse ran straight.

Since they had not been able to offer anything to the king, they decided to bring him the two plants.

They uprooted them and brought them to the main island.

Fevanga and Fefafa’s regard for the king so moved him that he decided to give the two plants the highest place in the royal ceremonies. Thus Kava, the name given to the plant from the head of the grave, and sugar cane (the plant from the foot) came to be used in royal and other ceremonies in Tonga.

It is said that the scaly skin people get from drinking Kava is due to the fact that Kava had leprosy.

Kava with sugarcane as its fono 2 drunk in the presence of the king re mains the most important ceremonial plant in Tonga. From this comes the saying:

Kava Ko E Fa’Unga ’O E

Fonuaa

1 umu earth oven. 2 fono accompaniment. 2 KAVA KO E FA’UNGA ’O E FONUA roughly means “Kava tells you your rank” referring to the seating arrange ments according to rank during the kava ceremony in the king’s presence.