From The Archives

August 1944

Yaqona - the national drink One Suva institution, which no one who lived in Suva will forget, is Jimmy Muir’s yaqona saloon.

There every morning, the town’s kava drinkers assembled for their morning bowl, and to swap the latest gossip from the beach. Some there were who had their own private bilos (coconut cups) embellished with a silver nameplate, and there was

many a gath ering of dis

tinguished,

and not so

distinguished

citizens in the little backroom behind the booksellers shop. The yaqona habit

was one that most residents formed. At one time, there was a bowl of kava in practical ly every government office, and one mag istrate, in the middle of listening to some dispute between a couple of Indians as to the ownership of a fowl, or the boring

Pacific Islands

details of how some dusky taxi driver failed to keep to the left, used to the adjourn court during the morning and retire to the back veran da for a bowl.

There was a period

of prohibition in the government circles, during the reign of a certain colonial secre tary, who decided that yaqona was a perni cious habit and banned it from the build ings. There were one or two die-hards who kept their bowls hidden away in the strong room. Even in the exalted circles of the Legislative Council there was a bowl in the veranda at adjournment time, when the Colony’s legislators forgot their differ ences and quaffed the refreshing harmless beverage. Described as the comer stone of Fijian ceremonial, the preparation and serving of yaqona plays a tremendous part in Fijian affairs. Every new governor has to quaff a bowl when he is first greeted by the chiefs. Even royalty is not exempt. The ceremony is an adjunct of the reception of

a chief and not matter how unpalatable the newcomer may find yaqona at first taste, he is courtesy bound to quaff it, and spin the bilo back to the bowl.

Cotton in Papua Cotton, surely, has a future in Papua.

According to official reports, attempts in the past failed because unsuitable land was chosen. It can, and has, however, been grown to profit in Papua. There was the experience of one small landholder who starved bankruptcy with the help of a hasti ly planted area of cotton. Some of the lighter coastal lands in the territory seem to actually cry out at one as one passes, “Try me for cotton!”. Kapok should be a payable sideline on a Papuan plantation

and in the drier

districts yield

and quality are fair. But the grower should make very partic ular inquiries in the way the prod uct is marketed in Australia. ■

Established 1930