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Aporosa, S. G. (2006). Yaqona and Education in Fiji: A Clash of Cultures? Abstract: In the Fiji Islands, education has been adopted as a key driver in the pursuit of national development and economic growth. However, low academic achievement appears to be undermining this strategic focus with the Fijian Ministry of Education questioning whether cultural values and practices, such as the consumption of yaqona (commonly known throughout the Pacific as kava) by teachers, is contributing to this scholastic failure. Since 2005 I have been investigating the culture of yaqona‟ (the etiquette associated with the use and consumption of kava) and its relationship with education delivery, under-achievement and development in Fiji. This research has identified a number of practice/theory contradictions. In this paper I will discuss these inconsistencies which have created a culture/education/development clash, together with the use of a post-development framework as part of investigating this juxtaposition. (https://www.academia.edu/1134788/Yaqona_kava_Education_and_Development_in_Fiji) |
Balick, M. J., & Lee, R. A. (2009). The Sacred Root. In Ethnobotany of Pohnpei. (https://doi.org/10.1515/9780824837495-008) |
Ben Dhaou, S. I. & Rohman, I. K. Everything and its opposite. 80, 631-639 (2018). (https://www.jstor.org/stable/30052773) |
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Aporosa, S. A., Yaqona ( Kava ) As a Symbol of Cultural Identity. , 79-101 (2012). Abstract: Yaqona (more commonly known as kava), when coupled with its associated rituals and practices, is commonly recognised as a potent symbol of Fijian identity. However, there are some indigenous Fijians (iTaukei) who dispute this link, renouncing a connection between yaqona protocols, ceremony and conventions and their sense of cultural identity, therefore dissociating themselves from these practices. In this paper I draw on evidence from the literature together with observations and interviews to explain why some iTaukei distance themselves from yaqona consumption and the fullness of its cultural expression. (https://localejournal.org/issues/n4/Locale n4 - 08 - Aporosa.pdf) |
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Apo' Aporosa}, S. '., The new kava user: Diasporic identity formation in reverse. New Zealand Sociology 30, 58-77 (2015). Abstract: Diaspora' studies have broadened their definition to now include hybridised identities situated in both the past and future. The formation of the Indo-Fijian ethnicity is an example of the evolution of a hybrid diasporic identity. This article briefly discusses Indo-Fijian diaspora in Fiji before shifting its focus to Aotearoa New Zealand. In this new setting, diaspora understanding will take a new direction that concentrates on the uptake of kava drinking and aspects of the kava culture by some Māori and Pālangi/Pākehā. In doing so, the article examines how these Māori and Pālangi/Pākehā, as the 'hosts', are expanding their cultural identity by embracing an icon of identity that came with a diasporic population – Pasifikans to Aotearoa – essentially creating diasporic identity formation in reverse (https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/handle/10289/12796) |
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Aporosa, S. A., Kava and Ethno-cultural Identity in Oceania. The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity , 1-15 (2019). Abstract: Garibaldi and Turner (Ecol Soc 9:1, 5, 2004) explain the role that particular plants play in facilitating the shared ancestry, practices, and social experience of an ethnicity. This can include spiritual connections, cultural expression and practice, ceremony, exchange, linguistic reflection, socialization, and medicinal and/or dietary systems. They term these plants “cultural keystone species” and icons of identity, plants that if removed would cause some disruptions to the cultural practices and identity of an ethnic group. Undoubtedly, kava (Piper methysticum) is the cultural keystone species for many Oceanic and Pacific peoples, a “differentiating element of common culture” (Zagefka, Ethnicity, concepts of. In: Smith AD, Hou X, Stone J, Dennis R, Rizova P (eds) The Wiley Blackwell encyclopedia of race, ethnicity, and nationalism. West Wiley, Sussex, pp 761–763, 2016) informing their ethno-cultural identity. That influence is also extending to new non-Pacific Island user groups who have embraced elements of kava ethno-cultural identity in what has been termed diasporic identity formation in reverse. This chapter will discuss kava with specific reference to ethnic positionality in Fiji while recognizing the tensions from inside and outside the region that support and threaten the continuance of the kava drinking tradition. (https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/handle/10289/12377) |
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Aporosa, S. A., Atkins, M. & Leov, J. N. Decolonising quantitative methods within a Pacific research space to explore cognitive effects following kava use. Pacific Dynamics 5, 2021 (2021). Abstract: Work that challenges Western hegemonic research traditions, through use of innovative and alternative approaches as part of ‘decolonising methodologies’, is increasingly being validated by research funding bodies, post-graduate research and large-scale projects. This paper explains a feasibility study that combined a Pacific respect-based cultural methodology with a counter-hegemonic development theory to create a post development methodological framework (PDMF). The framework was then used to guide the culturally ethical use of Western psychometric measures at a naturalistic kava-use setting. Not only does the study demonstrate the viability of the PDMF and the naturalistic kava use setting—or faikava methodology—as a valid tool for collecting data in a study conducted pursuant to a major research award, it also builds on a growing body of work aimed at decolonising Pacific methodologies. (https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/handle/10289/14153) |
Sofer, M., Yaqona and the Fijian periphery revisited. Asia Pacific Viewpoint 48, 234-249 (2007). Abstract: This paper deals with some major economic issues concerning the Pacific plant kava, known in Fiji as yaqona. The plant is the source of the cerebral depressant beverage found throughout many of the Pacific Islands, which besides its daily use plays an important ceremonial and social role in the indigenous culture. This paper deals with yaqona cultivation and commercialisation in the Fijian peripheral island of Kadavu, from a perspective of more than 20 years. The findings suggest that the role of the plant as a major cash crop is even more important than it was in the first half of the 1980s. Moreover, the village semi‐subsistence economy has become increasingly dependent on this crop as part of its survival strategy. The explanations offered are related to physical and ecological conditions and the associated agrotechnical advantages in Kadavu; marketing advantages and worsening terms of trade experienced by the Fijian periphery; and the lack of other economic opportunities in peripheral areas of Fiji, such as Kadavu – in turn, a function of core–periphery relationships. This is a response of the periphery to the increasing marginalisation within the Fiji state and may imply villagers' and communities' acceptance of their marginal position in the economy. (https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8373.2007.00342.x) |
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Aporosa, S. A., De-mythologizing and re-branding of kava as the new ‘world drug' of choice. Drug Science, Policy and Law 5, 205032451987613 (2019). Abstract: What seemed impossible 50 years ago is today becoming a reality as ‘soft drugs’ such as cannabis are being decriminalized and accepted for their calming effects as well as their legitimate medicinal properties. Several countries have now made the possession of cannabis legal, with others considering this, while the coffee shops in the Netherlands have been supplying cannabis in different forms for many years. It is now the turn of kava to be re-evaluated, to see whether there are properties in this plant that might be readily substituted for more conventional and harmful drugs, for instance tobacco and alcohol. However, as highlighted by Norton and Ruze (1994), kava like cannabis, has an enduring reputation that still makes it difficult for many to accept. Kava has been mythologized as an illicit alcohol, highly addictive, and causing physical harm. When examining the history of kava use in traditional contexts and considering the evidence now available, it is possible to demythologize this characterization. Looking at the potential benefits, it is time to re-brand kava, not only on the grounds as a relaxant, but in possessing life enhancing medicinal properties and as an alternative to alcohol, understanding that will be beneficial to policy makers, doctors and pharmacists. (https://doi.org/10.1177/2050324519876131) |
Showman, A. F., Baker, J. D., Linares, C., Naeole, C. K., Borris, R., Johnston, E., Konanui, J. & Turner, H. Contemporary Pacific and Western perspectives on 'awa (Piper methysticum) toxicology. Fitoterapia 100, 56-67 (2015). Abstract: In 2010, a National Science Foundation project in Hawai`i assembled a collaboration of Pacific indigenous scientists, Hawaiian cultural practitioners and scientists trained in Western pharmacology. The objective of the collaborative project was to study Kava, a culturally significant Pacific beverage, and to address and ultimately transcend, long-standing barriers to communication and collaboration between these groups. Kava is a product of the `awa plant (Piper methysticum) that has been used ceremonially and medicinally throughout the history of Pacific Island cultures, and is now in widespread recreational and nutraceutical use in the US. This project, culminating in 2015, has enriched the participants, led to published work that integrates cultural and Western pharmacologic perspectives and established a paradigm for collaboration. This review paper integrates cultural and Western perspectives on efficacy, toxicity and the future cultural and commercial significance of `awa in the Pacific. Here we present a detailed review of traditional and non-traditional kava usage, medicinal efficacy and potential toxicological concerns. Recent mechanistic data on physiological action and potential pathological reactions are evaluated and interpreted. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fitote.2014.11.012) |
Tecun, A., Reeves, R. & Wolfgramm, M. The past before US: A brief history of tongan kava. Journal of the Polynesian Society 129, 171-192 (2020). Abstract: This article examines deep and contemporary history through analysis of the Tongan kava origin story, a kava chant, the rise of the kalapu ‘kava club’ in the twentieth century and the growing expansion of contemporary kava. It is argued that a key function of past and present kava practices is a ritual liminality of noa ‘neutralisation of protective restrictions’ that results from mediating mana ‘potency, honour’ and tapu ‘protective restrictions, set apart’. This is supported through ethnohistorical literature, song lyrics and ethnographic data. While the expressions, purpose, material and uses of kava evolve and change throughout time and space, from the titular ceremonies to the social rituals, they are connected through contextually specific mediations that establish noa. The kava origin story indicates a performance of mediations between ancient power relations, while the kava chant describes material culture alongside the establishment of the ritualised chiefly kava ceremony. Kalapu and the expanding contemporary kava practices today maintain connections to past practices while adapting to current circumstances such as global Tongan mobility and cultural diversity. (https://doi.org/10.15286/jps.129.2.171-192) |