The kava ceremony, explained
Sevusevu and the kava ceremony: what it is, and how to take part
Why kava matters in Fijian village life, the clap-and-drink routine you'll be shown on the night, and what "low tide" and "high tide" mean.
See Fiji Culture Village tickets on GetYourGuide ↗The drinking routine
| Step | What you do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Clap once, loudly, with cupped hands, as the bilo (cup) is offered |
| 2 | Say "Bula" |
| 3 | Drink the kava in one go — don't sip it |
| 4 | Return the cup |
| 5 | Clap three times to finish |
What kava actually is
Kava (yaqona) is a drink made from the ground root of the kava plant, mixed with water until it turns a pale, muddy colour. It has a mild, earthy, slightly numbing taste rather than an alcoholic one, and it sits at the centre of Fijian welcome customs — traditionally offered as sevusevu, a gift presented to a village chief to ask permission to enter and be received as a guest.
The tourist version is a guided, simplified one
On an organised evening like this, the ceremony is a guided, participatory version of the same custom rather than a formal chiefly negotiation — you won't be expected to know the full protocol, and a host or guide leads the group through it step by step.
The clap-and-drink routine
The pattern most guides teach visitors is: clap once, loudly, with cupped hands as you're handed the bilo (cup); say "Bula" — which means "life", used here as a greeting and toast; drink the kava down in one go rather than sipping it; hand the cup back; then clap three times to close it off and show appreciation.
Low tide or high tide
Hosts commonly offer a choice of cup size: a half cup, sometimes called "low tide", for anyone trying kava for the first time, or a full cup — "high tide" — for the more adventurous. Neither choice is wrong, and taking the smaller cup is a completely normal way to join in without overcommitting.
One thing to avoid
It's considered poor form to visibly grimace at the taste. Kava has a distinctive, slightly bitter, numbing flavour that surprises most first-timers — a neutral expression afterwards is the polite response, whatever you actually think of it.