Episode 35 - How Kava Was Used for Witchcraft in the Pacific.

Kava has long been a central part of Pacific culture, but its history goes deeper than many realise. In this episode, we explore how kava was traditionally used in spiritual systems, including rituals, divination, and communication with ancestors. We also look at how missionaries viewed these practices and why they attempted to eliminate kava in some regions, with varying success across the Pacific.

Drawing on historical research and modern perspectives, this episode examines both the cultural significance and the social impact of kava today, raising important questions about its place in contemporary Pacific life and Christian practice.

Transcript

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Welcome to another episode of Pacific Empowerment Podcast with your host Akanestika Fusi. So today we are going to talk about something many people don't fully understand or you know don't want to talk about in our Pacific community, and that is the connection between cover and the spiritual world, including witchcraft and sorcery in the Pacific Islands. Again, this episode is not about attacking culture, it's about understanding the truth, history, and learning how things have evolved. Because the reality is this. Kava was never just a drink. It was and still is a spiritual substance. Kava, scientifically known as Piper Methisticum, has been used across Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia for over 3,000 years. It was used in ceremonies, rituals, used in communication, used in social and political gatherings, but more importantly it was used to connect with the spiritual world. Well, according to the anthropological research, it shows that in many Pacific cultures, drinking kava was believed to facilitate contact with spirits and ancestors. So kava wasn't just a social drink, it was used as a spiritual access. And to understand the connection to witchcraft, we first need to understand this. In traditional Pacific worldviews, there was no separation between the physical world and the spiritual world. So everything was connected. The spirits were real, ancestors were present, supernatural forces were active in everyday life. And within that system, there were two sides of spiritual power, the good healing, guidance side, and the harm, sorcery, and the manipulation side. So in Melanesia especially, sorcery is not just a myth. It is considered a real and active force in society. There are different names, you know, where they call sorcery, like for example, sanguma or sanguma, puripuri or malira. So these refer to forms of witchcraft or sorcery used to influence or harm others. You know? So in places like Babua New Guinea and across Melanesia, these words are often grouped together under the English label of witchcraft or sorcery. But that can actually be misleading. Anthropologists have warned that the meanings change depending on the region, you know, the language and the community. So one common way people try to explain the difference is that witchcraft is often described as an innate or spirit-linked power, while sorcery is something learned using, you know, objects or spells, substances or you know, rituals to create an effect. But even that distinction doesn't always hold up in real life. Because on the ground, people use these terms in very different ways. So let's start with Sanguma or Sanguma. In a lot of discussions in Baba New Guinea, Sanguma is seen as the darker, more feared form. Some scholars even describe it as both witchcraft and assault sorcery. When you look at how communities describe it, there are some patterns, you know, it's often associated with death or murder or rather than just sickness. So it may be carried out by groups. It can involve a physical attack in a lonely place, and the victim might die later, beg in the village. In some Highlands belief systems, it's not even just about a person casting a spell. It's believed that something like a spirit can actually possess or control a person. So there's this research from the holy people that talks about this idea of a witch spirit acting through a human host. So the community might fear the person but still believe the spirit is the real force behind it. Many communities also still use these beliefs to explain sickness or death before turning to medical causes. Now, when we move to Puripuri, this is usually understood differently. Puripuri is more often refers to learned magic or sorcery, something done deliberately through spells or words or rituals or substances. Anthropologists describe it as the conscious manipulation of objects and actions to produce a desired outcome. But what's really important here is that Puripuri is not always seen as evil. In some accounts, you know, people actually defend their puripuri as sacred ancestral knowledge used for fishing, planting, healing, or even love. So the term puripuri can cover a wide range from harmful sorcery meant to cause sickness or death to protection, healing, attraction, or just a body of traditional knowledge passed down through generations. Then we have Malira or Marilla. And this one needs extra care because even the spelling varies. In some legal or general discussion, it's just listed as another word under sorcery, but in some specific ethnographic studies, especially among the Tolai people of East New Britain, Marila is described as a form of love magic. But when you look closer, it's not really about love. It's described as a way to overcome or weaken a woman's will, like to control someone. The charm might be placed in food or somewhere nearby. And the goal is to influence desire. So when you really break that down, it moves away from romance and into something more like coercion. So it's the manipulation of another person's feelings and resistance. And um across Babua New Guinea and Wider Melanesia, these systems are often used to explain misfortune. You know, when someone gets sick or dies suddenly, experiences problems in life, whether it's health, relationships or success, the question becomes who caused this? And from there, the explanation usually follows certain patterns. One is contact magic, where something connected to the person, like hair, clothing, bodily fluids, food, or personal objects, and it's used to affect them from a distance. I heard this is widely used in Fiji as well, how they use witchcraft to make someone sick or die. There's also spirit involvement, where harm is believed to come through spirits, you know, ancestors or possessing entities rather than just the person's own power. And then there's divination, where if the cause of illness or death is unknown, a specialist is usually brought in to identify who is responsible. You know, in Bapua New Guinea, this role is often taken by a classman or class Mary. So once that person names someone as responsible, it can trigger serious consequences, you know, including violence. So these beliefs are not just ideas, they become a full social process, you know. Misfortune leads to suspicion, suspicion leads to consultation, and consultation leads to accusations. And accusations can lead to punishment. And a great example is a news article I saw on ABC Pacific. I posted it last week, uh, where in Baba, New Guinea, two women are killed almost every day by their community for being accused as a sorcery. So it's still practiced until today. Now, you may be wondering why am I talking about this? What does this have to do with cover? Well, this is where cover comes into the conversation. In many Pacific societies, cover was used as a ritual medium for contacting the supernatural, diagnosing misfortune, and invoking ancestors or gods. So there are several accounts describing how people drank kava to help determine the cause of illness or to connect with spiritual forces during rituals. So when I was doing my research and reading up how kava was used for witchcraft, I was thinking like, why did they use kava? Why was kava the plant that was chosen, you know, for their witchcraft? Why didn't they use any other plants apart from kava? Well, they say that kava was chosen for a reason. And it was chosen because of what it does to the human body and mind. So kava contains compounds called cavalactones. I've mentioned this before in my previous episode. And cava lectones relaxes the body, reduce anxiety, and create a calm, slightly altered state. In simple terms, it helps you feel different from normal, calmer, slower, and more open. And that altered state is exactly what spiritual rituals need. So across many cultures, not just in the Pacific, substances that change your state have been used for spiritual connection. So these are called entheogens. Substances used to connect to spirits, receive a vision, and access hidden knowledge. Specifically for cover, it was believed to help people connect with spirits and ancestors. So why was cover chosen? It's because it does three powerful things at once. It calms your body, making it easier to focus. It changes your mental state, making you more open to spiritual experience, and it doesn't fully knock you out. Meaning you can still speak, think, and interpret the message. So that combination, you know, from kava is perfect for rituals, prayer, divination, and spiritual communication. So kava wasn't random, you know, it was selected because it puts you in a state where people believed they could access the spiritual world. Now, kava was not the only plant used. Across the Pacific, you know, different regions use different plants depending on what was available. In Melanesia, for example, they use better nut. Better nut is widely used in places like Baba New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. You know, you can get it from across the street, um, and it's chewed, not drunk. And its effects are actually the opposite of kava. It's a stimulant that increases alertness. So it's like coffee. When you eat it, it makes you more awake. Some people eat better nuts to make them awake during work or um to help give them energy. So research shows that better nut, kava, and pituri were the three major siloactive plants in the Pacific that was used for witchcraft or sorcery. So better nut was used spiritually because it changes awareness and it was part of rituals, no social systems and belief systems. In Bapua New Guinea, some groups also used psychoactive mushrooms, you know, which cause visions and hallucinations. So research confirms that certain Papua New Guinea groups use these entheogenic mushrooms, and they are much stronger than cava, producing visions, altered reality, and direct spiritual experiences. So it's like marijuana or something. In Polynesia, kawakawa was also used. I remember seeing Kawakawa in New Zealand, they are everywhere in New Zealand and in the Pacific as well. So kawakawa is related to kava, but it's not psychoactive. Instead, it was used in medicine and ritual symbolism. This is important because not all spiritual plants needed to be psychoactive. Some were symbolic or medicinal. There was a plant called Singibasarumbit, a wild ginger and ancestor of kava. Before kava became dominant, similar plants were used to make ritual drinks, no? And this shows that Pacific were already searching for plants that could affect the body and mind for rituals. And kava just became the main one. So why did they choose cover to become the main plant for witchcraft or sorcery? Well this is the deeper answer most people don't explain. First, cover was safe enough. It doesn't cause extreme hallucinations, it doesn't fully impair thinking, so people could still function in ceremony. And second, it was controllable. So the effects are predictable and the dosage can be managed. Third, it fits group's rituals. You know, it's trunk in a circle, you know, it's shared and structured, which aligns perfectly with specific cultural practices. And fourth, it became culturally embedded. Once something is used for chiefs, ceremonies and communication with gods, it becomes sacred and central. So here's the real truth. Cover wasn't used randomly. It was chosen for witchcraft and sorcery because it changes your state of mind. It's not too strong, not too weak, but just enough for people to believe they could connect with the spiritual world. And that's why it became central in ceremonies, divination, and spiritual practices across the Pacific. So I have shared some videos on social media of men who drink cover excessively and they begin shaking. It's like they are possessed or something. And when I watched it, I asked my husband, because my husband was a heavy cover drinker, if this happens when you drink cover. And he said, yes, he's seen it in Fai Kava. You know, when people drink cover excessively, they sh started shaking. You know, it's like they are possessed or uh by the spirits or something, something happens to them. And here are some of the videos. I'm gonna show you a uh snippet of some videos that shows how men are shaking when they drink cover excessively and some barely stands. Um and this is how strong cover is. You know, so many people say cover is harmless, but it is harmful to the body and to your mind as well, and to your soul as well. Yeah, so this is some of the video. It looks very demonic, you know, when you look at them shaking. Um it's it's very demonic when you look at it. So there are some very strong examples of kava being used in this ritual and spiritual context. In Vanuatu, there are accounts describing how practitioners, whether acting as healers or as those dealing with medicine of death, would drink significant amounts of kava as part of their role. In some cases, they would use what has been described as covermency, where they interpret signs or visions through cover to determine the cause of illness, you know, or decide on treatment. In Fiji, there are descriptions of priests consuming yagona during rituals to invoke ancestral spirits, acting as a bridge between the physical and the spiritual world. And in places like Ticopia and other Pacific societies, cover was used by spirit mediums to open communication with the supernatural, bringing insight, visions, or understanding. In Polynesian contexts, cover was also part of sacred rituals, involving chiefs or elders who acted as the voice of the community when connecting with gods or ancestors. This was back in the days before Christianity came in. So when you look at all of this together, it becomes clear that cover was not just a social drink. It was part of what you could call a ritual system, used for prayer, invocation, diagnosis, and sometimes stimulation. When we look at real life examples, these beliefs are not just historical, they are still active today. There have been cases like the article I showed you earlier in Bappa New Guinea and Melanesia where people accused of witchcraft were threatened or attacked after a classman identified them as responsible for the deaths in the community. And there are also cases where individuals have been severely harmed because they were believed to have used sanguma to cause someone's death. And then there are ethnographic examples like the Tolai, Marila, which show how these beliefs can operate in personal relationships, shaping how people understand desire, influence, and control. No, even practices like governments in Vanuatu show how these systems are embedded in cultural and spiritual life. Now, when we fast forward to today and look at the negative impact of cover on Pacific society, it makes you wonder, you know, because this is not a new concern. You know, back then, when Christian missionaries first arrived in the Pacific in the 18th and the 19th centuries, many of them actively tried to eliminate cover. And the reason is very clear in the research is that they saw it as tied to spiritual systems that didn't align with Christianity. In fact, studies show that missionaries opposed Kava because of its connection to what they called heathen spiritual practices and rituals. What's powerful is that their efforts had mixed results depending on the region. In some places, they were actually successful. Research shows that in places like the Solomon Islands, Kosare, Rarotonga, and Tahiti, missionaries were able to completely eradicate traditional cover practices, you know? And we also see evidence in broader Polynesia where cover use was reduced and in some cases eliminated altogether after missionization. But in other regions, they failed. In places like Baba New Guinea, Bon Bay, Vanuatu, Fiji, cover remained strong, including Tonga. And the reason why it was failed in these regions is because cover became too deeply embedded in culture. One study explains that instead of removing cover, Christianity actually adapted to it. As one researcher put it, Methodism itself became crafted to Fijian culture rather than displacing it. And this is the turning point. Because what started as something missionaries tried to remove ended up being absorbed into culture and even into Christian spaces in some regions. That's why you still see Kava sitting side by side with Christianity in the Pacific today. But now we have to ask the real question. Today, we're not just looking at history. We are seeing real life consequences. There are documented health concerns linked to cover, including effects on the lever, with research noting abnormally elevated lever enzymes among users and potential liver toxicity in some cases. We are seeing addiction, you know, broken marriages, neglect, financial struggles, and environments where harmful behaviors are being normalized from drinking kappa. And this is where a serious question needs to be asked. You know, if we look at how the church treats other substances, alcohol, marijuana, even wine in many denominations, there are clear boundaries. Some churches completely ban them, you know, especially when it comes to maintaining a clear mind and living a disciplined, godly life. The Bible speaks about sobriety, you know, self-control and being alert. So the question is, why is cover often treated differently from these other substances? Why is something that clearly alters your state of mind, affects your behavior, and is now showing harmful effects in our communities still being accepted, and in some cases even normalized within Christian spaces? That's the question, you know, why is cover treated differently? Why is something that clearly alters your state has historical links to spiritual rituals and witchcraft, practice of the devil, was once rejected by missionaries for that very reason and is now showing harmful effects in families and communities today? Why is it still being accepted? And this is not about attacking culture. This is about the truth. Because even history shows us that early missionaries saw something spiritual behind it that didn't align with Christianity. You know? And some regions listened and cover disappeared. Other regions held on to it and today we are dealing with the consequences. Maybe if these regions listen to the missionaries and stop adopting cover with Christianity, we won't be talking about the problems that cover is causing today. So the real question for this generation is this Does Kava truly belong in a Christian life? Because Christianity is about transformation. It's about leaving behind things that don't align with God. Even if they are cultural, even if they are normalized, even if they've been around for generations. Just because something is part of a tradition doesn't mean it is right. And when you look at the history and you look at the impact today, maybe it's time for the Pacific to have an honest conversation, not just about culture, but about what we are allowing into our homes, our families, and even our churches. To end this episode today, I am going to read a few testimonies of how Kava is affecting families in the Pacific, not just in Tonga, but Fiji and Melanesia. And I will read some of these testimonies so we can see the impact of Kava that is doing to the Pacific society and families today. So this testimony is from a wife of a VAIGAVA man, and she messaged me this week because she saw one of the Fikeava videos and she said, Hi, you're 100% right. Families were doing well until husbands joined Fikeava groups. May I be kept anonymous, please? Thanks I'm just like many other thousands of wives. Husband goes to Fikeava every Friday and Saturday. Sunday comes, he's sleeping all day while I'm going to church. I feel like I should get rid of him. I don't have children with him, so thank God for that. He wouldn't even help me look after the child. So I always tell him that's why he has no children. He is never helping doing any work at home. So useless. He's been going five Gava since I ever met him, and he goes around to different Gava groups. Sometimes Doa, sometimes not. He used to join in the church cover group. They never have Doa. Now he's not going there. He goes around to other Gava places. Total loser. He has also cheated on me before with someone in his workplace, a Balangi, and I'm Tongen. And I asked her how long have they been married and she said uh seven years going eight years now. And she begged him to change, but he just couldn't stop drinking cava. Um I have this comment from one of uh Tongen men and he said, Thank you, Akanesi, the issue you're raising about Fai Gava or cava drinking is all true. The church in this country has taught for centuries from the Bible and the Word of God. Gava or Tongen Gava drinking and the Gava clubs are things of the flesh and human traditions, and they are not connected to the word of God. There are many doctors of the word of God in this country who are not truly following the Bible. Instead, they are the ones leading the Gava drinking. There is no teaching in the Bible about tonguen governed drinking or how it should be done, yet church leaders and ministers are the ones leading it. This has been going on in the country for a long time, and it is time to stop this devilish practice and these lies because it is not from God. Thank you. I truly agree. Okay, this is uh a very good testimony. I'll share it because uh this man was addicted to cover, but he turned to Christ and he was healed, and his proud wife sh uh shared this testimony with me of how proud she is uh of her husband and the journey they've gone through together to get to where they are now. So I want to also share something. I am a second marriage. Before me, my husband was a proud womanizer. Drugs and alcohol was his life and of course Fikeava until Jesus stepped in. I've been speaking to him about this whole movement and he reflected on his journey as an unfaithful father and husband. He said many of the daughters were willingly up to be taken. My husband is a good looking man. When he shaved up and dressed, he said he didn't have money like that to swerve any daughter his way, but his mouth and mindset would cause the daughter to leave with him. The man would get mad every time he showed up. His remarks made out that a daughter was easier than a stripper at a club. The stripper is tough, she gets her money and live in the midst of men that could kill her. I thank God, 'cause only he can change a man. Six years now and within that, the first year was cover, but today if he wanted cover, he would just have a quiet one at home. Lately I've hardly seen him bring any home, as I have been seeking the Lord without nagging or being in his face about it. I completely left my husband to Jesus while I continue to enjoy Jesus in prayer. Why I'm talking about this is because the reality about Doa that I and my husband talk about is real. Now we can talk and kickle about it, yet the fight towards culture, we realize how much we need Jesus in this, and why the Bible pressed on the fact that culture has nothing to do with Jesus. There is so much to tongue in culture that is sadly being exposed, yet it is needful for the next generation to know and to walk away from. We are already in such a dark time. We don't need to pass this part of darkness within our culture to go down. John the Baptist said, Do not think for yourself that just because you are children of Abraham, that God will not be able to raise up children from these stones. If you don't speak the rocks will cry out. But I say to our people, do not think just because you are a so-called church going people, that God will not raise up remnants from non tongues to speak up and stand for these victims. To you sis I say, for who knows if you have come to this platform for a time like this. I really love this testimony because um it this truly shows that you know cover is indeed evil. Like you have to truly see Christ to help you to stop drinking cover. Because cover is a substance, it's a drug, you get drunk from it and you get addicted to it. So the only way to stop it is to seek help, turn to Jesus in prayer and fasting, and seriously seeking Jesus and also seeking help. Because some of these cava addictions, they are escaping from their own problems. So talk to someone or seek therapy to help you. Um I have another testimony. Hi Akanesi, I admire and appreciate the work you're doing. I don't have an SA or DV story, but I wish to stay anonymous with the thoughts I share. I feel certain my community will mock me for sharing this, but the testimonies you've shared have really touched me. This is not an issue we cannot continue to stay silent on. I'm from Micronesian, so we stem from the same ocean. We call kava sakao. It's prepared and served a little differently, but serves the same cultural purpose and has the same numbing effect in the end. Many Micronesians drink sakao every day of the week. It really is an addiction. It's no longer about tradition and culture at this point. Micronesians often sell sakao in bottles for$5 to 10, depending on what part of the world you are in and how easily you can access the ingredients. You're spending a minimum average of$70 a week,$280 a month if you're drinking every day. That's enough to cover a utility bill. Some people go into debt for this addiction. Some sacrifice their cotary budget for it. I've seen people lose their ability to walk after too much sakao, some even crawling to their next destination. This is because it's high in potassium, causing weakness and laziness into the next day. Too much potassium can literally be deadly, leading to cardiac arrest. Too many Micronesians claim it's medicinal, but they abuse it so much it's not the culprit of worsening their health issues. Sagau circles are often where affairs begin. It takes both men and women away from their families, especially when one spouse doesn't participate or stays home to take care of the children. I might also add it leaves your skin extremely dry after too much use, very unattractive. I'm not quite sure how I feel about banning sagao or kava. I just know Pacific Islanders are in this situation because we have exploited and exposed something sacred to our cultures. Our ancestors sacrificed great things to pass down a rich culture to their posterity. We have taken part of our culture and used it selfishly, in a way it wasn't meant to be used. Cultural leaders and government leaders should work together to find a lasting solution. Thank you for the work that you do. And I agree with everything she said. And um just like Faikava and Doa, Doa wasn't like this, wasn't commercialized back in the day, it was only used for ceremonials and courting in Tonga. Uh but uh our people has abused, you know, our culture has abused Doa and has abused Kava where people are so addicted to it. And the government and the church leaders have to do something about it. They can no longer turn a blind eye to this issue because it's causing many problems in the Pacific, in the society, in the community, in the families. So we need to do something about it. And um that is the end of the episode today. I'm just gonna end with this Bible verse. Um So in Proverbs 23, verses 20 to 21, it says, Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat. For drunkyards and clothing become poor, and chowsiness clothes them in rags. Um Ephesians 5 18 it says, And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the spirit. 1 Corinthians 6 19 to 20 it says, Well, do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. So someone on Facebook commented a few days ago that cover is okay because it's grown from the soil. It's a natural plant, whereas alcohol is mixed with, you know, other stuff. And I'm like, so is marijuana, you know, wine. It comes from grapes, but it says here to not be drunk with wine. So it's the same thing applies to cover. You know, we can't be drunk with any substances cover, wine, marijuana, drugs, anything. We can't fill our body with these evil things, you know, um, because it is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and they say to glorify God. So when you are drunk in cover, when you sexually harass, the wine five cava, when you drink too much cover and you um abandon your families, you neglect your responsibilities, you know, at home, it does that glorify God? You know? Because it says here in Corinthians 6 19 to 20, or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God. So drinking cover and neglecting your responsibility, you know, and committing sin is not of God. So in 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 8 it says, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And I truly love this verse because it portrays how the devil is using cover to devour the souls of our people. Devil is using cover like a roaring lion, and it's hiding behind cover to destroy our people. You know? When they get drunk, they get addicted to cover, neglect their family, you know, committing sin with the Doa and uh getting drunk all the time. You know, that's not glorifying God. You are glorifying the devil. And I really love this verse, you know. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. So this verse is a warning for leaders. In Proverbs 31, 4 to 5, it is not for gings, O Lemuel. It is not for gings to drink wine, not for princes intoxicating drink, lest they drink and forget the law. And this is exactly a warning for church ministers that are getting drunk in cover all the time and church goers. They drink cover all the time, you know, and they forget the law. They abandon their families, they neglect their wives and children, they don't work, provide for the families, they're lazy, they're not forgetting the daughter issue, committing adultery, whether with a daughter or another woman, you know, so many problems that cover is causing in the lives of these men and in our society. So that is our episode for today. I hope you learned something. Um again, this episode is not to condemn you and you know, but um, this is episode is to open your eyes, you know, open your eyes and wake up and see how the devil is using cover to destroy our people. If you are drinking cover yourself, open your eyes and see how the devil is using cover to destroy you, your soul, your body, your family, your future as well. Because cover makes you lazy and you don't have any vision or any uh motivation or uh aspirations anymore, you know, to build something better for your family and for the society. So thank you very much for listening and I hope you learned something. Um have a great week and I'll see you again next week. Same time, same place. God bless you all. Thank you.