Said Michael McCormack, quoted in "'I went cross-eyed': Australia’s former deputy PM taken to hospital after drinking entire bowl of kava/Michael McCormack paid a high price for downing, not sipping, the sakau during a Pacific tour, later stating: 'I was trying to be respectful'" (The Guardian).
In Pohnpeian folklore, sakau was a gift from the gods... [I]t is usually served in a coconut shell, the state symbol of Pohnpei. It is made by pounding on the root of the kava plant and then straining it through the bark of the sea hibiscus tree. It’s known for being one of the stronger kavas – hence the sipping recommendation – as there is very little water added to the roots when making the drink.... McCormack said next time he would 'absolutely' sip and not down the drink in one go.
There are different ways of making kava, and McCormack had just had "five shells of kava in Vanuatu the day before" he arrived in Pohnpei.
I wonder how funny it was to the people he was "trying to be respectful" to.
Here's the Wikipedia entry for Pohnpei (which used to be called Ascension Island). Excerpt:Pohnpei "upon (pohn) a stone altar (pei)"... is an island of the Senyavin Islands which are part of the larger Caroline Islands group. It belongs to Pohnpei State, one of the four states in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)... the most populous with 36,832 people, and the most developed single island in the FSM.
Pohnpei is home to the megaliths and ruined city of Nan Madol, built of artificial islands off the island's eastern shore beginning in the 8th or 9th century....
Pohnpei (as Ponape) plays a role in several stories of the Cthulhu Mythos by H. P. Lovecraft and others....
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Sir Les Paterson set a very high standard for the Australian diplomatic corps.
I tried Kava on Guam years ago. Meh. I'll stick to Pappy Van Winkle.
Grandma's voice always in my head
All things in moderation
A person of the world has learned to follow the lead of the locals when unsure of how to conduct yourself
He's conservative, so a threat to his health is amusing.
Kava or kawa is coffee in some languages, and it's even the name of a brand of coffee, but I guess in that part of the world people know that the word refers to something else.
It is interesting, though, that Australia (and probably China) take more interest in our former colonies than we do.
Per webmd.com: "Kava is said to elevate mood, well being, and contentment, and produce a feeling of relaxation. Several studies have found that kava may be useful in the treatment of anxiety, insomnia, and related nervous disorders. However, there is serious concern that kava may cause liver damage."
I never heard of the stuff. Sounds pretty good to me.
Except WTH is "serious" concern? As opposed to just "concern".
The world is awash with weasel words.
Pohnpei (Ascension Island) may have been a British and then an Australian colony but other parts of the FSM were a UN Trust Territory under US administration.
How often to we hear of them or think of them, if we even know they exist?
I've been to Pohnpei. My kids used to buy books at the local library book sale and ship them to the Pohnpei library. I mentioned (I think) visiting Nan Midol during our discussion of Stonehenge. I highly recommend it. It's unspoiled and immensely puzzling. No one knows how they got all those massive stones (hundreds, weighing over a ton - many in the 55 ton range) moved into place (across the ocean) and assembled.
Since the Federated States of Micronesia is a U.S. Trust territory, they use US currency and the US mail (which is why it was so cheap to ship books). So are Palau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. I highly recommend, if you can afford it, a trip to Micronesia, stopping at Pohnpei, Yap (the most traditional - stay at the Manta Ray Bay Resort), and Chuuk (aka Truk Lagoon - great scuba diving in the remains of the Japanese fleet)
First time I had sushi, I put a lot of wasabi on it, and paid the price. But I wasn't being respectful, just stupid.
Don't all governments have a protocol office whose duty is to be aware of local customs just to avoid things like this?
This the Hillary Clinton School of Political Pandering. Go speak to any ethnic group in their stereotypical way of talking ("Y'all," "I ain't no ways tired...).
*Only exception is Jews: Don't insert even a single "Oy," and never attempt Jackie Mason.
This is why you pretend to drink in these sorts of situations, not actually do it. Dumb fuck.
Maybe Gavipenton Newsome will be respectful of the homeless encampments he visits for photo ops by slamming scag.
Start your trip through Micronesia in Guam.
Pohnpei (Ascension Island)
Pohnpei and Ascension are different islands in different oceans, if I'm not mistaken.
Aussies are normally made of sterner stuff.
They tanned his hide when he died, Clyde…
and that’s it hangin’ in the shed.
“ Pohnpei and Ascension are different islands in different oceans, if I'm not mistaken”
Based on Wikipedia, there seem to be 2 places with the same name
Pohnpei and Ascension are different islands in different oceans, if I'm not mistaken.
There were at least two Ascension islands in the world. That could be one reason why one changed its name. It could have been awkward if you went to one and your luggage went to the other.
I was wrong though about it being a former British colony (as the other Ascension Island is). The chain of custody was Natives -> Spain -> Germany -> Japan -> US Trust Territory -> Natives. Britain might have passed Pohnpei up because they already had one Ascension Island and didn't need another.
I tried Kava on Guam years ago. Meh. I'll stick to Pappy Van Winkle.
You got Pappy?
Now that is really something!
"Based on Wikipedia, there seem to be 2 places with the same name"
Attention! We have Ascension tension!
@Maynard
Patience was more important than money when it came to procuring the best bourbon in the world. And boy...was it a long wait.
Worth every second.
Kava plays a role in Orson Scott Card's Children of the Mind, where a Samoan . . . personage of mysterious repute drinks it with the protagonists in ritual fashion.
Lived in American Samoa, been to Pohnpei. Kava tastes like soapy diswater IMHO, but I'm a palagi. Drank lots in Samoa at ceremonial functions and soon learned to just severely limit my intake to what was polite.
The Ascension Island in the Atlantic was an important staging post for planes flying across the Atlantic inWW2. Small, isolated and difficult to locate, it gave rise to a short but memorable poem:
If you miss Ascension
Your wife gets a pension.
Kava has been in health food stores for years. If you take it with a little alcohol, it will knock you on your butt and give you one hell of a hang-over. I only did it once.
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