I was warned beforehand. They had ambushed Columban Fr. Ed Quinn when he was serving at Nabala/Vudibasoga. While drinking yaqona after Mass someone distracted him. Yaqona should be churned up to maintain a moderate consistency before serving. But the man serving Fr. Ed scooped up a bowl of yaqona from the bottom of the tanoa (basin). This is known as “bombing.” After drinking a few bowls of strong yaqona the drinker sinks quickly into a numbed sense of suspended animation. Fr. Ed keeled over on his back after drinking four or five bowls of the liquid served like that. It took a couple of hours for him to gain his feet again.
With that warning fresh in my memory I arrived to say the monthly Mass at Nasuva village this morning. The men invited me to rest a while and drink some yaqona on arrival. I accepted but after one or two bowls I excused myself to hear confessions before Mass.
After Mass, the villagers offered a thanksgiving basin of yaqona. I watched the server like a hawk, making sure that he stirred the liquid properly before serving it. After three or four bowls I explained that I needed to walk back to the parish center while it was still light so I made for home. Before long, I felt a heaviness coming over me as I walked. The path through the forest seemed to be swaying from side to side, and I couldn’t seem to steady it.
I made it home with difficulty, but without vomiting or falling. That yaqona was strong! It must have been at least six years old! My suspicions about Nasuva were fully confirmed. Thankfully, the other priest of the parish was to go there the following month.
Columban Fr. Frank Hoare lives and works in Fiji.