Kava vs. Kava kava

[Bwiggy]

I was talking to a friend, and his friend, this weekend about kava, and I gave up drinking, etc.... and every time I said "kava" his friend said "kava kava" mid-sentence.
I'd just say "kava" and she'd say "kava kava" and then I'd go on....
I've heard both, and I know everyone here says kava... so 1) is "kava kava" reserved for extracts or pills? 2) Your favorite way to handle know-it-all interrupters.

 

[kavadude]

(2) Point out that the Pacific Islands are probably the most linguistically diverse cultures on earth and there are hundreds or thousands of words for 'kava' some of which are probably not even written down anywhere

 

[Bwiggy]

cool, I didn't know!

 

[kavadude]

I actually don't know what the etymology of any of these names really is, but it seems that 'kava' is Tongan in bitter, so kava-kava is "bitter bitter" and might be a way of emphasizing it.

 

[Bwiggy]

Gotcha.

 

[Blippy5]

Tell her to stop being rude

 

[avahZ]

Just use awa, that will throw em off!

 

[Bwiggy]

Perfect, @avahZ !

 

[NAMBATU]

"Kava kava" might be the plural.

 

[Deleted User01]

@Bwiggy, we are kava drinkers, we know kava and we call Kava either Kava or Kava Kava. Tell your friend to bug off and stop being so annoying. He/she doesn't have the right to correct you unless he/she is a kava drinker. Tell her I said so. Sorry folks, but I hate people who know nothing about the subject correcting people who know everything about it. It ain't right and there is going to be a pan-fried march on city hall about this kind of thing. Oh, and I want the sidewalks painted Kava Green plus free money to pay for the Kava Forums and a Kava allowance for all the members here. Hey, they give away condoms and stuff, why not kava for us!

Pan Fried Kava Drinkers Unite, "Green Power"!

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

Reduplication is common in Melanesian and Polynesian languages. For example, the Hawaiian word "wiki", which means fast/quick, is often written as "wiki wiki". (Wiki Wiki Mart, Wiki Wiki BBQ, Wiki Wiki Shuttle Bus) It can be used for emphasis or to pluralize words and probably other reasons I'm unaware of.

Kava Kava is not the standard term that any of the main current traditional cultures use to describe kava, but I have seen it pop up here and there.
Here are the main names:
Vanuatu = Kava
Fiji = Yangona/Kava
Tonga = Kava
Samoa = 'Ava
Hawai'i = 'Awa
Pohnpei = Sakau
Tahiti = 'ava/'ava 'ava
Marquesas = Kava/kava kava
...and the Maori people had the name Kava Kava for a different pepper plant that isn't kava.

"Kava Kava" is usually used by vendors that don't really know kava very well and sell shitty kava/tictures/extracts/herb combos etc...
I think people cling to it for it's islandy sound and for the hope that it sounds more natural & exotic to purchase.

 

[Deleted User01]

@shakas, you got hit the nail on the head baby!

 

[Bwiggy]

Perfect you guys, thanks. @Deleted User01
@shakas you know a lot of kava stuff! Is this your business?
Hey, interesting cultural fact - The Maori, the only indigenous people in the polynesian area to Not have actual kava (that I know of), were such a warring culture
they very nearly made themselves extinct.
@NAMBATU I accidentally shrugged at your answer. (Seriously funny profile pic.)

 

[Bula Kava House]

As @shakas said, "kava kava" is not really used by kava drinking nations, or by experienced kava drinkers. Kava pills and supplements are often marketed as kava kava, possibly because seeing the name twice is better to stick in people's brains. It also helps the word "kava" be more visible on shelves, even if the product is rotated. So yes, tell your friend to stop interrupting, and you wouldn't be wrong to correct her back.

 

[TheKavaSociety]

In a number of European languages (e.g. Polish, Czech, Croatian, Serbian, Slovak) the word "kava" means "coffee", hence it makes sense to refer to piper methysticum as "kava kava" in order to differentiate it from coffee.