an ancient Tongan title that pre-dates the monarchy by centuries. Celebrations and ancient rituals leading up to the coronation began last Saturday with a Taumafa Kava, a traditional ceremony in ...

Tonga on Saturday began a week of celebrations to mark the upcoming coronation of the Pacific nation's monarch, King Tupou VI, with an ancient ceremony involving the mildly narcotic drink kava. The ...

Trade with Tonga was non-existent at that time but ... In the islands, a visiting dignitary is greeted with lavish gifts and a kava ceremony. Kava is a local beverage that must be prepared and ...

and Dr. Sione Vaka from Tonga, have received $1 million from the Health Research Council to combine kava drink with the traditional ceremony of conversation. "I'm so stoked that Health Research ...

The new king also becomes the 24th Tu'i Kanokupolu, an ancient Tongan title that pre-dates the monarchy by centuries. Celebrations and ancient rituals leading up to the coronation began last Saturday ...