Samoan Social Drinking: Perpetuation and Adaptation of 'Ava Ceremonies in Salt Lake County, Utah

Kava (called „ava in the Samoan language) has served an important role in maintaining and expressing the social organization and material culture of Polynesian peoples. The distinct Samoan „ava ceremony was introduced to Utah with the arrival of Samoan immigrants during the 1970.s and has since undergone alterations as observed within Salt Lake County communities. Several points of distinction between the ideal Samoan protocol and the adapted American ceremonies have been identified through participant observations, personal interviews, focus group discussions, literary review and comparisons of video documentation. The modification of the „ava ceremony is described in terms of cultural assimilation and cultural permanence within the broader immigrant populations within the United States.