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King Charles Sips Kava, Becomes Samoan “High Chief”


Apia, Samoa:

King Charles III participated in a traditional kava-drinking ceremony in front of a row of bare-chested and heavily tattooed Samoans, speaking Thursday as the “senior chief” of the former Pacific island colony. ' was declared.

The British monarch is on an 11-day visit to Australia and Samoa, both independent Commonwealth nations, in her first major overseas trip since being diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.

The 75-year-old king, wearing a safari-style white suit, sat on the roof of a carved wooden longhouse, where he was handed a polished half-coconut containing the narcotic kava beer.

The peppery, slightly intoxicating root drink is an important part of Pacific culture and is known locally as ava.

The kava roots were prepared by the chief's daughter, filtered through a sieve made of dried bark, and paraded around the marquee.

When it was ready, a Samoan man shouted as he decanted the drink, which was finally presented to the king.

Charles uttered the words, “God bless this Ava,” and then lifted it to his lips.

Charles' wife, Queen Camilla, sat next to him and fanned him to relieve the harsh tropical humidity.

senior chief

Many Samoans are excited to welcome the king, who will be making his first visit to the Pacific island nation, a former British colony.

The royal couple visited the village of Moataa, where Prince Charles was appointed “Tui Taumeasina'', or High Chieftain.

“Everyone shares our hearts and is looking forward to welcoming the king,” local chief Renatai Victor Tamapua told AFP ahead of the visit.

“We are honored that he chose to welcome us into our village, so we would like to give him the title as a gift.”

Tamapua raised the issue of climate change and showed the king and queen around the local mangrove forest.

“The storm surge is just eating away at our coral reefs and our mangrove habitat,” he told AFP, adding that food sources and communities were being washed away or flooded.

“Our community relies on mangrove areas for mud crabs and fish, but since then the tide has risen about 2 to 3 meters (up to 10 feet) over the past 20 years.”

The King is also in Samoa for a federal government summit and is scheduled to address a leaders' banquet on Friday.

colonialism and climate

The legacy of empire looms large at the conference.

Commonwealth leaders will select a new Secretary-General, nominated by African countries, in line with regional rotations.

All three leading candidates have publicly called for reparations for slavery and colonialism.

One of the three, Joshua Setipa from Lesotho, told AFP the resolution could include non-traditional forms of payments, such as climate funds.

“We can begin to address the injustices of the past and find solutions that put them into the context of what is happening around us today,” he said.

Climate change is high on the agenda.

Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Fiji support the call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, essentially asking Australia, the UK and Canada to do more to reduce emissions.

Pacific leaders argue that these three “big powers” have historically accounted for more than 60% of the 56-nation Commonwealth's fossil fuel emissions.

Vanuatu's special envoy for climate change, Ralph Regenvanu, called on other countries to join the treaty.

“As a federal family, we are counting on those who control federal fossil fuel production to stop fossil fuel expansion to protect what we love and cherish here in the Pacific.” he said.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the gas and mineral-rich country was working to become cleaner.

“We know there is a lot of work to do, and I have been transparent with all our partners in the Pacific,” she said.

Once seen as the embodiment of a palm-fringed paradise, the Pacific island nation is now one of the most threatened regions on Earth by climate change.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)


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