Pastor Samuel Fiu Unutoa knelt on the ground Monday with his daughter, Annamaria, as she mixed kava root in a bowl of water, performing a traditional Samoan welcoming ritual.
“We mash it into a pulp, a fibrous pulp,” he said, “and then we mix it with water, and we get to drink out of it.”
The kava was then passed around the crowd, each person taking a sip as the group clapped rhythmically. The ceremony marked the official opening of the Pasefika Roots Institute of Language and Cultural Arts, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and revitalizing Pacific Islander culture in the city. One of its main goals is to connect kids with the heritage and community that they may have grown up without…