Post #369212 by jeffreyvallance on Tue, Mar 25, 2008 1:54 PM

Tonga Hut

The Tonga Hut cocktail lounge located on Victory Boulevard (east of Atoll Street) is one of the few remaining relics from the late 1950’s Polynesian craze. Have you noticed Tiki is “in” again? Even Martha Stewart has a chapter in her book on “Throwing a Tiki Party.” Finding the Tonga Hut is like discovering a rare jewel. Like the Bishop Museum in Hawaii, it has Tiki carvings, masks, and artifacts from every far-flung archipelago. The bar’s facade features a huge Easter Island head carving (moai). And yes, there are objects from the Kingdom of Tonga, including an antique tapa cloth fan and the royal coat of arms of Tonga. Similar to an authentic Polynesian hut, the walls are covered in woven mats, while the ceiling is covered in bamboo. And that’s not all—there are waterfalls, dart boards, and of all things a stuffed CROW--the emblematic bird of prophecy with power to foresee the future. These original Tiki cocktail lounges are becoming rare, and the Tonga Hut is like ground zero of Polynesian pop culture. It should be preserved as a historical monument. As Mr. Otto von Stroheim, publisher of Tiki News says, “When you go to a place like the Tonga Hut in North Hollywood, you’ll notice details like the hand-made lighting fixtures, a kidney-shaped dropped ceiling—the place is artistic and it was all built by the owners.” Go on in—order a Zombie and enjoy the ambiance.
Tonga Hut, 12808 Victory Boulevard, North Hollywood, CA 91606, (818) 769-0708

The Polynesian kingdom of Tonga consists of a chain of 171 islands, 45 of which are inhabited. Tonga’s total land area is 290 square miles with a population of just over 100,000. According to the U.S. census of 2000, over 12,000 Tongans live in California. Tongatapu is the main island in the group, on which the capital city Nuku’alofa is located. The Kingdom is located west of Tahiti and northeast of New Zealand, bringing the chain near the international dateline. Tonga is one of the few remaining constitutional monarchies and the only county in the South Pacific never to have been colonized by a foreign power. Tonga accomplished this great feat by building an impressive royal palace and when various foreign dignitaries arrived, they found the King of Tonga dressed like the King of England. Tonga was left untouched. That is why many traditional art forms and rituals remain intact. His Majesty the King of Tonga Taufa’ahau Tupou IV is an impressive man. He holds the Guinness world record as the world’s fattest ruler, tipping the scales at 462 pounds. He is also the only king that surfs. He has a custom 12-foot surfboard made in Hawaii. His Majesty prefers the waves of ‘Eueiki Island, three miles east of Tongatapu, comparing the surf to Waikiki.

The traditional Tongan hut is called a fale. The oval-shaped hut’s average size is 30 feet long, 20 feet wide and 12 feet high. The thatched roof is made of woven coconut palm leaves (‘ato) supported by posts (pou) set slightly under the eaves. The fale’s sides are made of overlapping plaited coconut fiber mats resembling large Venetian blinds. The floor, raised approximately one foot off the ground, is made of well-trampled earth. It is often covered by a loose layer of dried grass and flowers, then topped with fine mats. The underside of the roof is decorated with colorful, beautifully woven coconut fiber. Spears, tools, household utensils, and ritual objects are hung from the rafters. The hut has two low doors at opposite sides to let the breeze flow through the structure. (I am very fond of the Tongan fale, as I stayed in one when I went to Tonga to have an audience with the King.)

In Tonga, a bar is called a fale kava. The traditional narcotic drink of Tonga is kava, made from the roots of the pepper shrub (Piper methysticum). The psychoactive effects of the beverage include a pleasurable numbing of the lips, a quiet friendly lethargy, then euphoria, followed by drowsiness, stupor, and sleep. Overindulgence causes slurred speech, lack of coordination in leg muscles, red watery eyes, and bad skin. (Sound familiar?) But there is no hangover from partaking of kava! In the traditional kava ceremony held in a large fale, participants sit in a kava ring (‘alofi), with the high chief at one end of the oval, and individuals on his right and left seated in progressively decreasing status. Directly opposite the chief in the middle sits the kava mixer, who prepares the drink with a flourish of aesthetically pleasing arm and wrist movements—regarded as an art form in Tonga. The server calls out the name of the participants in order of rank, who in turn clap their hands two times, then gulp down the tingling, mud-gray liquid. Among world dignitaries who have participated in the kava ceremony are President Lyndon Baines Johnson, Hilary Rodham Clinton, and His Holiness Pope John Paul II. Early missionaries to Polynesia called kava “the brew of demons” and banned its use. Don’t get too excited about the kava herb, as the intoxicating qualities of the narcotic are only produced in kava made the ancient way—with virgin girls masticating the fresh root and spitting out the wad mixed with their saliva. It is the salivary enzymes that activate the psychoactive compounds (kavalactone) in the root, producing a fully intoxicating substance. In modern times kava is produced in a dry powdery form available in your health food section. I take kava capsules as a sleep aid. It’s known to increase REM sleep, and I’ve had many vivid dreams lately. By the way, kava is also effective in treating gonorrhea and diarrhea, and has been used as a contraceptive and an abortive.

The Tonga Hut cocktail lounge is similar to a Tongan fale in several ways. Both have walls and ceilings decorated with finely woven mats. Each has front and back doors situated opposite each other. Each is a place to drink intoxicating beverages—in Tonga they drink Piper methysticum, in the U.S. they traditionally consume alcohol. In the kava ceremony, the kava mixer uses elaborate gestures to prepare the kava, while in the States bartenders often have a certain charisma and use skillful, stylistic embellishments. In Polynesia, kava drinking involves much ritual, requiring strict seating arrangements, and in our bars “regulars” have their own favorite perches. In Polynesia they sit in a kava circle, while in North Hollywood they sit around the kidney-shaped bar. ALOHA! Or in Tongan, ‘ALU A!