Fiji Language Week

Oqo ga eso na idusidusi yavutaki mai na ivakarau ni mamaroroi ena Vale ni Yau Makawa me tokona tikoga na maroroi vakabalavu ni masi. E umani kina na veimeca eso ni masi kei na sala mo sabaya. Wili tale ga kina na iwalewale matau ni kedra tarai, maroroi kei na sala mera vakaliligi kina e vale.

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Ni sa bula vinaka kei na marautaki macawa ni vosa vaka-Viti,

Na yacaqu ko Jolenna Deo. I am one of the Decant Specialists at Tāmaki Paenga Hira, brought on to decant the Pacific Lifeways Galleries as well as the Māori Court. I feel an immense amount of privilege to undertake a role that involves being an ivakatawa (guardian) of the precious objects in our collection.

 I am Fijian on my paternal side, my grandfather is Fiji Indian from Nausori and my grandmother is Rewan and Fiji Chinese. On my maternal side, I have familial ties to Moce Island in Lau. I was born in Suva and spent my first four years being nurtured by my bubu and tukaqu in Lami before moving to West Auckland, where I was raised. Throughout the years, I have returned home to visit my family in Suva and Nausori.

This year’s theme for Macawa ni Vosa Vaka-Viti is Na noqu vosa: me na tekivu mai vale – My language: Starts at home. This theme made me think of the fact that I grew up in a household with many languages being spoken: Fijian Hindi by my father, Fijian by many family members, Tok Pisin and Kiwai from my mother, who is from Papua New Guinea. However, English was predominantly spoken, especially as my sisters and I were raised in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Reflecting on the value of language, I also think of the role of yaqona (kava) in our culture. I have vivid memories of sitting around the tanoa (kava bowl), listening to the talanoa (conversations) that flowed. The tanoa holds a special place in my heart, as it is central to the practice of my Fijian culture. Every day at work, I feel further grounded by it, especially when I see the Talitali ‘Au Moana in the South Atrium of Tamaki Paenga Hira. The tanoa’s name translates beautifully as “the safe waiting place for those from the Moana,” and this resonates with me on a deeply personal level.

This Fiji Language Week, I encourage all those visiting the museum to pause and take a moment to appreciate the beauty of Noel Lane’s architectural work, the warm wood that curves to create the tanoa form is from Fiji and the shape is based on a Fijian tanoa. Stand beneath it and imagine all the moments—joy, sorrow, new beginnings, and endings—that unfold around a tanoa.

On a personal note, my connection to the tanoa is so profound that during my most recent trip to Fiji, I decided to commemorate it with a small tattoo of a tanoa. If you see me walking around the museum, please feel free to say bula! I’d love to show you the non-collection tanoa on my arm and talanoa more about how proud I am of being Fijian.

I hope this macawa ni vosa vaka-Viti you enjoy the beauty of the small ways you use the Fijian language in your home. This practice embodies the strengthening of  our links to Fiji and our tubuna (ancestors) from wherever we are. 

Ni sa bula Vinaka.

Na yacaqu o Nafiza Pilkington, au vukevuke ni manidia ni sitoa ena vale ni maroroi yau (Auckland War Memorial Museum), Tamaki Paenga Hira. ‘Vakamareqeta na Vosa Vakaviti- “Nurture and sustain the Fijian language”.

It is a privilege and an honour to share my love and connection to the Fijian Language Week in the space where I work. Using Vosa vakaviti in my workplace gives me a sense of pride with my colleagues and especially with our visitors. 

Fiji, as lot of you know is a multi-cultural land where Indian are called Hindustani or Indo-Fijian. We have become the second largest ethnic group in Fiji, so using two languages was a norm growing up. 

Now Aotearoa New Zealand has become home for the last 25 years, it always comes as a huge surprise to my friends that I am able to have conversations in 3 Language’s simultaneously, with jokes made in the tongue that best suits the story. One of the few great things about this Pacific paradise is that everyone speaks English as well as Fijian or Hindi - although there are a few idiosyncrasies.

I am of Indo-Fijian descent, born and raised in the Pacific Islands of Fiji in a small place called Vuci South, Nausori from my dad’s side. I’m a 5th generation of Indian Laborers arriving from India to work on sugar plantations in late 1800s. My great-grandfather immigrated from Sikkim and then to Bihar with the British government to find a better life in Fiji.

My maternal side of the family comes from Londoni, Waivou Koro (Village) of Tailevu province. My great-great grandma was an Indigenous Fijian iTaukei. 

Memories which take me back home has always been in Tailevu where a lot of my childhood time was spent at my Tinaqu levu (grandmother) place. Creating nets from potato sacks to catch fish and prawns for lunch, swimming in waterfalls/rivers were a daily thing. Fresh seafood, fruits and meat was always in abundance as my momo (uncles) were fisherman & dairy farmers. So, going for a day adventure to the smaller islands near Levuka (old capital of Fiji) with my cousins on dinghy boats with no life jacket was normal. 

Now when we go back home, eating Lovo (hangi) is a must. My favorite dish is Raurou (Taro leaves cooked in coconut milk) served with boiled Taro. The best desert is Vakalolo (fresh casava and coconut mixed with brown sugar, wrapped in banana leave steamed). By now you can tell I am a real foodie, and love making dishes from my favorite Book-Eat Pacific.

Cannot leave Fiji without a traditional kava drinking session with family, sitting around storytelling about our rich Fijian/Indian culture with younger generations, and laughing at little ones trying to speak Vosa vakaviti. Hence why this item, a Kava Bowl (yaqona bowl) located in the Auckland Museum Store reconnects me back to my Fijian roots.

Vinaka, Nafiza

Bula! My name is Fredrick William Hennings and I am a visitor host at the Auckland Museum. The opportunity to purposely serve and thoroughly learn more about my Pacifica community whilst being in the Museum is something that I will be grateful for.

I am Fijian with paternal and maternal links to the district of Wainikeli on the Garden Island of Fiji called Taveuni.

My favourite taonga is the Bouma Masi (tapa cloth) displayed in the Museum at the Pacific Lifeways. This was made in my home island by my relatives.

Vosa vakaviti is very important to me as it gives me a sense of belonging and identity. With the dominance of western culture in our everyday lives including education, vosa vakaviti re-engages me to my roots.

My favourite memory of a Fijian custom is the “Sevusevu”. This entails the presentation of the kava root (waka) to the chief of a village seeking his permission to set foot in his village and also to seek prior forgiveness should any of the visitors misbehaves. This custom embraces the principle of respect, acknowledgement of boundaries, gratitude and kindness.

We all enjoy the bounty of botany everyday – perhaps without even realising it – in the form of our 5+ a day.

While working on a research project in Fiji, Ricky-Lee Erickson and Yumiko Baba of our Natural Science team encountered a rich botanical diversity in a range of delicious forms.

Read on to discover Fijian botany at its most flavourful.

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Manufactured from bark-cloth (masi) and carefully fringed at the edges, two issues of the Fiji Times dating to 1908 and 1909 presented more questions than answers when they first arrived at the Museum. 

Newspapers across the Pacific have never been printed on barkcloth, so what led to these particular papers being printed on such a material?

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