Tonga Language Week

On Saturday, 10 September, the children and youth of community arts organization Pukepuke ‘o Tonga will perform onsite at the Museum after 2 years of absence, re-enacting their ancestors' journey from Tonga to Aotearoa.

Tongan Language Week is a great opportunity to learn more about not just the Tongan language, but what it also means to be Tongan.

As a deputy principal, I recognise that learners who speak languages other than English need plenty of opportunities to see and hear their language in order to have their identity affirmed. This is an important part of learners feeling safe and ready to learn in the classroom and school environment as a whole. Whilst not my educational experience, the opportunities that language weeks now provide offer positive and affirming opportunities for many of our learners to bring their whole selves to their learning setting.

I am a first generation New Zealand-born child of the 70’s. As an immigrant family I learned from an early age an appreciation of custom and tradition, both Tongan and German. Without being raised with either language these traditions became critical connectors to my cultures. Sadly, I don’t recall my maternal grandparents as both passed before I turned the age of five. I am my grandmother’s namesake and I often wonder how different my life may have been had she been around to speak Tongan to me.

Navigating the cultural invisibility I experienced during my secondary years, the art room became my safe space to explore further connections. My art became the vehicle for my ‘voice’. Much of my initial art exploration in the 1990’s critiqued the illustrative plates and engravings from the Pacific voyages of scientific exploration. As I progressed in my practice I wanted to examine themes of materiality, and the construction methods within Tongan feminine art forms, called koloa. The aesthetics of pattern and design within early Tongan koloa imbue a tangible sense of awe and admiration of the skills and intelligence of my ancestors.

Recent museum visits across the world have afforded me a very personal and emotional connection to my heritage and the artists of hundreds of years ago which I desire to share and express with my own artwork. I may not speak fluent Tongan but translating and galvanising this traditional and ancestral knowledge into contemporary art forms is my personal response to ‘being Tongan.’

Faka’apa’apa atu,
Dagmar Vaikalafi Dyck

 

Dagmar’s maternal lineage hails from the Wolfgramm and Hemaloto kainga from the village of ‘Utungake, Vava’u, Tonga. Her paternal lineage includes Dutch, Polish and German ancestry and links to her father’s birthplace in Gdansk, Poland.

More Tongan people are currently born in New Zealand than in Tonga. As such, Aotearoa has a special role in celebrating lea Faka-Tonga mo e 'ulungaanga Faka-Tonga (Tongan language and culture).

Learn more about how the Museum is taking part within this role.

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ON DISPLAY IN PACIFIC LIFEWAYS

In 1946 the Kingdom of Tonga experienced a devastating volcanic eruption, prompting the entire island of Niuafo'ou to be evacuated. This mat in our collections was gifted to a sailor onboard the TSMV Matua, which was diverted to rescue people on the island at the request of Queen Sālote. 

We reflect back on this moment from history in 2022, the year of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano eruption. One of the most powerful on modern record, the eruption sent shockwaves through the world followed by destructive tsunami across the Pacific, claiming lives, and injuring many. Our love and thoughts are with everyone in Tonga and our Tongan community in Aotearoa.

Sopolemalama Filipe Tohi is a famous Tongan community leader and artist who hails from the village of Ngelei‘a, on Tongatapu. Tohi is a master craftsman of the ancient Pacific art of lalava or lashing.  

Lalava is the technology used to bind objects together in traditional Pacific architecture, tools and vaka (canoe) building. Tohi often uses the patterns of lashings to symbolize the unity of all things, past, present and future. He explains,

"My work transforms the technology of the past into a modern representation of identity and experience.  By using the patterns established by lalava, I express a Polynesian heritage with metaphors that speak to our entire community."

Tohi has exhibited over the world and has sculpture in international collections including Japan, China, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Tonga, Samoa and the USA.  An example of his metal sculpture is called “Hautaha (Coming Together)” and is located outside the community centre in Onehunga in Auckland. Other artwork can be seen across Aotearoa New Zealand including in Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington, the University of Auckland’s Pasifika Fale, and Puke Ariki in New Plymouth.  Tohi’s sculptures from 1980 to 2000 were mainly created in stone, wood, and mixed media, but works made since 2000 are often created from metal, using aluminum or stainless steel. He notes, 

"For me, stainless steel represents the shiny new structures of the modern world. Wood is based more in tradition – in natural things from our environment."

Find as many Tongan words as you can in this wordfinder, and maybe learn a few new ones along the way. When you're finished, you can find the answers here.

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