Fire and Sonia Fonua are bringing Tongan koloa (treasures), including ngatu, out from storage and turning it into jewellery to admire every day.
And those articles are free. * “We’re using these pieces that have their own history and story, but in a way we’re telling our own as well, as Tongans growing up in New Zealand,” Fire Sione said. “We just got thinking about how our children could see it and appreciate it too, instead of storing it away in a basement or under the mattress. They do it for the love of Tongan culture, and a determination to ensure the traditional bark cloth artworks – and the stories they contain – are not hidden away in museums or under the bed, only brought out for special occasions. Most of their pieces feature a piece of ngatu, or other traditional mats and bark cloths from the Pacific, such as masi or tapa.
Tongan Society South Canterbury has over 20 visits planned to spread and celebrate their culture for Tongan Language Week.
The future of the CBD is under consideration, there are large-scale building projects under way at Showgrounds Hill and the rebuild of Scott Base will soon commence. It's all on in Timaru. “The theme for this year is sustaining the Tongan language week here in Aotearoa, so we want to do that. Faha encouraged those in the community to support the week by asking questions and to be open to the language and culture. Petelo Faha, deputy head prefect at Roncalli College and member of the Tongan performance group, said the week was important to keep the Tongan culture and language alive and described day one as “pretty hectic”. The Tongan Society South Canterbury is taking its culture and language on tour to more than 20 places around the region as part of their language week.
The NBA star got there in the end, but not without enduring a ton of jibes from his family.
Statistics NZ have reported Tongans to be the fastest-growing Pacific ethnic group in New Zealand in recent years, with their numbers increasing more than ...
Created: 05-09-2022 11:03 IST Updated: 05-09-2022 11:03 IST Statistics NZ have reported Tongans to be the fastest-growing Pacific ethnic group in New Zealand in recent years, with their numbers increasing more than threefold between 1986 and 2006.