‘Lingos’ under threat

UNIVERSITY academic Dr Apolonia Tamata says preserving mother languages, with their complex implications for identity, communication and social integration are of strategic importance to the people and their communities.

Dr Tamata, a senior lecturer in iTaukei Studies at the University of the South Pacific, told International Mother Language Day celebrations at the old Grammar Boys School Building in Suva that languages were increasingly coming under threat or disappearing altogether as a consequence of globalisation,

“When a language disappears, so does the world’s rich tapestry of cultural diversity,” Dr Tamata said.

“Opportunities, traditions, memory, unique modes of thinking and expression which are invaluable resources for ensuring a better future are also lost.

“Without a language, there is no culture, and without a culture, there is no language.”

This year’s celebrations also served as an audition for Fiji’s craftspeople to showcase their talents and display their wares to a panel of judges who will select a 100-member delegation to the Pacific Festival of Arts to be held in Hawaii in June.

The delegation will include artists, musicians, weavers, potters, traditional and contemporary dance groups and fashion designers.

Laisani Mara, of Komo in Kabara, Lau, was one of the craftspeople showcasing her traditional wares at the celebration. She was taught weaving by her mother in 1997. When her mother passed, she picked up from where she left off and still weaves today. She has seen how this skill has been beneficial to her family and laments how iTaukei weavers are decreasing in numbers with the younger generation now depending more on modern items over traditional ones.

Tailevu woman Alanieta Rabuku was also present at the celebration displaying her necklaces, bangles, earrings and wall hangings using the traditional tapa or masi in her wares. She started her business in 2020 during COVID-19 and registered her craft with the Fiji Arts Council in 2022.

Ms Rabuku believes the preservation of Fiji’s mother tongue will enhance learning and earning.

Rotuma native Tanya Grace began dabbling in art by watching others, and in 2011 with two of her sisters, she ventured out to create jewellery by fusing modern trinkets with traditional holders. She fully supports the idea of a mother language day because most children are now so fluent in English that their native tongue is slowly being forgotten.

In closing the celebrations, Fiji Arts Council director Maciusela Raitaukala thanked the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs for their work and initiative in the preservation of language, art and culture.