Jioji Vai: Identity, culture connections and Rotuma

Te Rito journalism cadet and Rotuman language champion Jioji Vai hosts a Rotuma community radio show at Pacific Media Network. Photo / Supplied

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air

For most of my childhood, I would say I was Fijian rather than Rotuman.

Like many descendants of the Pacific, the struggle of connecting to my culture weighed heavily on the heart.

Growing up in Auckland, I would be asked, "Where's Rotuma?", "What is Rotuma?", "Can you say something in Rotuman?"

It was always a challenge having to explain my ethnicity: I wasn't prepared for the questions that would follow because I was still learning my culture and language.

Jioji Vai with his mother Jieni Susau at the launch of Pacific Media Network's Rotuman radio show. Photo / Supplied

For the record, Rotuma is a Fijian dependency about 650km northwest of Fiji. There are fewer than 2000 Rotumans on the island, more than 10,000 on the main island of Fiji and almost 1000 in New Zealand, according to the 2018 Census.

I remember going to the public library and taking out any books on Rotuma that I could find to show my classmates. Little did they know that as I showed them the pictures and read the book aloud I was also learning about my culture.

I recall one classmate asking me to find Rotuma on the world map. I had no idea so I had to look for Fiji first. On most maps, it didn't show up, and if it did, you would need a magnifying glass to see the small dot. I'm sure as a child I accidentally pointed at different dots.

Many Rotuman simply said they were Fijians and I didn't blame them because it saved having to explain the where, what, when, and why.

As a Kiwi born of Rotuman and Tongan descent, my first language was English. I placed value on this because I knew it was going to carry me through my years of education to employment.

Jioji Vai (left) and Ngaire Fuata host the opening ceremony of Rotuman Language Week last year. Photo / Supplied

I'm the first Kiwi-born member of my family. My parents migrated from Fiji to New Zealand in the late 80s, travelling on a yacht before settling on Auckland's North Shore.

We didn't have immediate family here, but the small Rotuman community became our extended family away from home. Because Rotuma is so small, when you come across a Rotuman they somehow become a new grandparent, aunty, uncle or cousin, so I have many now.

Growing up, my mother would occasionally speak Rotuman (Fäeag Rotuạm) to me and my siblings and teach us the basics, but most of the time we would respond in English.

You've probably heard the phrase "it takes a village to raise a child". Growing up, I was lucky and blessed to be surrounded by many Rotumans. I guess that's why I had an early appreciation for my identity, even if I didn't speak the language.

I was determined to learn more and build on what I had picked up at home. I've always had a passion for music. I used music to learn Rotuman words and I practised pronunciation by singing from the Rotuman hymnbook. I also used Rotuman songs composed for our traditional dances (hafa/tautoga).

As a child, I always looked forward to the weekends because I knew we would spend them with relatives. I used those opportunities to sit with the adults, to listen to their conversation and see if I could understand what they were saying.

It's thanks to those moments that I understood the language before I reached high school. At one stage I thought I'd learned enough of my culture and could get through life saying Noa'ia, a Rotuman greeting.

It wasn't until Rotuman was classified Definitely Endangered on Unesco's list of Endangered Languages that our communities put more focus on it.

With my involvement in the community, knowing some parts of the culture and always being surrounded by people who spoke the language, I assumed I didn't need to learn much more.

But signing up for Rotuman classes at the Centre for Pacific Languages in Manukau opened up a whole new world for me. I felt like a foreigner learning my own language.
It's a scary wake-up call to think the generation after me could end up not speaking the language, or that someone who isn't Rotuman but learns the language could end up teaching our people.

That's made me appreciate our elderly, knowledge-holders and custodians of the language, because without them to guide us, we face losing it altogether.

Growing up, there weren't enough opportunities to see and hear the language in public spaces to affirm my identity. Reflecting back, I realise I didn't place enough value on my cultural identity or embrace the uniqueness of the language.

I have seen and heard the struggles of some of our pioneers in Aotearoa who paved the way for people like me. Now I continue their legacy and use the privileged spaces I work in to give back to my community.

As a proud Rotuman and host of our community programme on Radio 531 at the Pacific Media Network, my duty is to make sure our beautiful language is strong and resilient in the future.

If you show passion and willingness to learn you'll be surprised by what doors will open: I have been catapulted into positions of leadership in my community as well as serving on the Pacific Advisory Group at the Auckland Museum. I'm also hoping to use my time as a trainee journalist with some of New Zealand's media giants to help tell our untold diverse stories.

As a Rotuman would say, your language is a gift: Tefakhanisi.

* This week marks Gasav Ne Faeag Rotuam ta (Rotuman Language Week). The theme is "Vetḁkia 'os Fäega ma Ag fak hanua - sustaining our language and culture".

The Rotuman community will be posting daily content on the NZ Rotuman Language Week Facebook page as part of their week-long celebrations in partnership with the Ministry for Pacific Peoples.