The Language of Siva
Muamua lava on si’i le viiga ma le fa’afetai i le Atua mo lana ta’ita’iga ma lona alofa, ua mafai ai ona ausia ma faamanuiaina taunuuga ma sini o le matou polokalame, Le Gagana o Siva. Ona o lona agalelei, ua manuia ma matagofie ai foi le taumafaiga a le fanau.
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the Ministry for Pacific Peoples (MPP) for their support, which has enabled us to deliver and run this program.
In 2024, Matalena Tulisi (MaieSitete Siva), Joanna Armstrong (AKTIVE ZONE), and I, Tauanu’u Amo Ieriko (Siva Afi Aotearoa), recognised an opportunity to enhance our existing programs. Together, we developed a plan to integrate language and culture to complement our Siva Afi initiatives.
Through the MPP Pacific Language Community Fund, we were able to engage the expertise and services of le Afioga ia Fonoti Eti Muaulama ma le faletua, le Afioga Leuluaialii Arietta Muaulama.
The goal of Pacific language funding is to ensure that our languages are taught by cultural experts. That programs are accessible and inclusive to all our youth, our whānau, and our wider community, and that barriers preventing us from gathering and learning are removed.
The success of our program lies in its ability to reach Pacific youth who may never have had this opportunity at their age - those who are not part of a Pacific church or community where they might otherwise have heard or learned their languages.
Online Resources
A key outcome of this program is the availability of the learnings and resources from the workshops in digital form, accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world. These resources are free to download, and our hope is that families will use them to learn together and reconnect with their culture.
We would also like to acknowledge the ongoing support of the New Lynn Community Centre, the parents, extended families, friends, and the Auckland Siva Afi community.
Highlight video music accreditation. SIVA SAMOA 2K24. Wayne LA’AI. TUPULAGA SAMOA. Tree and Wayno.
Resources
Click on each resource for further information
FA’ASINOMAGA
FOLAFOLA MEA’AI
VALA’AU I LE LAULAU
UPU FA’AALOALO Tutorial
FA’ASINOMAGA Exercises
All images and videos by @arthurs.snapz
