You are here:
- Home >
- Pacific languages >
- Fijian
Fijian
Bula Vinaka!
Fijian (Vosa Vakaviti) Language Week takes place from Sunday 8 October to Saturday 14 October 2023.
Raise the mana of speakers of Vosa Vakaviti in your classroom, school, and the wider community. Find and acknowledge the experts in your school community who can help your school celebrate Vosa Vakaviti Language Week.
Vosa Vakaviti and the visual arts
Meke
The most popular traditional Fijian dance, meke is a combination of dance and storytelling through song. Both men and women perform in the meke.
Many versions of the meke exist. Some examples are the war dance, the women’s fan dance, and the men’s spear dance.
Dancers perform the meke on special occasions.
The lali (traditional Fijian drum) and derua (stamping tube) are important instruments of the meke. Chanting and rhythmic clapping are also part of the meke.
Masi
Masi, a bark cloth, is a popular art form in Fiji. It has many uses, such as wall decorations and clothing worn in ceremonies.
Masi is made from the inner bar of the paper mulberry. Traditionally, women make the bark cloth. They strip the bark from the tree, soak it, then scrape it clean and pound it with a wooden object.
Language resources
Fiji language week
NZC Online provides curriculum connections and ideas about how you, your class, and your school can get involved.
Resources for Fijian Language Week 2023
Downloadable resources from the Ministry for Pacific Peoples
Pacific Language cards
These cards are tailored to non-speakers of the language as a good starting point. Included are: a pronunciation guide, the alphabet, everyday phrases, a short prayer, and a hymn.
-
Vosa Vakaviti Fijian Language Cards (PDF, 212 kB)
Supporting Pacific learners | Resources
Online resources to use with students for Fiji Language Week.
Fijian language activity book
A free download from Te Papa; suitable for ages 5 to 10.
Fijian Language Games
Free-to-use games from Digital dialect. Includes language learning games, vocabulary builders, numbers, and quizzes.
Useful Fijian phrases
A collection of useful phrases in Fijian from the online encyclopedia of writing systems and languages. The site also provides information about spoken and written Fijian and numbers in Fijian.
Library resources
Find out what is happening at your local library.
Christchurch City Libraries | Fijian Language Week – Links to online resources.
Auckland Council Libraries | Celebrating Fiji – Links to online resources.
Research
Teaching literacy in Fiji classrooms: Curriculum innovation at Levuka Public Primary School
Rosiana Lagi’s research investigates teaching vernacular phonics, before teaching English phonics to improve overall learning in English as a second language.
Immigration Stories
Fiji Migration Story
Amalaini Ligalevu-Legge, who migrated with her husband and children from Fiji in the early 1970s, shares about her journey and encourages those of Fijian descent or people interested in language to speak the languaage and seek to understand the culture.
Story: Fijians
Provides an overview of Fijian Community, Migration, Life in New Zealand, Fijian Culture in New Zealand, A sense of community, Facts and figures, and External links and sources.